Sale of Scargill House is celebrated (From Craven Herald)
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Sale of Scargill House is celebrated
3:40pm Thursday 16th April 2009 in Skipton & District
Tony Hesselwood, vice-chairman of the Scargill Movement Council, and the Bishop of Bolton, Chris Edmondson, chairman
Scargill House has new owners – and the sale was celebrated with a gathering at the Kettlewell centre.
The 100-acre complex, with its grade two listed chapel, has been bought by the newly-formed Scargill Movement Council, which will continue to run it as a Christian retreat and conference centre.
Its future was thrown into doubt when the previous trustees decided to close the loss-making centre in July 2008 and the site was put on the market for £2.5 million.
The sale was completed at the end of last month, with money coming from individual donations and a loan from the Lee Abbey Movement, which runs a similar centre in Devon.
The celebration was attended by more than 200 visitors from as far away as London, Cyprus and Holland and they represented all the stages of Scargill’s history.
Now the centre is preparing for a further celebration on Saturday June 20 to mark its 50th anniversary.
Local woman Pauline Thompson has been appointed as volunteer co-ordinator and it is expected a full-scale financial appeal will be launched in the summer.
