The Hall, East Riddlesden

East Riddlesden Hall is a manor house, built in the 1640s, by James Murgatroyd, a wealthy yeoman clothier from Halifax. It was built on the site of an older hall but little of that remains. James Murgatroyd and his family were staunch Royalists, during the English Civil War (1642-1651) when it was unwise to advertise that allegiance. That did not stop him having the heads of King Charles I and his Queen carved in stone in the Hall, with the legend 'Vive le Roy' (Long live the King.) Many Royalists were forced to forfeit their land. That didn't happen to the Murgatroyds but their property in Halifax was attacked and captured by the Parliamentarians. The family must have escaped or been released and by 1648 East Riddlesden Hall was completed. The surrounding land was farmed and for many years the house was let to tenant farmers, which meant it has stayed substantially unchanged.

With its oak panelled rooms and mullioned windows, the house has quite a cosy, 'lived-in' feel inside (though reputed to have ghosts!) and is now furnished with Yorkshire oak furniture of the 17th & 18th centuries. The Yorkshire rose window that you can see is typical of grand houses in this area, the West Riding of Yorkshire.