John Harte MBE

John was a man who found it hard to retire, but not for want of trying. He came to Cumbria, from Harrow, with his wife Jane, to a lovely house called the Grotto, in Yanwath, hoping to abandon the law in favour of running an up-market bed and breakfast. Things didn’t work out as planned and, very fortunately for the Trust, John returned to law in a local practice. Up to that time, the Trust had been advised by a leading firm of lawyers, with impeccable credentials, from the City of London. Unfortunately, one of this firms’ senior tax and trust partners, with 24 years seniority, started to steal from his clients on a massive scale. At the time (1985-88), this individual was the biggest known fraudulent lawyer in the English speaking world. For twelve years, the Trust was firmly in his sights and in those of his powerful henchmen. Sensing gross injustice, from within the ranks of his own profession, this very Christian man fought day and night, very often without proper remuneration, to redress the balance. On 16th October 2000, he scored a knock-out blow against some formidable adversaries – thereby leaving the Trust free to flourish. He took himself off to Spain for a second retirement but was immediately cut down by a massive heart attack and passed the rest of his days, as an invalid, in the Wheathampstead area. When he finally died, his widow paid the Trust the huge compliment of inviting one of its founder Trustees to deliver the Funeral eulogy at Garston Crematorium, on 1st March, where a huge number of John’s friends, of all nationalities, had gathered to witness a retirement that John could delay no longer. May this very good man rest in peace and lets hope that he didn’t mind too much being seen off by one of his most troublesome clients!

Geoff Bowerbank (1929-2007).

Many individuals claim to be master craftsmen. Geoff was far too modest to make any such claims. He didn’t need to. His peer group were in no doubt that he was the finest of craftsmen when it came to anything made from wood. Furthermore, even when his machinery was fully written off, twenty one years after it was purchased; it still looked as if it had just been delivered by the manufacturers. Accordingly, when Geoff’s employers removed to a newly equipped location in 1987, they gave Geoff his cherished machinery, as an outright gift, arranged a facility from the Clydesdale Bank and allowed Geoff to set up his own business, G Bowerbank Ltd, at Brougham Hall, where it was intended that he would pass on his remarkable skills to the younger generation and, in particular , to a promising youth called Andrew Barclay. Geoff and Andrew built their own workshop (now Country Furnishings) and took in quality work from a local firm of Receivers who ultimately reneged on their promise to pay Geoff for the work that he had done. Indeed, to add insult to injury, when all their work was finished, said Receivers removed, without any authority whatsoever, all Geoff’s machinery, on a slender pretext, and left it to rust in a car park in High Carleton – an inexcusable act of vindictiveness. Geoff, who had suffered from angina for several years, and who could have been excused if he had reacted to being treated so disgracefully, rose above it all and behaved with the utmost dignity, never once apportioning any blame to anyone for his misfortune. Philosophically, he took himself off to work out the rest of days with fellow craftsmen, the family Holden, at Laithes. Geoff was an extremely intelligent man, with very straight old-fashioned standards of behaviour.  He maintained cordial relations with Brougham Hall and right up until shortly before his death, he was still working on the total restoration of our 1520 Postern Gate to ensure that it lasts for another 500 years. Geoff was a keen sea fisherman (with Bob McAdam) and an active fell walker (with his wife, Jean and Ray and Beryl Chappels).

Alex Dewhurst (1929-2007)

Alex was another very supportive individual. Alex spent most of his life working for the Cumbrian Newspaper Group, as a technician. He had a life long passion for historic buildings and old cars and, when he retired, he turned from technician to reporter and wrote a number of articles for the Cumbria News, on architectural matters. We were lucky both with Alex and his newspaper that we always seemed to enjoy a very good press.