The Grange at High Force is a children's novel by Philip Turner, published by Oxford in 1965 with illustrations by William Papas. It was the second book published in the author's Darnley Mills series. Turner won the annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. The Grange is a former farming estate above Darnley Mills, a fictional mill town in North East England or North Yorkshire, between the moors and the North Sea. It features both comic and dramatic episodes in a contemporary setting with strong links to the past. In the US it was published by World Publishing Company (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1967 with illustrations by W. T. Mars. Plot introduction The story begins about a year after the end of Colonel Sheperton's Clock, the first in the series. The three boys who are the main characters are firm friends, despite their different characters and interests. David, the former lame dreamer, is now entirely recovered from the operation on his leg, and participates fully in the physically active pursuits of his friends. They all attend King Charles II Grammar School. David and Peter are choirboys, but Arthur is temporarily out of the choir as his voice has broken. Much of the story takes place on the moors above the fictional town of Darnley Mills, over the course of a year, from one spring to the next, covering the period of the Admiral's tenancy at Folly Grange. The focus is particularly on the joint activities of the three boys and the men at the Grange. As in the first book, there is also an historically-based mystery to be solved. Plot summary The novel opens in All Saints' church in Darnley Mills. Some time ago, Peter constructed a Roman ballista and accidentally broke a window in the church while testing it. Two pigeons, taking advantage of the broken window, built a nest in the nave. "Operation Bird's Nest" is now underway, with Arthur climbing up to remove the nest. The gathered crowd below are (quite unnecessarily) concerned for his safety, except for Miss Cadell-Twitten, who is still seething about the ejection of the birds from the church. Arthur poses in an empty niche, which Mr Pritchard explains once held a statue of the Virgin Mary. The same day, the three friends set off to explore High Force on the moors, to see the waterfall and the