The author, a geography graduate of the University of Nottingham, spent her working life in teaching. She, and her husband and fellow researcher, John Gowling, both have post-graduate degrees in history from the University of Lancaster. The Gowling family has been associated with Brough for over four hundred years.

The author, a geography graduate of the University of Nottingham, spent her working life in teaching. She, and her husband and fellow researcher, John Gowling, both have post-graduate degrees in history from the University of Lancaster. The Gowling family has been associated with Brough for over four hundred years.