Shepley
Encyclopedia
Shepley is a village in the civil parish
of Kirkburton
, in Kirklees
, West Yorkshire
, England
, and in the Diocese of Wakefield
. It lies 8 miles (12.9 km) south south east of Huddersfield
and 6 miles (9.7 km) north west of Penistone
.
In the 2001 census the population of Shepley and Birdsedge
was 3,044.
- Skipton
road) to Huddersfield
through to Barnsley
and Sheffield
and by the A635
/A636 to Wakefield
through to Holmfirth
. Shepley railway station
is on the Penistone line
which runs from Huddersfield
to Sheffield
.
services), a Methodist chapel, a first school catering for children aged between 4 and 10 years, a library and information point, a newly-built health centre and pharmacy, and dentist's surgery. Shops include a post office, newsagent and a small independent Co-op
that sells award-winning pork pies.
The Black Bull and The Farmers Boy are the two public houses near the centre of the village. The Sovereign Inn, The Cask and Spindle and The Cross Roads Inn all lie on the periphery.
Shepley has a small primary school, known as Shepley First School
. It is a primary school serving infants, aged 4 – 10 that are currently living in the village.
There is a long tradition of music making in the village and Shepley Band is a very successful group of amateur musicians playing brass and woodwind instruments.
, Leeds
and Sheffield
.
written in 1086. However, evidence exists of even earlier occupation in the area at Castle Hill (not to be confused with Castle Hill, Huddersfield
), a small hilltop above Birdsedge
that contains defensive works which might have been a Roman station.
Shepley is situated on one of several local leys comprising Crossley, Longley, Shepley, Shelley
, Emley
, East Midgley, Coxley, Stanley, Scholey, Methley
and Astley. The ley idea was introduced by antiquarian Alfred Watkins in his book 'The Old Straight Track' in 1925. He suggested that the ancient British used high points and hill tops as sighting points to help them navigate in a straight line and that 'ley' or 'leigh' place names actually mean "a grassy track across country". He perceived that many later Roman roads followed these straight ancient tracks. Some people also associate leys with the occult.
1069-1070 when the king laid to waste towns and villages between the Scottish border and the River Humber in order to put down a northern rebellion against his Norman
rule. Thousands of people were put to the sword. However, the village was soon back in political favour, as in 1217, a certain Matthew of Sheplei was knighted and his name appears in the records of the Beaumont family of Whitley Beaumont
and later of Bretton Hall near Wakefield
.
There is a reference to Shepley in the Inquisitions Post Mortem, written in the 33rd year of Henry III's reign (1249).
"Extent. The vigil of St. Matthew, 33 Hen. III.
Scheplay alias Sepeleya town, a capital messuage, 6l. rents from free tenants, 6s. 10d. from cottars, a mill, a little wood, &c. tenure unspecified."
If the township of Shepley was subinfeudated before 1166, Shepley's mesne tenancy would have been held by William de Neville, husband of Amabel, daughter of Adam, son of Sveinn. By the 13th century, the tenancy had passed to the Burgh family. Shepley Hall, situated on Station Road, was the manor house
for the village. In 1361 Robert de Goldthorpe, who was also known as Robert Robertson (his father's name was Robert), married Esabell de Shepley and, as a result inherited part of the manor and estates of Shepley. In 1542, during the reign of Henry VIII
(Tudor) Thomas Goldthorpe sold his share of Shepley manor and other lands for £290 to a certain Richard Stansfield and thereby appeared to terminate the family's connection with the manor. However, in the local fines records for 1543, it states "William Goldthorp, gent [held the] Manor of Shepley, also called Shepley Hall, and tenements in Shepley and [Kirk]Burton http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=49628.
Farming would have been the village's main industry, although the wool trade started to grow from the 14th century onwards, gaining momentum following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
.
from Milnsbridge
House was Lord of the Manor. He was knighted for his role in suppressing the Luddites in the Huddersfield
area following the murder of Marsden mill owner William Horsfall in 1812.
