History of the Macdonald Leeming House

The Bolton Family

The Boltons were colliery proprietors in the Accrington and Rossendale areas of Lancashire, employing over 1,500 men. Henry Hargreaves Bolton was a civil engineer by profession and by all accounts an ambitious and successful man and a great philanthropist. In 1852 Henry went to Australia to work on various engineering contracts including the Melbourne Water Works. Ten years later he returned to England to manage Rossendale Colliery. In 1868 he bought Heightside, Newchurch-in-Rossendale, and transformed it, adding two gothic wings, new stables and planting 69,000 trees. In 1898 when Henry bought the Leeming House Estate on Ullswater as his country residence the house itself was surrounded by some gardens and woodland and comprised of a croquet lawn, tennis lawn, Italian gardens, a shrubbery and serpentine walks. Apart from work, Henry's main hobby was horticulture in all its forms and the Leeming House gardens became proof of what could be achieved by skilfully laying out and judiciously selecting plants and shrubs. He collected many rare trees and shrubs during his travels.

In 1905 Henry died and was buried in the churchyard at Watermillock. Henry's eldest son remained in Lancashire and therefore did not live at Leeming House. It was Henry's second son, Edgar Ormeroyd, and his unmarried sister, Elizabeth, who took over the running of the estate at Leeming House. Edgar shared his father's love of horticulture and continued his work in developing the gardens and woodlands. Several photographs have been found showing the gardens before they were developed. In 1948, when Edgar Bolton died, Leeming House gardens were described as a miniture 'Kew Gardens' and an aboriculturalist's paradise, The collection was said to be one of the most complete in private ownership in the country.

Elisabeth Bolton (also known as Elsie) took over the running of the estate after her brother died. She was a very genteel and generous lady and is still remembered with affection by many Watermillock inhabitants even today. After her death in 1953, the estate was sold after 55 years in the Bolton family. The gardens at this time were described as 'unique' and visited by aboricultural societies because of the profusion and infinite variety of conifers, shrubs and plants. They are most attractively designed, with winding walks between clipped yew hedges giving glimpses of the lake between tall banks of rhododendrons (of which there are over 360 varieties) and other flowering shrubs with rockeries, formal walks and lawns.

In 1953 the Leeming House Estate comprised of four farms, two dwelling houses, two lodges, a garden cottage, free lake fishery and 800 yards of lake frontage totaling 335 acres. Since that time there have been several owners. Mr. William Oliver, a civil engineer from Northumberland, owned the estate from 1953-1963 and he was responsible for introducing electricity to the house. The Scotto family from County Durham and then the Harrison family from nearby Penrith also owned the property briefly and it was during this period that the estate was reduced in size with various parts being sold off.

It is interesting to note that in 1963 the estate was for sale and the Lakes Planning Board considered buying Leeming to develop as the National Park Centre. They considered using the house as an information centre and catering outlet, then developing the grounds as botanical gardens with picnic areas on the lake shore and using the outbuildings as holiday accommodation The plan never materialised and the estate was sold privately. It was also thought that the planning board had shelved their plan due to the high running costs and that perhaps it was not central enough to be the National Park Centre.

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