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The Northrop and Lingard families came to Embsay in the late 1860’s from Thornton near Bradford, and ran a cotton and worsted spinning business at Millholme as J Northrop & Co., with Jonathan Northrop as the senior partner, and Priestley Lingard, his brother in law, as manager. Jonathan Northrop, his wife Sarah and their seven children lived at West House, at the bottom of West Lane; with Priestley Lingard, his wife Tamar and their three children living nearby.

The tragedy occurred on Saturday 11^th May 1872, when 7 year old Martha (Patty) Northrop, and Agnes and Elizabeth Lingard, aged 3 and 2, drowned in the Millholme Mill dam. It was reported in many regional newspapers, mainly in brief, with some adding that the three little girls were ‘daughters of very respectable parents’.

The inquest revealed that on Saturday morning, 11^th May, Mr & Mrs Northrop had gone to Grassington leaving their youngest two children Fred, 12, and Martha aged 7, at home. Shortly after noon Martha called at Mrs Lingard’s house and asked if her daughters Agnes and Elizabeth, aged 3 and 2, could play with her in the garden. ‘Mrs Lingard consented and the three little ones went away to enjoy themselves together; but this was the last time they were seen alive.’ After playing in the garden Martha took them up West Lane and down the footpath to the dam, which was described as being just at the back of the Engine Shed and divided into two sections, the high dam being 70 yards by 35 wide, and the low dam 43 yards by 8 yards wide, and more like a channel.

It was at the low dam that a raft was kept by Martha’s older brother Isaac Northrop, which  was ‘five or six planks nailed together, its dimensions being about 5 long by 4 feet square’. The water level was about 12 inches below the bank which was ‘steep and slimy’. It was surmised that the older girl, holding the hands of the smaller ones, had stepped onto the raft which was forced away from the bank and she fell into the water dragging the other two with her.

Sometime later, Martha’s brother Fred Northrop, who was ‘bird nesting’ with a friend, came to the bank and saw a child’s hood floating in the dam. He got on the raft to reach it and saw the body of 2 year old Elizabeth Lingard under the water ‘in an upright position with the hands extended’. They immediately went to the house adjoining the engine shed where Thomas & Mary Ann Breakell lived with their two young children. Mrs Breakell then ran to the Cavendish Arms to get her husband who came back with another man named Mason who retrieved the body and brought it back to the Cavendish Arms and a doctor was sent for.

Only later was it realised that the other two children were also missing. A search was made and neighbours concluded that they were also in the water and shortly after the body of Martha Northrop was found. However, as no trace could be found of the remaining body, the outlet of the dam was opened and when the water had gone down 18 inches ‘one of the men boarded the raft and with a pole to which was attached two hooks proceeded to drag the dam’. Ten minutes later the body of 3 year old Agnes Lingard was found.

Shortly after, the news was broken to Mrs Lingard, whose husband was visiting Thornton; and later to Mr & Mrs Northrop when they returned from Grassington.  

The inquest was held on the Monday evening at the Cavendish Arms by deputy coroner Mr T P Brown, and the jury returned a verdict of ‘Accidentally Drowned’.

It was later reported that 12 year old Jim Nutter of Embsay had given evidence at the inquest but it was not included as the coroner considered it unreliable. It was nevertheless included in a report in the Craven Herald, along with a comment from the boy’s schoolmaster Mr Robert Swinburn of Embsay British School, that ‘although not one of the brightest of his scholars, he had never found him to be otherwise than a truth speaking lad’. Jim Nutter’s evidence was that he was standing in a gateway on West Lane and saw the three little girls walking towards the raft. He shouted at them and they went away. He later saw the elder girl fall in the water dragging the others with her. He said at the inquest that he became frightened and ran away and didn’t mention the incident to anyone until long after the bodies had been recovered.

The day after the inquest the coffins of the three children were conveyed from Millholme in one hearse, to New Road Independent Chapel at Thornton, with the bodies of the two little sisters having been placed in one coffin. They were buried at Thornton Cemetery.

The Northrop’s continued in business at Millholme until the early 1880’s and in 1881 employed 210 Embsay people. Millholme Mill was also known locally known as ‘The Shade’, and the ‘Shade dam’. Many years later it was filled in and is now part of the Nature reserve.

David Turner, Embsay with Eastby Historical Research Group