The House in the Rock

This is in Knaresborough, a very old town in North Yorkshire. Overlooking the river is a large crag, on the top are the remains of the castle. At the bottom of the crag is ‘The House in the Rock’.

The house was excavated from the crag by a local linen weaver, Thomas Hill, and his son between 1770 and 1781 on land owned by the Slingsby family. Thomas lived here with his wife and six of their seven children.

The house had four rooms, one on top of the other. The separate building at the top was used as a tea room for visitors. It was generally open to visitors as a tourist attraction and was occupied by descendants of Thomas until 1996.

For most of the 20th Century the house was owned by Ampleforth Abbey, and was sold to a private buyer in 2000, hence the padlock on the door.

Not sure who the soldier is, no info on that.