You are Visitor No:
A Brief History of Eccleshill, West Yorkshire, England
About four billion years ago planet Earth was formed from space dust, at first there was only one continent named Pangea. Eventually this continent broke up under tectonic forces and the British Isles were formed, with Eccleshill somewhere near the middle.
The nearby towns of Yeadon, Rawdon and Baildon all had pre-Roman settlements so it's fair to assume there was also pre-Roman activity in this area. During roman times two Roads ran through Eccleshill (the Bank & Norman Lane)
The source of the name Eccleshill is believed to be derived from one of three sources, either Church Hill; the Domesday book refers to "Egleshill " which could mean Eagle Hill or refer to a Saxon named Aikel or Eckil. (See below)
Eccleshill was given by William the conquerer to William, the Earl of Warren (modern economists have calculated that the Earl of Warren was in todays money the richest man in British history). At this time Eccleshill fell under Wakefield rather than Bradford. During the middle ages Eccleshill was transferred from Wakefield to Bradford parish, to this day Bradford pays a nominal amount to Wakefield in recompense. In 1274 ownership was granted to the Sheffields of Sheffield who held until 1362.
Around 1407 ownership passed to Bolling family of Calverley then the Scargills of Burnley, there then followed a series of owners including; the Saviles, the Wyatts, the Zouches, the Stanhopes of Horsforth, the Hirds, Jeremiah Rawson of Northowram. Today of course ownership is split amongst many people, business and Bradford Council.
Some points of interest
Stony Lane - Said to be named after a missionary was stoned to death by the locals. It is also believed that, as a result Eccleshill was shunned by the religous authorities. A goat (or sheep) was released and wound up in Dewsbury, hence Eccleshill fell under the parish of Dewsbury. A less colourful version is that it got it's name because the area was stony! (see photo)
Eccleshill Old Wesleyan Chapel - Located behind the Victoria pub, For the last 150 years has been used as a workshop. Built in 1775 by the great and good of the area (John Child, Joshua Hall, Abraham Kitson, Moses Crabtree, John Page, Thomas Yewdell, Thomas Reed, William Read & Thomas Lee). John Wesley preached here in 1776, a new chapel on Stony Lane was built in 1854. It is rumoured the houses in front of the chapel were built as an act of spite to block the chapel by a Methodist minister (see photo)
"Monkey Bridge" - At the junction of Victoria Road & Stoney Lane (Towngate) there once was a small lock-up. This has been bricked up but the entrance is still visible (see Photo)
The Bank - Runs from near the swimming baths on Harrogate Road up to the Victoria Hotel, this route dates back to Roman times, part of a road stretching from Newcastle to Wales. Norman Lane also follows the course of a Roman road.
The Black Death - The plague started in China and spread westwards, reaching England in 1349. Eccleshill was not spared and the population halved down to less than 100. Nearby Bolton appears to heve been entirely depopulated.
The Ring 'O' Bells pub - This well known pub at the junction of Victoria Road, Harrogate Road & Pullan Avenue was originally known as the "Hammer & Anvil" as the site of St Lukes Church opposite was originally a blacksmiths. The pubs' name is something of a misnomer since St Lukes does not , and never has had any bells. (See Photo)
The "Pinfold" - In medievel times a Pinfold was an enclosure where stray farm animals where kept until claimed for a fee, this is where the surname Pinder originates from. The Pinfold in Eccleshill was adjacent to the present location of number 13 Stony Lane. In 1507 William Gayfe was fined 3s 4d (about 17p or 25 US cents) for breaking into the Pinfold (See Photo)
Note, an Eccleshillonian now resident in LA (not David Hockney!) sent this in..
"I was recently reading a book about Bradford by Joseph Fieldhouse which talked about Bradford having a link with Christianity of the roman occupation I quote "Eccleshill. The first part of the name almost certainly goes back the Celtic word "ecles" from the Latin "ecclesia" meaning "church", showing that there was a place of worship at Eccleshill, perhaps before the Romans left."
Anecdotes of Eccleshill
The Good Old Days, 1940's life - submitted by Val Smith
If anyone has any interesting information on the history of Eccleshill, please e-mail me
You are Visitor No: |