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• Family history brings guest to Gilcar Farm holiday cottages

At Gilcar Farm holiday cottages, we are used to guests from around the world, with visitors from everywhere from Netherlands to Qatar choosing to stay here. Most book with us to enjoy the countryside around the quiet village of Emley, near Huddersfield, but Saskia Poller had a very different reason to visit.

Saskia, from Wolverhampton, travelled to stay at Gilcar Farm after researching her family history and discovering that the 1881 census listed her great, great grandparents as living here. She was keen to see where her ancestors were from and what else she could learn about them.

The census records showed that John Jonathan Howard of London married Ann Wood from Denby Dale and that in 1881, they lived at Gilcar and his profession was “farmer of 101 acres”. Saskia went on to discover her great, great grandparents were buried at St Nicholas’ Church in nearby Upper Cumberworth, along with a number of other members of the Wood family.

Saskia’s quest to extend her family tree was helped by the farm’s current owners, Andrew and Angela Brook, who put her in touch with their architect, who is also a knowledgeable local historian. However, that was not the only reason Saskia enjoyed her time at Gilcar Farm’s holiday accommodation.

“We stayed in the converted farm workers’ cottage, adjacent to the farmhouse. It was amazing to think they had lived there and shared a similar view,” she explained. “It was a fantastic place to stay - beautifully appointed, loads of space, and lots of places to see and things to do.”

Gilcar Farm’s self-catering holiday cottages are an ideal base from which to visit West Yorkshire’s attractions, such as the Hepworth Gallery, Royal Armouries and National Coal Mining Museum, or tour the ruggedly beautiful local countryside.

For more information about our luxury holiday accommodation, get in touch with Gilcar Farm.