Esholt is a village between
Shipley and
Guiseley, in the
metropolitan district of the
City of Bradford,
West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre , south-west of Guiseley Main Street , north of
Bradford City Centre, and north-west of
Millennium Square, Leeds
Millennium Square is a city square in the Civic Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was Leeds's flagship project to mark the year 2000, and was jointly funded by Leeds City Council and the Millennium Commission. Total cost of production ...
.
The name "Esholt" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area of
ash trees.
History
In the 12th century, the Esholt estate was owned by
Syningthwaite Priory
Syningthwaite Priory was a priory in West Yorkshire, England. Syningthwaite is the site of the Cistercian convent of St Mary, founded by Bertram Haget and suppressed in 1535, having been heavily in debt in the early 16th century. At the Dis ...
, and
Esholt Priory
Esholt Priory was a Cistercian priory in West Yorkshire, England which was sold after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the present Grade II* listed Esholt Hall now stands on the site of the priory.
Esholt Priory
The priory was buil ...
, a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
nunnery
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
dedicated to St Mary and St Leonard was established at Lower Esholt.
When the nunnery was dissolved in about 1547 the estate was granted to Henry Thompson by
Edward VI.
In the 17th century Frances Thompson, the heiress of Henry Thompson married Walter Calverley (1629–1694).
In 1709 their son
Walter Calverley built Esholt Hall, a