The ‘Lost Farms’ consist of nearly 50 farm ruins, all traditional stone longhouses, originally built in the 17th and 18th centuries on Brinscall Moor. Grouse cottage was occupied until 1958 and still has its outside toilet intact.
Then
Now
Jimmy Bennet, his wife, Sarah and daughter, Dorothy in 1952
Grouse cottage was still inhabited in the 1950s but the only part still standing today is the outdoor loo block.
In the 1890s it was occupied by the 34 year old Joseph Snape, with a 28 year old wife, Margaret and 3 young children (4, 2 and 1). Joseph was not a farmer but a full time cotton spinner, which shows the changing way of life. From this time on, many of the people living in the moorland farms would work down in the surrounding towns and villages in the cotton mills or the print works.
In the 1940s-50s it was the home of Jimmy Bennett and his family. His wife, Sarah (nee Moss) and daughter Dorothy lived here happily until the early 1960s. Jimmy was the stone mason employed by Liverpool Corporation, so was obliged to take down the house he had previously lived in. Sarah worked as the butcher in the village. Dorothy moved out when she was 19 but she didn’t go to work in the mills, she worked at the Coop office off School lane in Brinscall and then at the coal board as a shorthand typist.
Listen to interviews
None of the moorland farms ever had mains water or electricity but Grouse cottage did have its own wind-driven generator to provide lighting in the 50s. Jimmy Bennett also dug a channel to ensure it had its own water supply in the late 40s. If you look carefully in the ruins of the main house, you can still see the metal bracket supports which held the sink. There was no fridge but Jimmy built an underground cold store with a flag over it – a wire mesh cage to put food in like an outdoor fridge.
The Bennetts had a very aggressive cockerel. Apparently you needed a broom handle to beat off the cockerel on trips to the outside loo as you had to go past the store room door, where the hens usually gathered. The broom -handle was kept in the kitchen specifically for this purpose.
Grouse cottage in the snow.
This project was largely inspired by David Clayton’s book, ‘The Lost Farms of Brinscall Moors’, which is available from Carnegie Publishing: https://www.carnegiepublishing.co.uk/product/lost-farms-of-brinscall-moors/
The book contains a wealth of information on all the farms which has not been covered here, as we have focused on the farms for which we could find oral histories. If you would like to find out more, please do buy a copy of the book!
BBC – Countryfile season 23 episode 5, first aired 12th April 2012
Thank you to Carnegie publishing for permission to use photographs from David Clayton’s book, ‘The Lost Farms of Brinscall Moors’ and to Jed, creator of the www.white-coppice.co.uk pages who took many of the photos of the farms in modern times and to the many people who shared memories and photos. In particular Barbara Butler (Richard Robinson’s granddaughter), David Fairclough (who has compiled an extensive collection of historic photos) and Linda Fonseka (descendent of Elizabeth Dixon).
