
Howley Hall is a ruined
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personif ...
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhouse (Great Britain), town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the cit ...
located between the towns of
Batley
Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of t ...
and
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* ...
in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
, England. It has been designated a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
since 1997.
The hall was built by
Sir John Savile
Sir John Savile (1546–1607) was an English lawyer and judge.
Life
He was the eldest son of Henry Savile of Bradley, near Stainland, Yorkshire, by his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of Robert Ramsden; Sir Henry Savile and Thomas Savile were ...
, a Yorkshire politician and courtier, at the end of the 16th century. It remained in the hands of the Savile family until 1671, and was the site of fighting during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
in 1643. Subsequently it passed into the hands of the
Brudenell family, under whose ownership the hall deteriorated and was eventually demolished between 1717 and 1730.
History
Howley Hall was built by
John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pontefract
John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pontefract (1556 – 31 August 1630) was an English politician. He was M.P. for Lincoln (1586), Sheriff of Lincolnshire (1590), knight of the shire for Yorkshire (1597, 1614, 1624 and 1626), ''custos rotulorum'' ...
, probably between 1585 and 1590. Savile, who held a number of county offices in Yorkshire, was part of a new protestant political elite that emerged from the
English Reformation. Like many of his contemporaries, he sought to show his status through the construction of an impressive
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhouse (Great Britain), town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the cit ...
. He employed a local architect, Abraham Ackroyd, to design the hall, which was built in an
Elizabethan style
Elizabethan architecture refers to buildings of a certain style constructed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland from 1558–1603. Historically, the era sits between the long era of the dominant architectural style o ...
reminiscent of the work of
Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 155 ...
.
The hall remained in the possession of the Savile family for just under a century. Upon John's death in 1630 it was inherited by his son,
Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex
Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex (bap. 14 September 1590c. 1659) was an English politician.
Biography
Thomas Savile was the son of John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pomfret, by his second wife, Elizabeth Carey, sister of Henry Cary, 1st Viscou ...
. During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
(1642–1651) Lord Sussex vacillated between supporting the
Royalists and the
Parliamentarians, but he left the Hall in the keeping of his relative Sir John Savile of Lupset, a Parliamentarian.
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented comman ...
used it as a base of operations for the Parliamentary
capture of Wakefield
The Capture of Wakefield occurred during the First English Civil War when a Parliamentarian force attacked the Royalist garrison of Wakefield, Yorkshire. The Parliamentarians were outnumbered, having around 1,500 men under the command of S ...
in May 1643, which prompted Royalist forces under the
Earl of Newcastle
Earl of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1623 in favour of Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox. He was made Duke of Richmond at the same time. For information on thi ...
to launch a retaliatory attack on
Bradford. To ensure the Parliamentary garrison couldn't attack his rear, Newcastle marched on Howley Hall, and after a short siege, Sir John of Lupset surrendered. It then served as Newcastle's base in the decisive
Battle of Adwalton Moor
The Battle of Adwalton Moor occurred on 30 June 1643 at Adwalton, West Yorkshire, during the First English Civil War. In the battle, the Royalists loyal to King Charles led by the Earl of Newcastle soundly defeated the Parliamentarians com ...
(some to the northwest of Howley), which gave the Royalists control of Yorkshire until
Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...
.
Although it is commonly believed locally that the hall was destroyed during the 1643 siege,
it actually sustained little damage, and was returned to the Savile family when Lord Sussex defected to the Parliamentarians. After falling from favour in 1646, he retired to Howley and made significant additions to the building. In 1661 it was inherited by his son James Savile.
When James died without issue in 1671, the hall passed into the hands of
Brudenell family: Frances, James' sister and heir, was married to the son of
Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan
Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan, 2nd Baron Brudenell (5 March 1607 – 16 July 1703) was an English nobleman.
Origins
He was born on 5 March 1607, the son of Thomas Brudenell, 1st Earl of Cardigan (c. 1593–1663) by his wife Mary Tresha ...
. Its deterioration probably began at this time, as although the Brudenell family owned it for two and a half centuries, they apparently had no interest in living there. After James Savile's death in 1671, it was rented out to three tenant families, and by 1711 local people had begun reusing the stone in other buildings. Records show that some of the furnishings were sold to the Old Presbyterian Chapel in Bradford in 1719, and others are known to have ended up in the nearby Chief Bailiff's House (now Howley Hall Golf Club) and Thorpe Hall in
Thorpe on the Hill. To save the Brudenells the cost of maintenance, the buildings were finally demolished with gunpowder between 1717 and 1730, leaving the hall in its current ruined state.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Howley Hallin ''Leodis, a photographic archive of Leeds''
Country houses in West Yorkshire
Ruined houses
Elizabethan architecture
English Civil War
Geography of Batley
Scheduled monuments in West Yorkshire
Massacres during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Massacres in 1643