Lingholm is situated near Keswick Cumbria on the banks of Derwent Water. Lingholm was built in the 1870s by Alfred Waterhouse,  (who also built the Natural History Museum in London). The house was originally commissioned by Colonel J F Greenall, as a weekend family retreat.

It was purchased by George Kemp, the first Lord Rochdale, in 1890. In the First World War, it was a military hospital.During the Second World War, the house was also a home for evacuee children from the Northeast, including a group of Austrian refugee children. Lingholm was given Grade II historic listing by English Heritage in 2013.

The house and gardens remained in the Kemp family until 2013.  At that time, the property and the remaining family belongings, historical papers and medals were either sold or otherwise disposed of by the 2nd Viscount, St. John Durival Rochdale (who suffered from Alzheimers and dementia)  and his 2nd wife The Dowager Viscountess Norma Elizabeth Rochdale.

During the First World War, Lingholm was converted into a military hospital to help wounded soldiers. The first picture shows the original front of the house with a large covered entrance. The house was reduced in size in the late 1920’s. The basic shape of the gardens remained the same. The stone room, the largest room in the house with all of the belongings shown, remained largely intact until the late 1990’s.

Lingholm was as much about the people as it was the house and the estate. An integral part of Lingholm were the skilled professionals who worked and often lived on the estate. These included farmers, foresters, gardeners, joiners, personal secretary and other key staff who helped with the day-to-day running of the house, properties and tea room. They made the estate what is was and befriended and were really important people in the lives of the Kemp children as they grew up.

The entrance to Bryony’s garden shown below (bottom row, far left), was a garden built to commemorate the life of Bryony Kemp, the daughter of John and Elinor Rochdale.