The House at Ball Corner (circa 1904)
This was the house of Charles Nelson, tailor and grocer, situated in the village of Moor Monkton, 2 miles west of Red House. At that time Moor Monkton was an estate village in which nearly all the property and lands was owned by the Slingsby family (who also owned Red House). In 1900 a survey of the estate shows that the Nelsons paid £10.6s.10d (10 pounds six shillings and 10 pence) rent to the Slingsbys to live in the house and farm about 4 acres of land.
The sign above the door advertises sales of tea, coffee and tobacco and Mr and Mrs Nelson can be seen at the gate. It is rumoured that they eventually moved from here and went to live in the middle of Redhouse Wood. The house, which was built in about 1800 and demolished in 1939, stood at the east end of the village main street. The brick post with the stone sphere on top to the right of the building is one of a pair which marked the point where herders paid a toll for their stock to pass through and graze the village fields next to the River Nidd.
Photo donated by Val Webster