These once neighbouring farmsteads tell a complex story. For those intrigued to know the details, take a look at my previous post.
High Elm House apparently carries a date stone of 1666, probably reused, and also has “Mr Thos Chapman // 1780” carved above the byre door — but once again I forgot to look for these — next time! Low Elm House was a corn mill, supplied by a culvert running 450 metres from a distant stream. An unusual arrangement. The mill pond bund wall still survives behind the house, the pond however is dry.
In 1780, Low Elm passed from George Petch to Isaac Scarth, whose son John became one of Bransdale’s most colourful figures. The same year that High Elm was sold to Thomas Chapman. By the early 19th century both farms were absorbed into the Feversham estate and run as a 48-acre unit.
Records show frequent changes of tenants and acreages. Low Elm was again a separate working farm by 1913. Today the two properties seem to be let as a single unit but not as a working farm.
The short-lived mill here must have been a rival to Bransdale Mill further up the dale. Its location on what was once main track in and out of the valley may explain its existence in so unlikely a spot.
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