Stansfield () is a place and

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

and

Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

, in

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, which gave its name to Stansfield Hall,

Stansfield Hall Railway Station Stansfield Hall railway station () was the second station in Stansfield, Todmorden in West Yorkshire, England and was situated on the Copy Pit line. It opened in 1869 and the last train called in 1944 but was not officially closed until 1949. ...

, and an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...

History

Stansfield was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ‘Stanesfelt’. The area comprising Stansfield extends from Stansfield Moor in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

to the banks of the River Calder in

. Historically, the township of Stansfield was considered within the manor of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

which was granted, after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, to

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes (died 1088), was a Norman nobleman created Earl of Surrey under William II Rufus. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror at ...

. The earl then granted the manor of Stansfield to his sub-tenant John de Thornhill, and it later passed to the Savile family. In terms of ecclesiastical organisation, Stansfield was one of the townships in the chapelry of

Heptonstall Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the Calderdale borough of West Yorkshire, England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack Top, is 1,448 ...

within the ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Halifax. Following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, the Todmorden Local Board became an Urban District Council, comprising the wards of

Walsden Walsden (; ) is a large village in the civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts a ...

, Langfield and Stansfield. Under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the West Riding of Yorkshire was abolished and Stansfield has since formed part of the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

, in

. Stansfield remains an electoral ward within the

of Todmorden.

Stansfield Family

Wyon Maryons, lord of the lordship of Stansfield, was reputed to have been the descendant of a noble line from

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

who accompanied

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

to England, and received a grant of the lands and lordship of Stansfield. His descendant, Jordan, later assumed the surname Stansfield. Jordan de Stansfield reputedly married a daughter of Sir John Towneley of Towneley, and their descendants included Oliver de Stansfield (who was Constable of

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War. ...

), and Joanna Stansfield, Prioress of

Kirklees Priory Kirklees Priory was a Cistercian nunnery whose site is in the present-day Kirklees Park, Clifton near Brighouse, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It was originally in the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Dewsbury. The priory dedicated t ...

(d.1499). The exact descent of this family and its various branches remains uncertain until the 15th century. By the early modern period, various Stansfield (Stansfeld) families populated Stansfield, Shore, and the neighbouring parishes of

, Halifax, Sowerby, and

Hartshead Hartshead is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, west of Dewsbury and near to Hartshead Moor. The village has pre-Norman Conquest origins; the Walton Cross is believed to be dated from the 11th century. The name Hartshead is der ...

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

, and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. James Stansfield of Stansfield Hall, Todmorden was resident there in the 1640s. In the 17th century, the Sowerby branch of the family reverted to an earlier spelling of the name (Stansfeld) and lived at Field House, Sowerby and later

Dunninald Castle Dunninald Castle is a privately owned country house south of Montrose, Angus, Montrose in Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, which was listed as Category A by Historic Scotland in 1971. History The name ''Dunninald'' is derived from the Gaeli ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

St Paul’s Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield

Cross Stone taking its name from an ancient stone cross near the site. The tradition was that the church was built by a Stansfield of Stansfield Hall in Stansfield. The church, dedicated to

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, was in existence in 1537 but was rebuilt in 1832. It was decommissioned in 1979 and is now a private residence.

References

{{Authority control Stansfeld family Geography of Calderdale Todmorden

History

Stansfield Family

St Paul’s Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield

See also

References