TOWNSHIP OF SHELF.

THIS Township which lies to the North East of Northowram, and adjoins the parish of Bradford, contains an area of 1350 statute acres. It is said to derive its name from its shelving situation; and about the time of Henry VIII. it was written Shelve.

Shelf seems to have been granted from the crown with the manor of Wakefield, as an appendage thereto, for by Kirkby's inquest, 24. Edw. I. earl Warren was found to be lord thereof. It is remarkable, that when the writ of Quo warranto was issued in the beginning of the reign of king Edw. I. requiring the earl to shew by what title he held several manors in this part of the country, Shelf is not mentioned; though, in the dispute in the duchy chamber at Westminster, 6 Eliz. Henry Savile, then owner of this lordship, shewed, that from an ancient roll, called Domisday-book, that the men of John Thornhill, ancestor to the said Henry, did pay for the township of Shelf of foreign service 4s. 6d. to the lord of Wakefield, which lord, as this roll was composed in 1314, is known to have been John, the last earl of Warren and Surry, who derived it from his ancestors.

The reason why Shelf was not included in the dispute between the crown and earl Warren is, that previous to this, viz. 4 Edw. II. free warren had been granted in this manor to Adam de Swillington; which Adam, for taking part with Thomas, earl of Lancaster, against the two Spencers, was fined a thousand marks, 15 Edw. II. but that judgment being pronounced erroneous by parliament, 1 Edw. III. he came into favor, and obtained of that king a charter of free warren in all his demesne lands in this, and some other of his Earl Warren had also made a grant of Shelf to another family; for amongst the escheats, 25 Edw. III. the jurors said, that

manors.

it would not be for the damage of the king, if the king granted to Benedict de Normanton, that he might enfeoffe William de Mirfeild priest, of the manors of Fersley and Shelfe, held of the king in capite, to hold to him and heirs of the king, by the service therefore due, paying yearly to the said Benedict and heirs sixty shillings. They said also, that the said manors formerly came to the king's hands by the forfeiture of Galfrid de Fersley then adhering to the Scotch, enemies of the lord the king; and that the said Galfrid held the said manor of Shelf of John, earl Warren, as of his manor of Wakefield, by homage and fealty, which said manor of Wakefield, Edmund de Langley then held of the king's gift. These manors of Fersley and Shelf were held 50 Edw. III. by William de Mirfeild, the day he died, of the king in capite, by the service of one penny yearly. 16 Richard II. Roger de Swillington, son and heir of Robert de Swillington, knt. held the manor. 3 Hen. VI. John Graa, knt. and Margaret, his wife, sister and heir of John Swillington, held two parts of the manor of the king in soccage; and 6 Hen. VI. the jurors, on inquisition, said, that Joan, who was the wife of Roger Swillington, knt. held when she died, after the death of the said Roger, of the inheritance of Margaret, then wife of John Graa, knt. the third part of the manor of Shelf, the reversion thereof, after the death of the said Joan, belonging to the said Margaret, and her heirs, as to the daughter and heir of the said Roger de Swillington. After this, says WATSON, I meet with nothing relating to it, till 20 Oct. 11 Hen. VII. when Sir John Savile, knt. lord of Shelf, granted part of the waste there; as did sir Henry Savile, knt. lord of Shelf, by deed, dated 1 April, 34 Hen. VIII. At present it belongs to the Savile family.

In this township, 11 Ed. II. Henry Darcy and Hugh de Totehill had lands and tenements to the value of four pounds ten shillings, which were Geoffry de Fersley's, and which Richard Wade held for life of said Henry and Hugh. Geoffry de Shelf, residing in Shelf, gave to Robert, son of Tho. de Whitewod, one yearly rent of four shillings, and to his heirs for ever, to be perceived of one assart lying on the west part of the town of Shelf, in 1341. This the said Robert gave, in 1349, to his son Richard, and his heirs. 12 Edw. III. the king granted to Bennet de Normanton in fee, all those lands and tenements in Shelf, &c. which Will. de Midgley

late held by the service of one penny. Joan, sister of Will. Mirfield, held one messuage and sixty oxgangs of land, with a meadow adjoining, in Shelf, of the king in capite, by the service of one halfpenny for all service. No date.