In 1868 Shepley was described as a township and chapelry in the parish of Kirkburton
, upper division of Agbrigg Wapentake, West Riding County York. The village was also recorded as having 30 tailor's shops in a population of around 1,000. These would have sprung up as a result of the four mills around the village manufacturing fine woollen worsteds.
.
road. The Seniors eventually owned several public houses in the area, including the Railway (now the Cask and Spindle), The Black Bull, the Stagg's Head (the building can still be seen on Abbey Road), and the Farmer's Boy. The family also built Cliffe House. In 1946, the family business was taken over by Hammonds Brewery. The Senior family are all buried in the church yard at Upper Cumberworth
a few miles away.
A stone carving of a man's face - a Yorkshire tradition to commemorate any builder killed during construction work - can still be seen on the Eastern gable of the Sovereign Inn. But, some also think that the carving is of Seth Senior himself. Members of the Roebuck family lived on this site for over 70 years and held the tenancy when the famous Sovereign Anthem was written in 1929 to commemorate 100 years of the brewery
. Sarah Jane's death in 1976 ended Roebuck family ties with the Sovereign Inn.
in London
, and other famous landmarks. The Lindley family used to own the quarry situated on Carr Lane, but it has now become part of the Marshalls Group, as have Appleton Quarries situated on Holmfirth
Road. The son of a previous owner was once buried under a single tree next to the Round Wood above the quarry following a tragic accident in the late 1970s. However, his remains have now been re-interred elsewhere.
is only a few miles away, the wood may hold secrets yet to be discovered - after all, pagan burial sites were often circular in design!
and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike
which was built by Blind Jack of Knaresborough in 1825 following an Act of Parliament passed two years earlier. Another Turnpike between Saddleworth
and Shepley Lane Head via Holmfirth
was constructed around this time, having been surveyed by Thomas Dinsley in 1819. As the name of the building suggests, a toll
was collected at this point from travellers. The tolls were abolished on August 1, 1875.
route from Penistone
to Huddersfield
. Merchants would travel from Penistone
, through Thurlstone, along Broadstones Road and Dearne Dike Lane to Five Lane Ends, down Piper Wells Road, Cross Lane and Carr Lane, before turning down the long drive into Shepley Carr. The route would then follow the fields (before they were enclosed), past the Shepley War Memorial, and into the village. The travellers would then head out towards Stocksmoor
and Farnley Tyas
through Stones Wood (where Devil worship once took place). Some old locals tell stories of a ghostly coach and fours furiously speeding down the long drive on wintry nights before vanishing at the hamlet. The present house at Shepley Carr is the third building on this site and dates from the 1860s, replacing one that burnt down.
During the early 19th century, the Tinker family lived at Shepley Carr, and was responsible for building Tinker's Monument near Hill Top above New Mill. Deeds held at the West Yorkshire Archive Centre in Wakefield
suggest that the original house at Shepley Carr dates from the 16th century and was owned by the Armytage Family of Kirklees Hall. Locals believe that Oliver Cromwell
marched his army through Shepley Carr during the English Civil War
1642-1649. Roundheads, as the soldiers were known, were probably in Kirkburton
, and at Catlin or Catling (now Cat Hill) Hall near Penistone
, the latter having a holding post in the cellars upon which royalist prisoners were chained (see the ghost story concerning Catling Hall. Inside the parish church at Upper Cumberworth
, there is a chair that Oliver Cromwell
is reputed to have sat in.
. It seems highly likely that the site of 'Shepley Abbey' stands on some of this land.
The land and farm would have been granted off by Henry VIII following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in the 16th century, but the ownership is unclear until the house and farmland is mentioned in the papers of the Spencer-Stanhope family of Cannon Hall
between Cawthorne and High Hoyland. The Shepley Abbey property first appears in these papers in 1674 and is last mentioned in 1800.
The Abbey and Farm were owned in the 19th century by the Armitage Family who originally hailed from High Hoyland and are linked to the Spencer-Stanhopes. They owned one of the mills in Shepley, manufacturing fancy woollens.
(5 miles), Huddersfield
(8 miles), Barnsley
(8 miles), Wakefield
(12 miles), Leeds
(14 miles), Sheffield
(15 miles), Manchester
(30 miles).
