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West Yorkshire - Castles, Cathedrals,
Monuments,
Stately Homes & Palaces
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Since the stone age, man has been
creating majestic structures that we still marvel at
today.
Whether you are interested in ancient monuments,
battlefield sites, re-enactments,
Roman and Norman forts and castles, Stately Homes, Country Houses, Historic
Cathedrals, Ruined Abbeys etc, this is the page that
should give you the information you need.
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Here we try to list properties in
private ownership but open to the public (even if only
occasionally) as well as those in the care of the
National Trust or English/Scottish Heritage.
We know that not all the
properties in West Yorkshire are listed.
Please help us
make this guide comprehensive by giving details of
missing attractions
here.
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CASTLE HILL AND VICTORIA
TOWER
C/O Tolson
Museum,
Ravensknowle
Park, Wakefield
Road,
Huddersfield,
HD5 8DJ
Tel: 01484 223830 Fax:
01484 223843
Web:
www.kirklees.gov.uk/museums
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Standing over 900
feet above sea level Castle Hill dominates the
local landscape, providing spectacular, often
windswept views.
The history of human
activity on the hill goes back over 4000 years.
The site was developed as an iron age hill fort,
surrounded by defensive ditches and ramparts.
In the Middle Ages
there was a castle on the hill, of which the
well remains. The present tower was built to
commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee of
1897.
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The site is a scheduled
ancient monument. More information about the
hill and its history can be found in displays at
Tolson Museum.
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Dewsbury Minster
Dewsbury
Tel: 01924 457057 Fax:
01924 465491
Web:
www.dewsburyminster.org.uk
The Minster dates back to Anglo-Saxon times when
the 7th Century missionary St Paulinus is said
to have been visited Dewsbury. The Church
includes a heritage centre and exhibitions on
the church's colourful history, some unique
Anglo-Saxon sculpture and medieval stained
glass. Former Curate Patrick Brontė is
commemorated with a plaque inside the Minster.
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Halifax Gibbet
Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 5BA
Tel: 01422 368725
The Gibbet is a fascinating piece of history.
The Gibbet was a guillotine used to behead
thieves. It was first used in 1286 to execute
John of Dalton. The last recorded victims in
1650 were Anthony Mitchell and John Wilkinson of
Sowerby. Halifax was one of the last places in
the country to retain the use of this
punishment. In 1974 a replica of the Gibbet was
built on the original site.
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Wainhouse Tower
King Cross, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 0HB
Tel: 01422 368725
Web: www.heritage.co.uk/follies/ffwy09.html
253 ft tower built by Victorian industrialist
J. E. Wainhouse for his dye works, but never
actually used for that purpose. Steps and an
ornate viewing gallery were added. Now open for
ascent on approx ten days each year. For
information on Open Days call Halifax Tourist
Information Centre on (01422) 368725. Open to
groups by booking on (01422) 393241.
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Halifax Parish Church
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Tel: 01422 823576
E-mail:
info@halifaxparishchurch.org.uk
Web:
www.halifaxparishchurch.org.uk
Mid 15th Century (part 11th Century). Fine
Commonwealth windows and famous effigy "Old
Tristram". Pre-booked tours available.
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Huddersfield Parish Church
& Keys Cafe
Byram Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1
1BU
Tel: 01484 427964
The beautiful, historic, parish church offers a
warm welcome all year. Enjoy delicious home-made
food with waitress service, in the friendly keys
cafe beneath church fully licensed, serving
everything from sandwiches to a three-course
meal. We look forward to seeing you soon!
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St. Thomas Church
Heptonstall, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7
7NT
Tel: 01422 843178
Two churches stand on this site, the mid 19th
century church of St Thomas the Apostle and the
ruins of the medieval church of St Thomas a
Becket with origins back to around 1256. David
Hartley, leader of a counterfeiting gang was
hanged in 1770 for killing excise man William
Deighton, and is buried in the old graveyard,
and Sylvia Plath is buried in the new graveyard.
More information on the two churches can be
found in the Heptonstall Trail which is
available for a small charge from Hebden Bridge
TIC (01422 843831). The 'modern' church is open
daily throughout the year and has a second hand
bookstall. Light refreshments are available for
groups by prior booking.
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RED HOUSE
Oxford Road, Gomersal, Cleckheaton, BD19 4JP
Tel: 01274 335100 Fax:
01274 335105
E-mail:
red.house@kirklees.gov.uk
Web:
www.kirklees.gov.uk/museums
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Delightful
1830s cloth merchant's home with
fascinating Brontė connections.
Charlotte Brontė visited often and
featured Red House in her novel
"Shirley". Includes period rooms,
enchanting recreated gardens and
exhibitions in restored outbuildings.
Built in 1660, Red House was home to the
Taylor family who were cloth merchants
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Mary Taylor, daughter of the house in the 19th
Century, was a close friend of Charlotte Bronte,
who featured the house as 'Briarmains' in
'Shirley'. Her fondness for the house is evident:
"There was no splendour but there was taste
everywhere."
