Harker Gates

A picturesque Grade II listed cottage in Ardenside, meticulously maintained yet somehow exuding the melancholy air of a neglected relic¹NYMNPA HER Records (Monuments) HER No: 1306 Harker Gates. One suspects it is a holiday let rather than a cherished family home.

Sir Ralph Tancred acquired the old Arden Priory estate in 1574, and it remained in the family’s grasp until the early 20th century. Shortly thereafter, all the Tancred family papers were unceremoniously deposited in the North Yorkshire County Archives ²MIC 1733. Among this trove of historical minutiae is a deed from 1577, which first mentions Harker Gate and Harker Gate Cote. Though the present building is deemed late 18th century, the deed implies the existence of two earlier cottages. Some claim there is evidence of one of these older structures lurking beneath the current one³Cowley, Bill. “Snilesworth”. Turker Books 1993. Pp 116/7..

Harker Gates appears frequently in the 1841 census, though it seems some entries may actually refer to the neighbouring farm, St. Agnes. The first recorded resident is Jane Heweson, 55, a farmer, sharing the property with a collection of elderly paupers: Thomas and Elizabeth Holmes, 65; Thomas Butley, 75, and Sarah Butley, 85. Either Jane Heweson was exceptionally charitable, or Harker Gates functioned as an informal poorhouse.

St. Agnes presents an equally baffling arrangement. William and Margaret Windross, both 70, are listed as farmers, alongside another farmer, Edmund Carter, 40. Also crammed into this holding are labourers Thomas and Rachel Bentley with their two children; Elizabeth Windross, 25; William Thompson, 15; and Michael and Sarah Barr, 35 and 40, with five children aged between 2 and 11. Even by the overcrowded standards of the 19th century, this seems excessive.

Later census records do little to clarify matters. By 1851 and 1861, the details are hazy, with a certain William Meggison and three cloggers at Harker Gates, while a James Bowes may be at St. Agnes. In 1871, Thomas Ryder, 42, holds 90 acres at St. Agnes, while Harker Gates accommodates John Cowton, Emmanuel Abbott, 35, with 50 acres, and Richard Barr, 68, with 90 acres, as well as Joseph Cowton, cow-keeper. Abbott and Cowton persist in the records of 1881, and by 1891, Harker Gates is clearly occupied by Emmanuel Abbott, while Joseph Cowton, now 69, resides at St. Agnes with his wife Mary, 52, and their sons John, 20, Isaac, 19, and Joseph, 8.

The history of this settlement is rich, if somewhat murky. The living conditions, on the other hand, appear to have been anything but comfortable.

• 1
  NYMNPA HER Records (Monuments) HER No: 1306 Harker Gates
• 2
  MIC 1733
• 3
  Cowley, Bill. “Snilesworth”. Turker Books 1993. Pp 116/7.