Villages: Shelley
, Kirkburton
, Stocksmoor
, New Mill, Birds Edge, Upper Cumberworth
, Denby Dale
, Skelmanthorpe
,
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Kirkburton
Kirkburton
Kirkburton is a village, civil parish and local government ward in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, south east of Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees...
, in Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and in the Diocese of Wakefield
Diocese of Wakefield
The Diocese of Wakefield is a Church of England diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covering Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...
. It lies 8 miles (12.9 km) south south east of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
and 6 miles (9.7 km) north west of Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
.
In the 2001 census the population of Shepley and Birdsedge
Birdsedge
Birdsedge is a small village in the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England, on the edge of Yorkshire's Pennine hills, standing just below one thousand feet above sea level. It is located on the A629 about nine miles south of Huddersfield and about four miles north of Penistone...
was 3,044.
Transport
Shepley is connected by the A629 (RotherhamRotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
- Skipton
Skipton
Skipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
road) to Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
through to Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and by the A635
A635 road
The A635 is a main road that runs between Manchester and Doncaster running east–west through Stalybridge, Saddleworth Moor, Holmfirth and Barnsley....
/A636 to Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
through to Holmfirth
Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...
. Shepley railway station
Shepley railway station
Shepley railway station serves the villages of Shepley and Shelley in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Penistone Line operated by Northern Rail. Opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1850, it is located at the southern end of one of the two passing loops on the otherwise single...
is on the Penistone line
Penistone Line
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Rail in the West Yorkshire Metro/ Travel South Yorkshire area of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities...
which runs from Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
Amenities
Shepley's amenities include St. Paul's Church (built in 1848 and used for both Anglican and CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
services), a Methodist chapel, a first school catering for children aged between 4 and 10 years, a library and information point, a newly-built health centre and pharmacy, and dentist's surgery. Shops include a post office, newsagent and a small independent Co-op
Shepley Co-operative Society
Shepley Co-operative Society Limited is a small consumer co-operative based in the West Yorkshire village of Shepley in the United Kingdom. The Society operates a single store on Station Road....
that sells award-winning pork pies.
The Black Bull and The Farmers Boy are the two public houses near the centre of the village. The Sovereign Inn, The Cask and Spindle and The Cross Roads Inn all lie on the periphery.
Shepley has a small primary school, known as Shepley First School
Shepley First School
Shepley First School is a small primary school located in the village of Shepley, West Yorkshire. It serves local infants between the ages of 4 to 10, the years Reception to Year 5. The pupils then move schools to Kirkburton Middle School where they would start Year 6.The capacity of the school is...
. It is a primary school serving infants, aged 4 – 10 that are currently living in the village.
Clubs and Societies
There are many sports facilities in the village including tennis, bowling, football and most prominently, Shepley Cricket Club. Shepley also has a Women's Institute, The Evergreens, Cubs and Scouts, Rainbows and Brownies and a regular village magazine.There is a long tradition of music making in the village and Shepley Band is a very successful group of amateur musicians playing brass and woodwind instruments.
Industry
Farming, manufacturing and quarrying still dominate the village. Shepley is the home to one of the United Kingdom's largest bottled water companies, aptly named 'Shepley Spring' which can now be bought worldwide. The village also serves as a commuter belt for the cities of ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
Shepley Races
The Co-op still hands out dividends based upon the customer holding a unique number which is matched against all purchases they make during the year. Whenever the dividends were handed out, everyone dashed to the store (which used to be situated by the village green on Marsh Lane) to receive their dues. This became known as the 'Shepley Races'.Early Origins
Shepley literally means 'a clearing or meadow where sheep are kept' and the name is most likely to be Anglo-Saxon in origin. Sceaplei is mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
written in 1086. However, evidence exists of even earlier occupation in the area at Castle Hill (not to be confused with Castle Hill, Huddersfield
Castle Hill, Huddersfield
Taken and adapted from Rumsby, J. 'A Castle Well Guarded: the archaeology and history of Castle Hill, Almondbury' Castle Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument situated on a hilltop overlooking Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. It has been settled for at least 4,000 years....
