Stansfield
St Paul's Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield, Todmorden in 2012
Stansfield is located in Calderdale
Stansfield
Stansfield
Stansfield is located in West Yorkshire
Stansfield
Stansfield
Location within West Yorkshire
Civil parish
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTODMORDEN
Postcode districtOL14
Dialling code01706
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°43′07″N 2°05′28″W / 53.7185°N 2.0912°W / 53.7185; -2.0912

Stansfield (English: /ˈstænsfiːld/) is a place and township in the civil parish of Todmorden and Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England, which gave its name to Stansfield Hall, Stansfield Hall Railway Station, and an electoral ward in Todmorden, Calderdale.

History

Stansfield was mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Stanesfelt'.[1] The area comprising Stansfield extends from Stansfield Moor in the Pennines to the banks of the River Calder in Todmorden.[2]

Historically, the township of Stansfield was considered within the manor of Wakefield which was granted, after the Norman Conquest, to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. The earl then granted the manor of Stansfield to his sub-tenant John de Thornhill, and it later passed to the Savile family.[3][4] In terms of ecclesiastical organisation, Stansfield was one of the townships in the chapelry of Heptonstall within the ancient parish of Halifax.[5]

Following the Local Government Act 1894, the Todmorden Local Board became an Urban District Council, comprising the wards of Todmorden, Walsden, Langfield and Stansfield.[6] Under the Local Government Act 1972, the West Riding of Yorkshire was abolished and Stansfield has since formed part of the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire.[7] Stansfield remains an electoral ward within the township of Todmorden.[8]

Stansfield Family

Wyon Maryons, lord of the lordship of Stansfield, was reputed to have been the descendant of a noble line from Brittany who accompanied William the Conqueror to England, and received a grant of the lands and lordship of Stansfield. His descendant, Jordan, later assumed the surname Stansfield.[9][10] 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),[11] and Joanna Stansfield, Prioress of Kirklees Priory (d. 1499).[12][13][14]

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 Todmorden, Heptonstall, Halifax, Sowerby, and Hartshead, Yorkshire, and Rochdale, Lancashire.[15] 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, Scotland.[16][17][18]

St Paul's Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield

St Paul's Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield, Todmorden in 2009

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, was in existence in 1537 but was rebuilt in 1832.[19] It was decommissioned in 1979 and is now a private residence.

See also

References

  1. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 5, 14, 75–84.
  2. ^ "Stansfield, West Riding". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 78–9.
  4. ^ Watson, J. (1775). The History and Antiquities of The Parish of Halifax. pp. 87–9.
  5. ^ GENUKI. "The Ancient Parish of Halifax". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  6. ^ A Vision of Britain through time. "A vision of Todmorden RD". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  7. ^ A Vision of Britain through time. "A vision of West Riding". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Election of Town\Parish Councillors 2019". www.calderdale.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  9. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 102–4.
  10. ^ Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1872). Nichols, John Gough; Lyons, Ponsonby Annesley (eds.). An history of the original Parish of Whalley, and honor of Clitheroe, to which is subjoined an account of the Parish of Cartmell. Vol. 2 (4th ed. rev. and enl. ed.). London: George Routledge and Sons. pp. 230–1.
  11. ^ "Townships: Worsthorne with Hurstwood | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Houses of Cistercians nuns: Kirklees Priory | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  13. ^ "The Prioress of Kirklees". midgleywebpages.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  14. ^ Turner, Joseph Horsfall; Watson, John (1883). Biographia Halifaxiensis : or, Halifax families and worthies. A biographical and genealogical history of Halifax Parish. Vol. 1. Bingley [England]: T. Harrison. pp. 257–8.
  15. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 101–60, 313–46.
  16. ^ "Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion : Foldout". www.calderdalecompanion.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  17. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 183–246.
  18. ^ Foster, Joseph (1874). Pedigrees of the county families of Yorkshire: II. West Riding. London: W. Wilfred Head. p. 183.
  19. ^ Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 82, 85–101.
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