Oakworth Hall - The History of The Hall

The History of The Hall

• 1066 - Mentioned in the Domesday Book as the Manor of Oakworth. It was given by William the Conqueror to Gilbert Tyson, a Norman knight who fought alongside King William at the Battle of Hastings.

• 1366 - Property of the de Vaux family who were probably descendants of the Tyson family. The de Vaux families' main seat was Vauxhall (Vaux Hall, in south east London). They had large properties in northern England from South Yorkshire up to Hadrian's Wall. Thomas de Vaux was Chancellor of Richard I during the earlier Crusades to the Holy Land.

• 1598 - Alvery Copley, the last member of the de Vaux family, died and the 32 tenants who farmed the lands were constituted Lords of Oakworth Manor. It is believed that the first building which stood on the site was built by the de Vaux family.

• 1662 - The famous Baptist Minister John Moore was born at Oakworth Hall. He was a friend and close colleague of the famous William Mitchell who was imprisoned for preaching in 1687. Together they clandestinely crisscrossed the Pennines visiting various safe houses in both Lancashire and West Yorkshire. It is thought that the previous building of Oakworth Hall was one of those "safe houses". It is advanced that the destruction of the previous building of Oakworth Hall was as a result of the turbulent period of religious persecution. It is also suggested that the old building was burned down to smoke out a "priest hole" that had existed beneath the Hall since the Reformation.

• 1691 - Oakworth Hall is mentioned in the Keighley Rolls in the entry for December 12, 1691. Some travellers visited the Squire, Anthony Moore, at Oakworth Hall.

• 1702 - The rebuilding of the Hall was probably completed by William Clough in its present form. The date 1702 is over the door on the south side of the Farm Cottage.

• 1708 - William Clough of Oakworth Hall is mentioned in the Haworth Court Rolls.

• 1715 - Jamas Haggas of Oakworth Hall bound as an apprentice to a Halifax weaver. Later, he bought long wool in Lincolnshire and sorted wool with his son at Oakworth Hall. These documents are in the deeds of the Hall. The Hall is mentioned in Heaton's Yorkshire Woollen and Worsted Industries.

• 1883 - Sold by the descendants of the Haggas family, (Blamire and Craven) to Richard Longdon Hattersly.

• 1913 - Trustees of the Hattersly family sold the Hall to Benjamin, William and John Speight who were plumbers.

(The families Clough, Haggas and Hattersly all became large textile manufacturers in the spinning and weaving industries in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Cloughs became mohair spinners and weavers and the firm still exists today as British Mohair Spinners. Haggas became the largest worsted spinners in the area and there is still a large manufacturing plant in Keighley. The Hattersleys owned a number of worsted and woollen Mills and factories producing textile and weaving booms. There is still today Hattersley Narrow Fabrics Mill in Keighley.)

• 1936 - The Speight family sold the Hall to the Yorkshire Penny Bank.

• 1945 - When the Bank closed its Oakworth branch the Hall was bought by the Assistant Manager of the bank. It became a private residence once again. It changed hands a number of times and was a guest house from 1979–2002.

• 2003 - The Hall is now a private residence.

Coordinates: 53°50′43″N 1°57′08″W / 53.8453°N 1.9522°W / 53.8453; -1.9522