No Boats on Bannermere
No Boats on Bannermere is a 1949 children's novel by Geoffrey Trease, the first of his Bannerdale series. The books are school stories set in the Lake District in Cumberland.
William “Bill” Melbury and his younger sister Susan move with their mother from post‑war London to Beckfoot Cottage in Bannermere. Their mother inherited the cottage from a cousin, but must live there for five years. They attend local schools: Bill goes to Winthwaite Grammar School and Susan to a county secondary school. Bill befriends Tim Darren, and Susan befriends Penelope (Penny) Morchard.
Cousin Fay also owns a rowboat, and the children row to the island of Brant Holm in the lake. Bannermere Hall’s owner, Sir Alfred Askew, stops the farmer from using the boathouse by the lake. Sir Alfred, who recently bought the property after retiring from India, acts like a local squire.
The children uncover an ancient burial in Sir Alfred’s woods: five skeletons that may date from Viking times, which Sir Alfred has not reported to the police. An inquest is held. Bill later spots on an aerial photo a burial on the island. They investigate and dig up another skeleton, but are interrupted by Sir Alfred and his friend Matson, an antique dealer. They also find silver dishes and flagons that could be monastery treasure from St Coloumbs Abbey in Yorkshire. At the inquest the items are declared treasure trove because the skeleton was Christian and buried facing east with hands crossed. Each of the four children receives 300 pounds as a reward. Sir Alfred argues it could be a heathen Norse burial, in which case the items would belong to the landowner. Matson might have sold them for a fortune in America.
Bannermere sits beside a lake, with Black Banner mountain across the water. Trease wrote that Bannerdale is based on places he knew, and that the Bannerdale novels are set in present-day day schools rather than historical tales. The story centers on two boys and two girls, and it touches on family difficulties, such as their mother’s divorce and moves. The headmaster Kingsland is old-fashioned but caring, and Miss Florey, the headmistress, has worked with an archaeologist. William wants to be an author and buys a typewriter with his share of the reward.
Geoffrey Trease’s Bannerdale series has five novels in total.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:17 (CET).