Stansfield ( ) is a place 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and 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, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

, in the

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 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 ...

district, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, which gave its name to Stansfield Hall, Stansfield Hall Railway Station, 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 t ...

in Todmorden,

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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 highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

to the banks of the River Calder in

. Historically, the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

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 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, 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 Conquero ...

. 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, is 1,448, i ...

within the ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Halifax. In 1866 Stansfield became a separate civil parish, on 30 September 1897 the parish was abolished to form Todmorden. In 1891 the parish had a population of 11,266. 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 leve ...

, the Todmorden Local Board became an Urban District Council, comprising the wards of Todmorden, Walsden, 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 districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

, 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 ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

who accompanied

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

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 of England, Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-cent ...

), 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 to ...

(d. 1499). The exact descent of this family and its various branches remains uncertain until the 15th century. By the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

, various Stansfield (Stansfeld) families populated Stansfield, Shore, and the neighbouring parishes of

, Halifax, Sowerby, and

Hartshead Hartshead is a village in the Kirklees district of 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 H ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. 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 Field House is a Grade II* listed privately owned historic house in Triangle, West Yorkshire, England. History Field House (Old Hall) is mentioned as being in the possession of William Brig in 1533 and it passed to other owners during the 17t ...

and later

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

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, 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 Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire Geography of Calderdale Todmorden

History

Stansfield Family

St Paul's Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield

See also

References