Hill Top Cottage
Hill Top Cottage
Built in the C17 as one of a group of five small, ‘one-up one-down’, cottages on this hill top site. The cottages were believed to have been occupied by quarry-men or lead miners. One other remaining cottage, with upper storey removed, is now the outhouse shed to the south with a corrugated roof. The original bedroom fire-grate can be seen in the west wall of the shed. The original early 17th century cottage now forms the eastern half of the present house on to which was built the western half in about 1900. The ‘addition’ was constructed so that an unseen passage, about a metre wide, runs from north to south throughout the height of the building. Until 1958 Hilltop Cottage, together with Manor Farm and 3-4,000 acres of land to the north and south was owned by “The College of the Souls of all Faithful People Deceased” in the university of Oxford. It was rented for farming. In 1958 Hilltop Cottage was purchased by Mr G. Ewbank of Kettlewell and rented to Mr Carlisle and family, previously tenants of Nelson Farm, Calton. In 1967 Mr Ewbank sold Hill Top, with plantation and two-acre field, to the present owners. To the east of the front door are four stone shelves set into the garden wall and are understood to have been bee-boles. The tool shed in the south west corner was an outside privvy. An interesting wrought iron gate at the front entrance was made about 1963 by a Malham blacksmith.
The property is held freehold except the small plantation to the rear of the present garage, which is a leasehold tenure for the residue of term of six thousand years created by a lease dated June 1609 and subject to a fee, farm or lords rent of fourteen shillings to the lord or owners of Calton Hall or other persons entitled to payments.
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