Rereading: THE GRANGE AT HIGH FORCE by Philip Turner

The second in Turner’s Darnley Mills series about three boys in a small coastal town in northern England, following “Colonel Sheperton’s Clock.” Peter is the son of the rector, a science whiz and inventor; David is the practical son of the town’s carpenter and recently recovered from surgery to repair the lame leg he was born with; Arthur is the son of a sheep farmer on the high moor just outside town, and knows animals and the wild moors. They spend most of their time together, and in this book are often at High Grange, a lonely manor house in the hills recently bought and renovated by retired Admiral Beauchamp-Troubridge and his servant Guns Kelly. The boys are initially drawn to the ancient cannons the Admirable has placed on his terrace, and then to the project of restoring the small church next door, fallen into disrepair and full of pigeons. The Admiral has one neighbor, Miss Cadell-Twitten, the actual owner of High Grange, who has leased it to the Admiral. Miss Cadell-Twitten is a bird lover, and her small house and large garden are a bird sanctuary.

The mystery the boys must solve is the whereabouts of a statue of Mary and other items removed from the Darnley Mills church two hundred or so years earlier by an architect hired to work on the church and also High Grange. The statue belongs to the church, but has been missing for most of those years. While investigating, the boys join forces with the Admiral and Guns to try firing the old cannons, search into town history, and work on Peter’s creations. Then they’re all caught in a freak blizzard that takes everyone by surprise, and leads to rescues and discoveries.

Well written, wonderful characters, highly recommended.

The Grange at High Force by Philip Turner

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