I apologise in advance for the content of this first post - subsequent editions will be more cheerful - honest!
The Mill is an extraordinary building - literally a stones-throw from the station in the stunningly beautiful village of Goathland on the North York Moors. It has had a long and chequered history, some of which will be explored in subsequent Blog posts. In more recent times it owes its survival to two remarkable men - and I am proud to be related to both of them.
The Mill was bought in the 1960s by my grandfather, George Grayson, for the princely sum of £10. It had long been a working water-powered corn mill, and later following the installation of an Armstrong turbine it became a source of electricity for parts of the village. Tragedy struck when fire broke out and left only half the building standing - the photograph above shows The Mill just after it was bought by George Grayson and his restoration was about to commence.
George and his wife Daisy lived in The Mill until the 1990s when the house passed to my mother Ann Hadley, she and her husband - my father - John looked after it as it was for many years until 2012.
Coming up to retirement, John Hadley decided that the time had come for another phase in the life of The Mill - and so the second restoration began. Working with local architects and local builders, they took the roof off, the insides out and made the sort of space they could only ever have dreamed of.
It was put on the market as a holiday cottage at the end of 2012 and the bookings poured in. By 2013 they were 60% full throughout the year and 2014 looks as if it will top 75%.
John passed away unexpectedly, suddenly and without warning at home on 21 June this year. His hard work and dedication to The Mill will be his legacy and a testimony to his love of the place.
So, now you know how The Mill became the "holiday cottage with a heart" - and you know whose heart it is that beats there.
"Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart
And I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
And I'll remember the years
When your mind was clear
How the laughter and life
Filled up this silent house"
Silent House, Dixie Chicks
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