East Riddlesden Hall is a 17th-century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

The hall was built in 1642 by a wealthy Halifax clothier, James

Murgatroyd Murgatroyd (with variants including Murgatroid and Margatroid) is a surname among the English nobility, originating in Yorkshire. Its etymology, according to one source, is as follows: in 1371, a constable was appointed for the district of Warle ...

. The hall is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. There is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

tithebarn in the grounds. East Riddlesden Hall perches on a small plateau overlooking a bend in the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...

on its way downstream from the town of

. Interesting features include well-restored living accommodation on two floors, two

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Rose windows A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

, walled garden, the ruined Starkie wing and several ghosts (reputedly). The property was extended and re-built by James Murgatroyd and his wife Hannah, using local Yorkshire stone, in 1648. He also built other stone manor houses throughout the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. In the great hall, a small fireplace can be seen above the main fireplace, where the floor for the first floor accommodation was not built. James Murgatroyd was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

and this can be seen in royalist symbols and graffiti on and in the building. For example, the Bothy (now the tea room and shop) has the heads of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

and

Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

carved in the topmost stone work. According to a

National Operatic and Dramatic Association NODA has a membership of 2500 amateur theatre groups and 1000 individual enthusiasts throughout the UK, staging musicals, operas, plays, concerts and pantomimes in a wide variety of performing venues, ranging from the country's leading profes ...

news feature in 2007, the Murgatroyd family are reputed to have been the inspiration for the Murgatroyd

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

s in the

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...

'' by Gilbert and Sullivan, and the opera has been performed at the Hall.

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

is supposed to have often stayed at the Hall. The feature comments that the Murgatroyds became notorious "for their profanity and

debauchery Debauchery may refer to: * Corruption *Libertinism *Lust * Binge drinking * Currency debasement *Debauchery (band), a German death metal band See also *''Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery'', a 1684 closet drama. *LGBT rights in Kuwait ...

". A legend arose that the River Aire changed its course in shame, in order to flow further away from the hall and its occupants (the river sweeps into a wide U-bend to skirt the meadow, giving the building a wide berth). The feature continues "Members of the family were fined, imprisoned and

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

". It asserts that the character of Sir Despard Murgatroyd in ''

'' is based on James Murgatroyd.

Filming location

East Riddlesden Hall has been used as a filming location for the 1992 film ''

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights ''Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights'' is a 1992 feature film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights'' directed by Peter Kosminsky. This was Ralph Fiennes's film debut. This particular film is notable for including the oft ...

'' and for the 2009 TV adaptation. It was also used in '' Sharpe's Justice'' episode from the Sharpe TV series in 1997. The BBC Television series '

Gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

' (2017) used East Riddlesden Hall as a location.

References

External links

East Riddlesden Hall information at the National Trust

at Tour UK Country houses in West Yorkshire National Trust properties in West Yorkshire Grade I listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade I listed houses Historic house museums in West Yorkshire Buildings and structures in Keighley {{WestYorkshire-struct-stub