), a small hilltop above Birdsedge
Birdsedge
Birdsedge is a small village in the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England, on the edge of Yorkshire's Pennine hills, standing just below one thousand feet above sea level. It is located on the A629 about nine miles south of Huddersfield and about four miles north of Penistone...
that contains defensive works which might have been a Roman station.
Shepley is situated on one of several local leys comprising Crossley, Longley, Shepley, Shelley
Shelley
-Meaning:In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning "From the meadow on the ledge" or "clearing on a bank". It is Old English in origin. As with many other names , Shelley is today a name given almost exclusively to girls after historically being male...
, Emley
Emley
Emley can refer to one of two small British villages:*Emley, West Yorkshire, the location of the famous Emley Moor transmission tower*Emley, Surrey, also known as Bowlhead Green, close to the village of Thursley...
, East Midgley, Coxley, Stanley, Scholey, Methley
Methley
Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Allerton Bywater. It nestles in the triangle formed by Leeds, Castleford and Wakefield, and is between the...
and Astley. The ley idea was introduced by antiquarian Alfred Watkins in his book 'The Old Straight Track' in 1925. He suggested that the ancient British used high points and hill tops as sighting points to help them navigate in a straight line and that 'ley' or 'leigh' place names actually mean "a grassy track across country". He perceived that many later Roman roads followed these straight ancient tracks. Some people also associate leys with the occult.
Norman Conquest and Medieval Period
Shepley's population suffered during William the Conqueror's Harrying of the NorthHarrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
1069-1070 when the king laid to waste towns and villages between the Scottish border and the River Humber in order to put down a northern rebellion against his Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
rule. Thousands of people were put to the sword. However, the village was soon back in political favour, as in 1217, a certain Matthew of Sheplei was knighted and his name appears in the records of the Beaumont family of Whitley Beaumont
Whitley Beaumont
Whitley Beaumont was an estate in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Huddersfield. Whitley Hall was the seat of the Beaumont family...
and later of Bretton Hall near Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
.
There is a reference to Shepley in the Inquisitions Post Mortem, written in the 33rd year of Henry III's reign (1249).
"Extent. The vigil of St. Matthew, 33 Hen. III.
Scheplay alias Sepeleya town, a capital messuage, 6l. rents from free tenants, 6s. 10d. from cottars, a mill, a little wood, &c. tenure unspecified."
If the township of Shepley was subinfeudated before 1166, Shepley's mesne tenancy would have been held by William de Neville, husband of Amabel, daughter of Adam, son of Sveinn. By the 13th century, the tenancy had passed to the Burgh family. Shepley Hall, situated on Station Road, was the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
for the village. In 1361 Robert de Goldthorpe, who was also known as Robert Robertson (his father's name was Robert), married Esabell de Shepley and, as a result inherited part of the manor and estates of Shepley. In 1542, during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(Tudor) Thomas Goldthorpe sold his share of Shepley manor and other lands for £290 to a certain Richard Stansfield and thereby appeared to terminate the family's connection with the manor. However, in the local fines records for 1543, it states "William Goldthorp, gent [held the] Manor of Shepley, also called Shepley Hall, and tenements in Shepley and [Kirk]Burton http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=49628.
Farming would have been the village's main industry, although the wool trade started to grow from the 14th century onwards, gaining momentum following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
.
19th Century
In the early 19th century, Sir Joseph RadcliffeRadcliffe Baronets
The Radcliffe Baronetcy, of Milnsbridge House in the County of York, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 2 November 1813 for Joseph Radcliffe as a reward for his public services....
from Milnsbridge
Milnsbridge
Milnsbridge is a district of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England 2.5 miles west of the town centre, situated in the Colne Valley. The name is said to have derived from the water-powered mill and the bridge that stood alongside it in the 13th century.The Huddersfield Narrow Canal runs...
House was Lord of the Manor. He was knighted for his role in suppressing the Luddites in the Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
area following the murder of Marsden mill owner William Horsfall in 1812.
In 1868 Shepley was described as a township and chapelry in the parish of Kirkburton
Kirkburton
Kirkburton is a village, civil parish and local government ward in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, south east of Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees...
