THE popular Graveyard Trails have revealed incredible ancestors in the quiet village of Long Preston.

Settle Graveyard Project is sharing the fascinating history it has uncovered on the old church yard and Baptist burial ground.

‘The Boar’s Head and Beyond’ and ‘The 19th Century Rollercoaster’ are at St Mary’s Church on Sundays September 4 and 11 at 2.30pm and ‘Unbelievable Baptist Burials’ is at Long Preston Baptist Burial Ground on Sunday, September 18, also at 2.30pm.

These are free although donations are welcome to support local charities.

See below on how to book your place.

In the meantime, Sarah shares a sample story from ‘The 19th Century Rollercoaster’ trail:

On the hillside between Long Preston and Settle we find The Riddings farm, the home of a wealthy family, surely? Yes, indeed and the Tennant family were generous too.

The family arrived at The Riddings from Kirkby Malham during the 1780s. They farmed over 500 acres, most used for pasture, some for hay, a few oats and 80 sheep. The Tennants were involved in the droving trade but then invested in the railways so successfully that they didn’t need to work any more.

The family donated £500 to start the effort to build Holy Ascension Church in Settle and John Tennant was praised for ‘generous conduct’ at the time of the cattle plague in 1866, donating money to those most badly affected.

John’s brother, Charles Tennant, was a young man starting his career farming at Arnford, south of Long Preston.

In 1855 Charles married Margaret Kendal and she became pregnant very soon after. Eight months later, Charles spent the afternoon at a farm auction, a quarter of a mile away. He got too much liquor and was taken home at about six in the evening.’He had a hearty meal and went to bed to be woken by the screams of his wife who had begun labour.

Charles, being a good husband, immediately left his home in Wigglesworth to fetch a nurse from Wigglesworth Hall. It was very dark and he never returned. The river was searched without success. The family put out a description of Charles, ‘about 5 feet, 6 or 7 inches height, light complexion, light curly hair and whiskers, and dressed in a dark brown shooting coat, a pair of grey trousers, with a dark stripe down the sides, a white cotton shirt with a red and black spotted front. That seems a very progressive fashion for 1856. A pair of Blucher shoes - a formal dress shoe, not ideal for hiking across fields - and a grey cap. A ‘handsome reward’ was offered for information. Eight days later Charles’ body was found in the Ribble having unfortunately missed his way and walked right into the river. The alcohol probably didn’t help.

Can you imagine what wife Margaret must have been going through? Newly widowed Margaret gave birth to a son, John William Tennant and returned to Clapham and, nine years later married a wealthy farmer and had many more children. John William died aged 23.

Brother James Tennant was a solicitor’s clerk in Liverpool but died of tuberculosis, aged just 27, leaving a wife and an infant son William Edward Tennant who was brought up by his mum and step father, a physician. Despite never having lived in Long Preston, William Edward Tennant became the sole heir to The Riddings estate when John Tennant died, unmarried, in 1886.

William Edward Tennant was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford and became a solicitor. He married Eliza Jane Lancaster, a London merchant’s daughter in 1884. William Edward didn’t need to work and enjoyed ‘Buxton Hydrotherapeutic Establishment’. He was president of the Long Preston Conservative Club for several years.

William Edward and Eliza Jane sang and played at fundraising concerts for the church.

William Edward died in 1897, aged 43 from heart failure just as he was about to eat dinner at The Riddings. There were no children to this marriage and so this was the end of the Tennant family at The Riddings. The enormous estate was split between William Edward’s widow and maternal relations.

Widow Eliza Jane moved to London and lived with nieces until her death 42 years later.

The three (very wordy) Tennant gravestones in Long Preston graveyard are close together and commemorate the lives of different generations of the Tennant family, a reminder that money doesn’t necessarily bring happiness.

Book your place on the graveyard trails by phoning 015242 51002, or in person from The Folly in Settle.

Details on the YDMT website, ’Settle Graveyard Project’ Facebook page, or settleresearch@gmail.com