Shibden Hall is a historic house located in a public park at Shibden

Shibden

Shibden is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, east of Halifax. The name of the Shibden valley comes from scepe dene meaning " sheep valley"...

, 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. It dates back to around 1420, when it was recorded as being inhabited by one William Otes. Prior to 1619, it was then owned by the Savile and Waterhouse families. The three families' armorial symbols are recorded in a stone-mullioned 20-light window. For three hundred years, it was in the hands of the Lister family (c. 1615-1826). Its most famous resident was Anne Lister

Anne Lister

Anne Lister was a well-off Yorkshire landowner, diarist, mountaineer and traveller.Throughout her life she kept diaries which chronicled the details of her everyday life, including her lesbian relationships, her financial concerns, her industrial activities and her work improving Shibden Hall...

 (1791–1840) who became sole owner of the hall after the death of her aunt. It is currently open to the public, the 'West Yorkshire Folk Museum' being housed in an adjoining barn and farm buildings.

The Grade II listed hall has been extensively modified from its original design by generations of residents, although its Tudor

Tudor style architecture

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 half-timbered frontage remains its most recognisable feature. The hall has a variety of restored workshops, including a 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....

, a basket-weaving shop

Basket weaving

Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...

, a tannery

Tanning

Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

, a stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

 and an extensive collection of horse-drawn carriages.

The park and gardens were restored, between 2007 and 2008, with almost £3.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...

 and £1.2 million from Calderdale Council. The major features of the park, including terraced gardens, rock gardens, cascades, and the boating lake, were commissioned by Anne Lister in the 1830s and a "Paisley Shawl" garden designed for the terrace, by Joshua Major, was added in 1850s. The park also contains a dry stone

Dry stone

Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their unique construction method, which is characterized by the presence of a load-bearing facade of carefully selected interlocking...

walling exhibition, children's play area and miniature steam railway.

External links

• The Restoration and Enhancement of Shibden Park at Landscape Institute Yorkshire & Humber Branch