Inside the home built in middle of M62 motorway as owners explain why it's there

03 February 2024 , 12:00

1178     0

Stoll Hall Farm sits in the middle of the M62 motorway (Image: Channel 4)

One of the most famous houses in the north of England can be found slap bang in the middle of the M62 motorway - and now the owners have finally explained why.

The two sides of the busy motorway, which links Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, split around the property before merging together again a few miles further on.

For decades, urban myths have surrounded the white washed building, named Stott Hall Farm, and the fields around it. One popular rumour was that the owner of the farm, Ken Wild, had refused to sell it when plans for the six-lane carriage way were approved. And as a result, planners had to come up with a solution and decided to build the road around it when construction began in the 1960s.

Stott Hall Farm, near Huddersfield in Yorkshire, sits in the middle of the M62 (PA)

Ken was living there at the time with his wife, Beth, and their flock of sheep. But rather than being a rebel who was taking a stand, Ken was nothing of the sort.

A documentary, filmed almost 20 years after the motorway was completed, has revealed the truth about why the farm is in the middle of a motorway. Filmed in 1983 and released a few years ago by the British Film Institute (BFI), Clegg's People explains why the road could never have been built on the farm.

'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'

The house has attracted urban myths for decades (DAH Sports Images)

According to journalist Michael Clegg: "A geological fault beneath the farmhouse meant it was more practical for engineers to leave it rather than blast through and destroy it. Outside the noise is relentless but inside it's as peaceful and cosy as any farmhouse."

Ken and his wife Beth moved into the farmhouse in 1934 and always insisted the motorway didn't bother them - although Beth did admit it made cleaning harder as the sheer number of cars speeding past created a lot of dust.

The house accumulates plenty of dust (DAH Sports Images)

Heartbreakingly though, the couple did witness a few fatal crashes while they were living on the farm. But the nearest they came to disaster was 4.20am one morning when a 32ft lorry ended up overturned in their yard. Thankfully, "the driver climbed out through the windscreen. He wasn't hurt at all".

Just over a decade ago, sheep farmer Paul Thorp and his wife, Jill Falkingham-Thorp, bought the farm, and they now live there with their son, John-William. They look after more than 900 ewes and 20 Angus cattle, which can be seen grazing on moorland beyond the motorway.

Stott Hall Farm is run by sheep farmers Paul Thorp and his wife Jill, who live there with their son, John-William (DAH Sports Images)

The family love living at the unique property (DAH Sports Images)

They completely renovated the home, which dates back to 1737, and Jill has always insisted it's no different to living anywhere else. "Traffic is very close," she told the Manchester Evening News. "But it's always windy here, which takes the pollution away. Students from the University of Huddersfield took soil and air samples and actually pollution is surprisingly low. We have treble glazing and it's no different to living anywhere that has a road."

The family have to deal with constant noise (Channel 5)

The only thing that can be a frustration is the constant noise, which Jill says she's "sensitive" to. But she stressed she loved living in her unusual home. "A lot of people say it's bleak and like Wuthering Heights but I don't see it like that. I think it's beautiful."

Appearing on Channel 4's show 'The Pennines: Backbone of Britain, Paul said: "To get an opportunity to take on a farm this size were once in a lifetime, so it's my home now. It's just everything."

He added: "It's just like any other farm really. You've got to know your land, know your job and plan around it. The only thing is we've got six lanes of traffic through ours. It throws up its challenges, it's very unique."

Referring to the traffic, he added: "The mind boggles as to where everybody is going. I just cannot get me head around where everybody's going every day."

Gemma Strong