Lord Derby, ‘seventeenth earl and King of Lancashire 1865-1948’, and his pre-war prime minister Mr Stanley Baldwin, both resided at times behind the massive eighteenth century walls of Higher House in the moorland village of Holcombe.
But six years after the death of its last châtelaine, the grade II listed mansion stands empty in the heart of a conservation area.
Despite the opening of three sealed bids of £400,000 or more, the house remains derelict.
A conservation appraisal describes Holcombe as an ‘unspoilt scattered rural village on the shoulder of a hill, built in tightly knit small hamlets amidst fields of pasture and small woodlands, along old packhorse and turnpike routes, dating from the 17th century and earlier.’
Higher House was first advertised for sale at £675,000 in 2010, two years after the death of the woman who had owned it for 74 years – Mrs Margaret Haes, known to the villagers of Holcombe and the horse riders of the Rossendale valley as Peggy.
The estate agent who advertised the house in 2010 said a long-running dispute about its future had prevented at least three prospective buyers from proceeding. One family had spent £1,500 on a building survey before finding that the sale could not go ahead.
John Ireland, historian of the Holcombe Society, said,
We have a serious problem on our hands. This is one of the most important houses in Holcombe. The building is in danger.
It is in the centre of our conservation area and has been the scene of important events for nearly three hundred years. Prime minister Stanley Baldwin and Lord Derby stayed there.
In 1967, Peggy Haes opened a pioneering riding school on the hillside above Higher House where volunteers taught disabled and disadvantaged children to ride on a string of horses and ponies.
Princess Anne supported Peggy’s ‘pony riding for the disabled’ movement and in Peggy’s honour the school has been re-named as The Margaret Haes Riding Centre.
John Ireland said:
Peggy was a very grand lady and an expert horsewoman. As a member of the influential Whitehead family, she was given the house as a wedding present in 1934.
Now it seems to have been abandoned to the winter weather as a result of an interminable series of problems. At least three people have tried to buy the house. They have all failed.
Mrs Haes rode with the 900 years old Holcombe Hunt. Tackling long-distance rides with her friend Lady Mary Towneley, she pioneered a 47-mile trail over ancient pack horse roads that is now known as the Mary Towneley Loop.
In her will, she left her house, her stables and a number of moorland meadows to be divided between her sons; John, 78, who lives in the village, and Robert, 73, who lives in Berlin.
Both were keen to protect the future of the riding school, founded and registered as a charity by their mother. Twelve ponies are stabled at the school for taking disabled youngsters on escorted rides over the moors and for teaching the art of riding to able-bodied enthusiasts.
John Haes said:
I wanted my mother’s charity to be protected by having the stables and the riding school owned by a trust and sold separately from Higher House. But my brother did not agree.
We thought the big house had been sold this summer, but it still seems to be on the market depite the opening of three sealed bids, two I am told of £400,000 and one of £450,000. I have heard that there has been another bid of £455,000. But still no decision from my brother.
Robert emailed the riding centre in May 2013:
I can quite understand that you are anxious for the future of the Riding Centre as it stands at present. The whole matter has been rather complicated, but the final touches are being put to a 20-year lease, which I understand will be discussed with your committee in the near future. Our family are also very interested that “Mother’s Baby” continues to flourish for many years to come.
In an email from Berlin, Robert Haes assured the charity committee: ‘So, the matter is in the hands of our executors and I am sure you will be satisfied with the outcome shortly.’
But his brother, now president of the Margaret Haes Riding Centre, told the Lancashire Magazine in February:
I am very worried about the situation.
My brother and I were executors of the will, but my brother has given power of attorney to a local solicitor. The executors have not sold our old home and it lay unheated in mid-winter.
My brother and I were both to be executors of my mother’s will. The sale of the house is now of the utmost urgency especially due to serious deterioration caused by the disconnection of the heating system.
When I was very ill in hospital, I lost all track of what was happening to Higher House and despite being a principal beneficiary of my mother’s will I was somehow made bankrupt for a while by the taxman. I don’t know how the taxman was repaid. I don’t know what will happen next.
I no longer have control over the fate of my former home. I can only refer you to the solicitor, Mr Stephen Latimer of Latimer & Lee. I have given him my written authority to explain the problem.
The ‘6-bedrom country house‘ posted for sale on the Rightmove website in December 2010 was described as a
much admired, Grade II listed, early 18th Century “Heritage” house standing on the east facing lower slopes of Holcombe Hill in the heart of the village, enjoying exceptional views and an idyllic rural backdrop.
This week Rightmove listed the house for offers over £500,000.
Local estate agent Nick Hitchen said three potential buyers had faced contractual problems: ‘The matter is in the hands of the solicitors Latimer and Lee. You will have to ask them what is happening.’
According to the Holcombe Heritage Trail guidebook, Higher House was once known as the White Hart Inn and together with the nearby Shoulder of Mutton Inn often saw ‘disorderly’ scenes of gambling and cock fighting in Victorian times.
After cock fighting was outlawed by the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835, gamecock fanciers gathered each New Years Day at the Shoulder of Mutton from 1843. When the Holcombe Game Cock Show was moved down to Ramsbottom in 1965, a number of fanciers and supporters ended up in court, after a brawl at the Rose and Crown pub. The 171st event took place at the Royal British Legion, Ramsbottom, on New years Day 2015.
The guide says Higher House:
is built from roughly cut coursed natural stone and has a stone flag roof, mullion and transom windows with stone sections squarer than found in earlier buildings. There are drip mouldings above each window to take away water running down the wall face. Higher House (White Hart Inn) and the Shoulder of Mutton were the only inns in the Ramsbottom area prior to 1800 giving an indication of the importance of Holcombe’s location on this early trading route. For some time both had reputations as disorderly houses. In 1884, the White Hart closed and became a residence and it is said that there is a carved flagstone inside the building which is set face down and carries the inn sign of the former public house.
Stephen Latimer, senior partner of solicitors Latimer & Lee, said in February this year:
Due to confidentiality I am unable to discuss the matters without Mr Haes’s consent and perhaps you would be kind enough to ask Mr Haes to contact me to give his consent accordingly.
And a fortnight later:
I confirm that I have heard from John Haes but I am currently awaiting to hear from his brother Robert Haes who is the other beneficiary and lives abroad.
The Lancashire Magazine received no reply to an email sent to Robert Haes in Germany in February and this week Mr Haes was said to be away from Berlin on holiday.
Uncertain Future: John Haes watches a pair of his mother’s ponies taking their disabled riders down the Moor Road into Holcombe. ANDREW ROSTHORN
