A GRADE II listed cottage that once housed a treasure trove for miners’ artwork is up for sale.

Bonny Moor Cottage may look like any ordinary stone-built cottage in Weardale but looking closer it has a fascinating history. Located on Harthope Road in St John’s Chapel the cottage is surrounded by the picturesque Weardale countryside the cottage has a tale to tell, owned by several generations of the Egglestone family, who lived and worked in the property.

The property is well known historically by the people of the dale due to its last occupant Doreen Egglestone who lived in the cottage for many years taking pride in the garden. The house is a Bastle house, a type of fortified farmhouse with extremely thick walls for defence, built at an unstable time in British history. Sheep bone pegs keep the slate roof in place, an original feature that would have been hand carved by the builder. The byres and lofts may date back to the 17th century and many original features remain like the original fireplaces; through the generations the house has changed little with just a few minor modernisations like electricity and so the house still stands as a window to the past. Sadly, its last owner Mrs Egglestone passed away last year which has led her nephews to put the house up for sale. Mrs Egglestone was a well-known character, with many in the dale knowing of her. She kept the door open for a traveller who wanted to know more about the property and its antiques.

Nephew of the last owner David Coates said: “It’s a typical dales cottage, people used to stop and take pictures of the garden.”

The house was also home to Europe’s largest spar box which it was owned by the Egglestone family. The box was built back in 1904 and contains stuffed birds, mosses and minerals, over the years it become a well-known object of St John’s Chapel. It stood proud in Bonny Moor cottage for many years ¬- one of the ceiling beams was cut away to allow it to stand in the room. However, it left Weardale for a brief period after being sold at auction. In 2003 Friends of Killhope mounted a National Spar Box Exhibition and brought the box back to Weardale for the exhibition.

David Heatherington of the Weardale museum said: “Spar boxes were made by lead miners as a sort of craft item to show off the beautiful crystals of fluorspar which they collected from the mine. Fluorspar was a waste product in the lead mining industry with no commercial value at that time.”

Spar boxes became great works of art made by the miners, who would work on them in their spare time or when the mine was closed. The designs became more intricate with the Egglestone spar box made to look like a Victorian street, with lights allegedly wired up by German prisoners of War and once had German toy cars lining the streets.

The property is on sale at PennieWays and is up for auction on February 8 at the Golden Lion, St John’s Chapel at 12 noon.

If you are interested in viewing the property contact PennieWays on 01434-381808, or via their website www.pennie-ways.co.uk