Shepley

Shepley Hall

Historically the name 'Shepley' derives from Old English sceap ('sheep') and leah ('clearing'), thus meaning 'a clearing or meadow where sheep are kept'.[2] However, Shepley is also situated on one of several local leys comprising Crossley, Longley, Shepley, Shelley, Emley, East Midgley, Coxley, Stanley, Scholey, Methley and Astley. The ley idea was introduced by antiquarian Alfred Watkins in his book 'The Old Straight Track' in 1925. He suggested that the ancient British used high points and hill tops as sighting points to help them navigate in a straight line and that 'ley' or 'leigh' place names actually mean "a grassy track across country". He perceived that many later Roman roads followed these straight ancient tracks. Some people also associate leys with the occult.[3]

Evidence exists of earlier occupation in the area at Castle Hill (not to be confused with Castle Hill, Huddersfield), a small hilltop above Birdsedge that contains defensive works which might have been either a Roman or tribal look-out station. Some local historians claim that the ancient ridge above the Sovereign, known as 'Burnt Cumberworth' contained ancient furrows before they were destroyed by quarrying in the late 20th century.[4]

'Sceaplei' is mentioned in the Domesday Book, written in 1086.

Shepley's population suffered during William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North 1069–1070 when the king laid to waste towns and villages between the Scottish border and the River Humber in order to put down a northern rebellion against his Norman rule. Thousands of people were put to the sword. However, the village was soon back in political favour, as in 1217, a certain Matthew of Sheplei was knighted and his name appears in the records of the Beaumont family of Whitley Beaumont and later of Bretton Hall near Wakefield.[5]

There is a reference to Shepley in the Inquisitions Post Mortem, written in the 33rd year of Henry III's reign (1249).

"Extent. The vigil of St. Matthew, 33 Hen. III. Scheplay alias Sepeleya town, a capital messuage, 6l. rents from free tenants, 6s. 10d. from cottars, a mill, a little wood, &c. tenure unspecified."[6]

If the township of Shepley[5] was subinfeudated before 1166, Shepley's mesne tenancy would have been held by William de Neville, husband of Amabel, daughter of Adam, son of Sveinn. By the 13th century, the tenancy had passed to the Burgh family. Shepley Hall, situated on Station Road, was the manor house for the village. In 1361 Robert de Goldthorpe, who was also known as Robert Robertson (his father's name was Robert), married Esabell de Shepley and, as a result inherited part of the manor and estates of Shepley. In 1542, during the reign of Henry VIII (Tudor) Thomas Goldthorpe sold his share of Shepley manor and other lands for £290 to a certain Richard Stansfield and thereby appeared to terminate the family's connection with the manor. However, in the local fines records for 1543, it states "William Goldthorp, gent [held the] Manor of Shepley, also called Shepley Hall, and tenements in Shepley and [Kirk]Burton .

In the early 19th century, Sir Joseph Radcliffe from Milnsbridge House was Lord of the Manor. He was knighted for his role in suppressing the Luddites in the Huddersfield area following the murder of Marsden mill owner William Horsfall in 1812.

In 1868 Shepley was described as a township and chapelry in the parish of Kirkburton, upper division of Agbrigg Wapentake, West Riding County York. The village was also recorded as having 30 tailor's shops in a population of around 1,000. These would have sprung up as a result of the four mills around the village manufacturing fine woollen worsteds.

The Reverend Ben Swift Chambers, founding father of Everton and Liverpool football clubs was born in the nearby village of Stocksmoor. He lived in the old school house (now part of the village library) in Shepley when his father was school master. Ben is buried in the village.

Shepley was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Kirkburton,[7] from 1866 Shepley was a civil parish, on 1 April 1938 the parish was abolished and merged with Kirkburton.[8] In 1931 the parish had a population of 1668.[9]

Stoneware beer bottle from the Seth Senior brewery

With a gold sovereign, Seth Senior was reputed to have established a brewery in 1829 at the Royal Sovereign Inn (now the 'Sovereign Inn'). As the business grew, the brewery was moved to Piper Wells on Holmfirth road. The Seniors eventually owned several public houses in the area, including the Railway (now the Cask and Spindle), The Black Bull, the Stagg's Head (the building can still be seen on Abbey Road), and the Farmer's Boy. The family also built Cliffe House. In 1946, the family business was taken over by Hammonds Brewery. The Senior family are all buried in the church yard at Upper Cumberworth a few miles away.

A stone carving of a man's face – a Yorkshire tradition to commemorate any builder killed during construction work – can still be seen on the Eastern gable of the Sovereign Inn. But, some also think that the carving is of Seth Senior himself. Members of the Roebuck family lived on this site for over 70 years and held the tenancy when the famous Sovereign Anthem was written in 1929 to commemorate 100 years of the brewery. Sarah Jane's death in 1976 ended Roebuck family ties with the Sovereign Inn.

Lane Head is also famous for the quarries that have provided stone used at Buckingham Palace in London, and other famous landmarks. The Lindley family used to own the quarry situated on Carr Lane, but it has now become part of the Marshalls Group, as have Appleton Quarries situated on Holmfirth Road. The son of a previous owner was once buried under a single tree next to the Round Wood above the quarry following a tragic accident in the late 1970s. However, his remains have now been re-interred elsewhere.

Climbing up the hill on the A629 from Shepley towards Lane Head, Toll Bar Cottage appears on the left just after the main gates of Cliff House. The cottage marked the place where gates once stood across the Barnsley and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike which was built by Blind Jack of Knaresborough in 1825 following an Act of Parliament passed two years earlier.[11] Another Turnpike between Saddleworth and Shepley Lane Head via Holmfirth was constructed around this time, having been surveyed by Thomas Dinsley in 1819.[12] As the name of the building suggests, a toll was collected at this point from travellers. The tolls were abolished on 1 August 1875.[13]