Esholt

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Esholt
Esholt shown within West Yorkshire
Population	1,495
OS grid reference	SE185405
Metropolitan borough	City of Bradford
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SHIPLEY
Postcode district	BD17
Dialling code	01274
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
European Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Bradford North
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°51′37″N 1°43′13″W / 53.860396, -1.720203

Esholt is a village near Guiseley, in the metropolitan district of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

[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.

Esholt, looking along Main Street

From 1976 to 1998 Esholt was used for the outside location shots for the Yorkshire Television drama series Emmerdale Farm later Emmerdale. The series is currently filmed at a purpose built set based on the layout of Esholt on the Harewood estate. During the time the village was used as a filming location the name of the Village pub was changed from the Commercial Inn to The Woolpack. The Home Farm of the series is derived from the real Home Farm which still exists on the Esholt Estate, although much of the original buildings (dating back to 1691) are derelict.