Shelf-Hall is mentioned in a Deed in 1496; and a messuage called Mounteyn, in Shelf, in another, dated in 1540; and in a Rental of the sums paid to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in England, in 1533, is the following "Edwd. Kent supradict. pro Shelve park, 4d.”

Within this township there are several beds of good coal, from which the manufactories in this part are principally supplied.

A new turnpike Road between Halifax and Bradford has lately been made to pass through the township, whereby a considerable facility has been afforded to the extension of its trade.

TOWNSHIP OF SKIRCOAT.

THIS Township which adjoins that of Halifax, is bounded on the South by the river Calder, by the townships of Sowerby and Warley on the West, and the river Hebble on the East. It contains an area of 1340 statute acres.

It was formerly written Schircotes, and seems, says Mr. Watson, "to have taken its name from some cots or buildings, perhaps the only one then in this division, situated near those beautiful scars or rocks which range themselves along the bank of the Calder: the habitations, as I conjecture, of swine herds, both because there were formerly plenty of oaks in the neighbourhood, and because some lands hard by, have still the name of Pighills.”

It is not mentioned in Domesday Book, but was originally granted by the crown to the Earl of Warren; and it appears that John, Earl of Warren, claimed free warren here, 27 Hen. III., and that the same Earl was found to be Lord thereof by Kirby's inquest. Being part of Sowerbyshire, it was granted by Hameline, the Earl of Warren, to Jordan de Thornhill, and from that family it passed to the Savilles, on the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Simon Thornhill, with Henry Saville; as we have shewn under Ovenden. In the British Museum is a MS. No. 797, wherein is the following entry under Skircoat :-"43 Edw. III. Simon de Thornhill, who held of the lord in Stansfield, Skircoat, Ovenden, and Wadsworth certain tenements and lands in soccage, died, and Elizabeth, daughter and heir, of the age of two years and in the custody of Elizabeth her mother, comes and gives for relief, ten shillings."

Mr. WATSON States, that there have been certain grants within this Manor, affecting the title to it, but at what time they were made does not appear. "I find, however, (says he) that John Talvas gave to Thomas, his son, the fourth part of the town of Skircoat,

and the demesne lands of Copley, by deed sans date; and that Jordan, son of John Talvas, gave to Hugh de Copley, son of Thomas Talvas, his brother, sixteen acres of land in Skircoat wood, by deed sans date. In an evidence, 3 Henry VIII. express mention is made of the manor of Copley, (within this township.) The manor still continues in the possession of the noble family of Saville.

COPLEY-HALL,

Takes its name from the great copp or bank, under which it is situated; it is famous for giving name to an ancient respectable family, the first of which was Adam de Copley, slain when William the Conqueror laid siege to York, in the year 1070. WATSON has given a pedigree, tracing this family of Copley, to an alliance with the Savilles, as I have shown, who it appears settled at Copley about the year 1485. A female descendant of this family intermarried with Lord Thomas Howard, brother to Henry, duke of Norfolk, who, being sent ambassador to Rome, died at sea, either on the 8th or 9th of December, 1689. They had Thomas, duke of Norfolk.

The Duke of Norfolk sold this estate to one Walker, of Huddersfield. He seems (says WATSON) to have conceived a sort of prejudice against it, for having arrived at the end of Skircoat-Green, with a design to pay it a visit, and seeing that it was seated under a hill, and made but a mean appearance, he immediately turned back, and would not give himself the trouble to go to it.

KING CROSS.

On the top of a hill, something more than a mile from Halifax, in the great road from thence to Rochdale, is the remain of a stone cross of this name, which (says WATSON) Some of the inhabitants thereabouts think was so called, because one of the kings of England, intending to penetrate into Lancashire, was frighted with the appearance of the hills from this place, and turned back; but this traditionary, (and he might have added, absurd) story, is unsupported by any authority, and the fact seems rather to be, that it was erected by one of the name of King. So far is certain, that some time ago there was in Skircoat a considerable family of this name, who had their residence at Lower Willow Hall, beneath which is a small valley, which to this day has the name of King's Vael. In a M.S. in my