, upper division of Agbrigg Wapentake, West Riding County York. The village was also recorded as having 30 tailor's shops in a population of around 1,000. These would have sprung up as a result of the four mills around the village manufacturing fine woollen worsteds.
Lane Head
Lane Head is a hamlet to the south of the village which had a Quaker meeting house, built in 1696 and which has been a private dwelling since 1706. It had connections with the even older High Flatts meeting house in BirdsedgeBirdsedge
Birdsedge is a small village in the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England, on the edge of Yorkshire's Pennine hills, standing just below one thousand feet above sea level. It is located on the A629 about nine miles south of Huddersfield and about four miles north of Penistone...
.
Brewery
With a gold sovereign, Seth Senior was reputed to have established a brewery in 1829 at the Royal Sovereign Inn (now the 'Sovereign Inn'). As the business grew, the brewery was moved to Piper Wells on HolmfirthHolmfirth
Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...
road. The Seniors eventually owned several public houses in the area, including the Railway (now the Cask and Spindle), The Black Bull, the Stagg's Head (the building can still be seen on Abbey Road), and the Farmer's Boy. The family also built Cliffe House. In 1946, the family business was taken over by Hammonds Brewery. The Senior family are all buried in the church yard at Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, within the Civil parish of Denby Dale and the Diocese of Wakefield. It is between the villages of Denby Dale and Shepley, above the village of Lower Cumberworth...
a few miles away.
A stone carving of a man's face - a Yorkshire tradition to commemorate any builder killed during construction work - can still be seen on the Eastern gable of the Sovereign Inn. But, some also think that the carving is of Seth Senior himself. Members of the Roebuck family lived on this site for over 70 years and held the tenancy when the famous Sovereign Anthem was written in 1929 to commemorate 100 years of the brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
. Sarah Jane's death in 1976 ended Roebuck family ties with the Sovereign Inn.
Quarrying
Lane Head is also famous for the quarries that have provided stone used at Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and other famous landmarks. The Lindley family used to own the quarry situated on Carr Lane, but it has now become part of the Marshalls Group, as have Appleton Quarries situated on Holmfirth
Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...
Road. The son of a previous owner was once buried under a single tree next to the Round Wood above the quarry following a tragic accident in the late 1970s. However, his remains have now been re-interred elsewhere.
Legend
Legend has it that a golden cradle also lies buried in the Round Wood. Although, the line of the stone wall has changed in recent times due to quarrying, it is shown as a perfect circle on mid 19th century maps. Given that Castle Hill South of HuddersfieldHuddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
is only a few miles away, the wood may hold secrets yet to be discovered - after all, pagan burial sites were often circular in design!
Turnpike
Climbing up the hill on the A629 from Shepley towards Lane Head, Toll Bar Cottage appears on the left just after the main gates of Cliff House. The cottage marked the place where gates once stood across the BarnsleyBarnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
which was built by Blind Jack of Knaresborough in 1825 following an Act of Parliament passed two years earlier. Another Turnpike between Saddleworth
Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
and Shepley Lane Head via Holmfirth
Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...
was constructed around this time, having been surveyed by Thomas Dinsley in 1819. As the name of the building suggests, a toll
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
was collected at this point from travellers. The tolls were abolished on August 1, 1875.
Shepley Carr
Before the Barnsley and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike was built, this small hamlet was situated on the packhorsePackhorse
.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
route from Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
to Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
. Merchants would travel from Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, through Thurlstone, along Broadstones Road and Dearne Dike Lane to Five Lane Ends, down Piper Wells Road, Cross Lane and Carr Lane, before turning down the long drive into Shepley Carr. The route would then follow the fields (before they were enclosed), past the Shepley War Memorial, and into the village. The travellers would then head out towards Stocksmoor
Stocksmoor
Stocksmoor is a hamlet, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between the villages of Shepley and Brockholes. The total population of Thurstonland, Stocksmoor and Thunderbridge together was 953 in the 2001 census....
and Farnley Tyas
Farnley Tyas
Farnley Tyas is a small village in West Yorkshire, England situated 3 miles south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop situated between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley...
through Stones Wood (where Devil worship once took place). Some old locals tell stories of a ghostly coach and fours furiously speeding down the long drive on wintry nights before vanishing at the hamlet. The present house at Shepley Carr is the third building on this site and dates from the 1860s, replacing one that burnt down.
