I have posted on here before that the 3 cottages were once a substantial Inn known as Halfway House on the old packhorse route to Colne but I can't remember the source of that information! This is a composite photo showing the building and its cellar. It's worth noting that this is the only substantial property close to Dotcliffe Mill.
The new Colne to Skipton Turnpike Road was built in 1824 causing problems for the Inn at Stone Trough and presumably this one too. The new road came to a full stop at Kelbrook because of issues with land ownership and the route meandered through the village before picking up again at Sough. I don't know when the Craven Heifer came into existence but it is marked as The Scotsmans Arms on the 1st Edition OS map and named as that in the 1841 census.
I was searching through the newspaper archives and came upon this advertisement from 1833.
Which Kelbrook Inn could this be? There are 3 possible options, Stone Trough, Craven Heifer or Halfway House but I have an inkling that both of those which were on or close to the Turnpike Road would advertise that fact strongly!
I need to find an owner's name to try and track any deeds at the West Riding Registry of Deeds in Wakefield, so I have looked at the people named in the advertisement and that's where it starts to get interesting. I can't discover much about Robert Blezard but Joseph Cowgill is a different matter.
Born in 1777 at Marlfield Farm above Earby, Joseph Cowgill inherited quite a bit of property and wealth when he was in his early 20s and he squandered the lot. (See the Marlfield Papers by Dennis Cairns) He appears to have borrowed considerable sums of money for various enterprises and not paid it back. One of those enterprises involved setting up Cotton Spinning at Earby Corn Mill, rebuilding the mill, the mill house and, we think, attempting to improve the supply of water through various works up the beck. This ended in bankruptcy and the last we see of Earby Mill. I have seen his name mentioned in connection with Dotcliffe Mill but I haven't rediscovered that yet.
Joseph (of independent means) and his wife Betty are listed in Kelbrook in the 1841 census. In 1851 they are definitely in Dotcliffe and his burial at Thornton in Craven in 1854 states he was of Dotcliffe. In 1841 there are 2 young children called Blezard living with Joseph and Betty.
So, that places Joseph Cowgill at Dotcliffe but would this have been a 'New Inn' in 1833....unless it was rebuilt at the wrong moment in time?
The problem with this is that he was just an occupier, not the owner. Looking again at the advertisement I noticed that "particulars may be had of Mr Parker of Hiff, Eastby nr Skipton.' Could this be the owner? I looked at old maps and found a property called Heugh just outside Eastby then put brief details into Ancestry and came up with some good results! It turns out that Mr Parker was the very same Thomas Parker who had arrived in Lothersdale as wealthy 18 year old in the late 1700s and built the successful cotton spinning mill in Lothersdale.
Stanley has mentioned that there was a link between Kelbrook and Lothersdale Mills and this could be a hint that Parker was involved in Dotcliffe.
I want to know more!!
