Esholt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Esholt is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Guiseley.
[edit] Derivation of name
The name "Esholt" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area of ash trees.
[edit] History
In the 12th century, the Esholt estate was owned by Syningthwaite Priory and a nunnery was established there at Lower Esholt. When the nunnery was dissolved in about 1540 the estate was granted by Edward IV to Henry Thompson. The original manor house, Esholt Old Hall at Upper Esholt is medieval in origin, probably 16th century. and possibly once moated. It is well preserved and has Grade II* listed building protection.
The adjacent church of St Paul was once the private chapel of the old manor house. The church was rebuilt in 1839.
In the 17th century the Thompson heiress married Walter Calverley (1629-1694) and in 1709 their son Walter built a new Queen Anne style mansion house , Esholt Hall on the site of the old nunnery.
In 1775 the Calverleys sold to Stansfield and eventually in 1906 the estate was purchased by the Bradford City Council. The estate is now owned by Yorkshire Water where they operate a sewage treatment plant. The new hall is a conference and staff learning centre.
[edit] Recent events
Esholt is best known for being the location for many years of the Yorkshire Television drama series Emmerdale.
The village is also famous for St Leonard's Farm Park which was the winner of the National Farm Attraction of the Year Award in 2005.
 This West Yorkshire location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
