Heaton Mount

Following on from yesterday's post, our friendly guide also took us into the Heaton Mount mansion. Built in 1866, in Italianate-Baroque style by local architect J T Fairbank, it originally belonged to the Kell family and then in 1889 it was sold to textile manufacturer John Ambler, the owner of Midland Mills (for £9750, about £1.5 million today). It was later owned by Arthur Crossland, remaining in private hands until the 1950s, when it became a convent school and was eventually subsumed into the University's Management Centre site as the post-graduate centre. 

I'm assuming that this wonderful photo (above) that I spotted on the wall in the mansion is John Ambler and his family. I've found the 1891 census, when John was 62, living with his wife Edith Alice (34, née Gates) and, at that time, a son John Norman aged 2 and an infant daughter Mabel in Heaton Mount. I've found a death notice for his wife Edith Alice, who died on 21 February 1900 aged just 43. How sad. On the next census, 1901, John (72) is shown as a widower, still living at Heaton Mount with his daughters Mabel (10) and Grace Eveline (5); sons Ernest (9), George (7), and Charles (4) - and a multitude of housekeepers, servants and a nurse domestic to look after the children. The oldest boy, John, was 12 in 1901 and I found him at boarding school in Harrogate. It looks like the photo dates from around that time or perhaps a little later. (I wondered whether it was taken to commemorate John's 75th birthday?)  John Ambler Snr died, aged 82, on 25 June 1910. He had been chairman of Jeremiah Ambler & Sons Ltd, mohair and worsted spinners. He was a senior magistrate and a member and alderman of Bradford Council. Clearly one of those illustrious, industrious Victorian gentlemen who left us such a fine legacy in this area. 

The mansion still has a magnificent staircase and wonderful stained glass, fine oak panelling and ornate plasterwork. 

Regrettably, with only my phone and with having to take quick snaps as I walked, I haven't really been able to do it justice in these photos. I did want to record it all though, as it was such a treat to be able to see the interiors again, holding so many amazing memories of my time as a student there.