Visiting East Riddlesden Hall

Now hidden away in the suburbs of Keighley, East Riddlesden Hall is one of West Yorkshire’s architectural gems. This gaunt, gritstone manor house is the work of James Murgatroyd, a wealthy yeoman clothier from Halifax. He built it in the 1640s on the site of an even older hall, but of this earlier building only the great hall remains.

Above the battlements of the hall’s bothy, James Murgatroyd had two heads carved in stone: a bewigged Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France accompanied by the legend Vive le Roy (long live the king). This was a dangerous time for such strong expressions of allegiance, for the country was divided by civil war and many Royalists were deprived of their possessions for far less. Despite its remoteness from the seats of power in London, the north was quickly drawn into the conflict and many in this part of the country supported the Parliamentarians. Nevertheless, Murgatroyd offered one of his other houses, Hollins at Warley near Halifax, to his king's forces for the storage of weapons. Inevitably it was attacked and fell after a short but fierce battle, in which even the tiles of the roof were ripped off and used as missiles. Although 44 men were taken prisoner, Murgatroyd appears to have got away and managed to complete his building works at East Riddlesden by 1648.

Though surrounded by houses today, East Riddlesden Hall was always a farm. The Augustinian canons from Bolton Priory in nearby Wharfedale dug the pool as a fishpond to provide them with a ready source of food, and it still survives to ornament the front of the hall. There used to be a medieval mill beside the River Aire and, by the hall, the huge 17th-century tithe barn is one of the finest examples in the North of England. It is now used to display a collection of period farm implements.

The hall is remarkable in that it has remained largely unaltered, due to the fact that it was let to tenant farmers during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the surrounding land was gradually sold off, the hall was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1934 and is one of their must-see properties in the area. Striking features are the rose windows over the entrance porches at the front and back of the hall, which are typical of the ‘Halifax’ houses found in this part of the South Pennines. Oak-panelled rooms and mullioned windows provide a sympathetic setting for the collections of domestic utensils and Yorkshire oak furniture that date from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Follow the main road from the toilets past the Busfeild Arms. After 150yds (137m) at the crest of the hill, turn right down Little Lane. Go through consecutive gates beside the bottom cottage and continue along a walled path that leads out to a street, Cliffe Mill Fold.

Swing right and then left into Hawthorne Way, crossing a stile at the end of the cul-de-sac into a field. The path follows the right-hand wall into the next field, but as the wall later curves right, keep ahead to a squeeze gap in the lower boundary. Carry on down through trees and then along a fenced path between paddocks to emerge over a stile onto a road by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Cross the swing bridge and follow the tow path to the right for 1.5 miles (2.4km), passing beneath a stone bridge to arrive at the next swing bridge. Leave the canal there and follow the lane left to the B6265, crossing beside the traffic lights to East Riddlesden Hall opposite.

Having looked around the hall, retrace your steps to the canal and cross the swing bridge. Immediately turn right in front of the Marquis of Granby pub along Hospital Road. At the end, carry on along a contained path immediately left of the old gates to the former isolation hospital. Skirting a housing development, cross two streets. Some 15yds (14m) beyond the second street, turn off through a gap stile in the left wall. Follow a paved walkway up through the estate and out between houses at the top to a stile.

Cross a small paddock to a second stile and continue at the field edge beside a beck. Beyond a gate, stick with the ongoing track, which soon swings over a bridge and into a farmyard. Walk on past cottages to meet the bend of a lane. Turn left and follow it up to a junction at the top. Go right and walk for 0.25 miles (400m).

Just past the cricket green, where the lane bends right, leave through a squeeze gap by a gate on the left. Walk away by the right wall, keeping ahead through a gate into a second field. Over a stile in the next corner, continue to a squeeze gap on the left from which a walled track leads to Moorlands Farm.

Skirt the buildings and leave along its access track. Lower down, swing right past a junction and carry on to meet a lane at the bottom. Go right into East Morton, turning right again at the end to return past the pub.