During the early 19th century, the Tinker family lived at Shepley Carr, and was responsible for building Tinker's Monument near Hill Top above New Mill. Deeds held at the West Yorkshire Archive Centre in Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
suggest that the original house at Shepley Carr dates from the 16th century and was owned by the Armytage Family of Kirklees Hall. Locals believe that Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
marched his army through Shepley Carr during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
1642-1649. Roundheads, as the soldiers were known, were probably in Kirkburton
Kirkburton
Kirkburton is a village, civil parish and local government ward in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, south east of Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees...
, and at Catlin or Catling (now Cat Hill) Hall near Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, the latter having a holding post in the cellars upon which royalist prisoners were chained (see the ghost story concerning Catling Hall. Inside the parish church at Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, within the Civil parish of Denby Dale and the Diocese of Wakefield. It is between the villages of Denby Dale and Shepley, above the village of Lower Cumberworth...
, there is a chair that Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
is reputed to have sat in.
The Abbey
Part of the village situated on the A629 heading North towards Huddersfield is known as The Abbey, and some local street names are derived from this. No evidence exists to suggest that an abbey was ever built in Shepley. However in 1219, Matthew de Shepley gave land in nearby Cumberworth and some unspecified land in Shepley to the monks of Roche AbbeyRoche Abbey
Roche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey located near Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in a valley alongside Maltby Beck and King's Wood.-Early history:...
. It seems highly likely that the site of 'Shepley Abbey' stands on some of this land.
The land and farm would have been granted off by Henry VIII following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in the 16th century, but the ownership is unclear until the house and farmland is mentioned in the papers of the Spencer-Stanhope family of Cannon Hall
Cannon Hall
Cannon Hall is a country house museum located between the villages of Cawthorne and High Hoyland north of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Originally the home of the Spencer and later the Spencer-Stanhope family, it now houses collections of fine furniture, paintings, ceramics and glassware...
between Cawthorne and High Hoyland. The Shepley Abbey property first appears in these papers in 1674 and is last mentioned in 1800.
The Abbey and Farm were owned in the 19th century by the Armitage Family who originally hailed from High Hoyland and are linked to the Spencer-Stanhopes. They owned one of the mills in Shepley, manufacturing fancy woollens.
Nearby places
Towns and cities: HolmfirthHolmfirth
Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...
(5 miles), Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
(8 miles), Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
(8 miles), Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
(12 miles), Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
(14 miles), Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
(15 miles), Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(30 miles).
Villages: Shelley
Shelley, West Yorkshire
Shelley is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, 3 miles north of Holmfirth and 6 miles south east of Huddersfield. It sometimes appears as Shelley Woodhouse and has a population of 3,059 . It is part of the Kirkburton ward of the local council. Road transport links are...
, Kirkburton
Kirkburton
Kirkburton is a village, civil parish and local government ward in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England, south east of Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees...
, Stocksmoor
Stocksmoor
Stocksmoor is a hamlet, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between the villages of Shepley and Brockholes. The total population of Thurstonland, Stocksmoor and Thunderbridge together was 953 in the 2001 census....
, New Mill, Birds Edge, Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth
Upper Cumberworth is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, within the Civil parish of Denby Dale and the Diocese of Wakefield. It is between the villages of Denby Dale and Shepley, above the village of Lower Cumberworth...
, Denby Dale
Denby Dale
Denby Dale is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England, to the South East of Huddersfield. As a civil parish it covers the villages of Denby Dale, Lower Denby, Upper Denby, Upper Cumberworth, Lower Cumberworth, Skelmanthorpe, Emley, Emley...
, Skelmanthorpe
Skelmanthorpe
Skelmanthorpe is a village in West Yorkshire, England with a population of 4,198 according to the 2001 census. It is part of the parish of Denby Dale in the Kirklees borough....
,