Red House still looks very much as it would have
in Charlotte's day. Each of the rooms brings you
closer to the 1830s, from the elegant parlour to
the stone-flagged kitchen with its Yorkshire
range, jelly moulds and colourful crockery. The
stained glass windows, described in 'Shirley' are
perfectly preserved in the dining room. And the
award-winning recreated 19th Century gardens, with
their shaped beds, decorative ironwork and
authentic varieties of plants and shrubs, help to
capture the atmosphere of this fascinating bygone
age.
Explore Charlotte Bronte's Spen Valley connections
and her friendships with Mary Taylor and Ellen
Nussey in The Secrets Out exhibition in the barn.
What did local people say when they discovered
that she'd based some of her characters in
'Shirley' on them? And how did Charlotte, Mary and
Ellen react to society's strict view of 'a woman's
place'?
Move along to the 20th Century and the Spen Valley
Stories exhibition in the restored cartsheds.
Relive schooldays, Teddy Boys, dance marathons and
street parties through the pictures and mementoes
of local residents.
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NATIONAL TRUST MARSDEN MOOR
ESTATE
The Old Goods Yard, Station Road, Marsden,
Huddersfield,
West Yorkshire, HD7 6DH
Tel: 01484 847016
Fax: 01484 847071
Web site:
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
The estate, covering
nearly 2,429ha (5,685 acres) of unenclosed
common moorland and almost surrounding the
village of Marsden, takes in the northern part
of the Peak District National Park, with
valleys, reservoirs, peaks and crags, as well as
archaeological remains dating from pre-Roman
times to the great engineering structures of the
canal and railway ages.
The landscape supports
large numbers of classic moorland birds such as
the golden plover, red grouse, curlew and
diminutive twite. The estate is a designated
SSSI and forms part of an international Special
Area of Conservation. The Huddersfield Narrow
Canal has been restored and a Visitor Centre
(not NT) is open at Tunnel End, Marsden, with
car parking adjacent to the Estate Office. An
exhibition area is housed in what was previously
the estate workshop. Full programme available of
walks and events in and around the estate,
contact the office on the above number or visit
our website.
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OAKWELL HALL
Nutter Lane, Birstall, WF17 9LG
Tel: 01924 326240 Fax:
01924 326249
E-mail:
oakwell.hall@kirklees.gov.uk
Web:
www.kirklees.gov.uk/museums
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This beautiful Elizabethan manor house has
delighted visitors for centuries. Visiting in
the 19th Century, Charlotte Brontė featured it
as 'Fieldhead' - the home of the heroine in
'Shirley'.
Built in 1583, the hall is now set
out as it would have been in the 1690s, when it
was the home of the Batt family.
A mixture of
authentic and reproduction furnishings provide a
real insight into late 17th Century life.
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Stroll
around the delightful period garden or check out
the inhabitants of the wildlife access garden.
Pause for refreshments in the Oak Tree Café and
treat yourself to a present from the
well-stocked shop.
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Halifax Town Hall
Crossley Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire
Tel: 01422 393022
Designed by famous Houses of Parliament
architect Sir Charles Barry and opened by the
Prince of Wales in 1863. The style is a mixture
of 15th Century Italian, with strong Victorian
flourishes. The four sculpted pieces around the
180ft clock tower represent the four continents
and are exceptional. The building is a working
building and has limited public access.
Prebooked guided tours for groups can be
arranged by calling.
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Shibden Hall
Lister's Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 6XG
Tel: 01422 352246 Fax:
01422 348440
E-mail:
shibden.hall@calderdale.gov.uk
Web: www.calderdale.gov.uk
Early 15thC half-timbered house with period room
settings from 17thC; barn with collection of
horse-drawn vehicles, outhouses and workshops.
Set in a 90-acre park.
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Todmorden Town Hall
Bridge St, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, OL14 5AA
Todmorden Town Hall, designed by John Gibson,
and opened in 1875, is one of the finest
municipal buildings of its size in the country.
It was built by John Fielden's sons Samuel, John
and Joshua. When it was built the town hall
straddled the Yorkshire/Lancashire county
boundary, with half of the building in one
county, half in the other. This is represented
in the top pediment - the right hand sculpture
work the agriculture and iron trades of
Yorkshire, the work on the left, the cotton
trade of Lancashire. The Town Hall was presented
to the town in 1891. Inside are statues by
Benzoni, and a plaque to local Nobel
prize-winner, Sir John Cockcroft. Information
about Guided Tours of the town hall is available
from Todmorden Tourist Information Centre on
(01706) 818181, or tours can be pre-booked with
Calderdale Tourist Guides Association on (01422)
362369.
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New Members required for this section!
To join or recommend an establishment to
us, please
contact Tourist Net UK
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