Haigh Hall

This is a house, now a farmhouse divided into two occupations, dating to the mid-16th century. It was largely rebuilt in the 18th century (dated 1768) and further altered in the early 19th century. The house is constructed of punch-dressed stone with ashlar dressings, and has a stone slate roof. The facade is four bays, with two bays added to the right in the 19th century. It features rusticated quoins, a plinth, ground-floor and first-floor bands. A doorway in the second bay has a Gibbs surround, pulvinated frieze and cornice. Above it, a blocked window also has a Gibbs surround and apron. Ground-floor windows have flat arches with raised keystones and projecting sills, while first-floor windows have projecting sills and square heads. Shaped gutter brackets are also present. The right-hand bays contain a doorway with a Gibbs surround and a triple keystones inscribed "T 1768 W" above a cartouche displaying the Savile coat of arms and a carved face to its apex, which appears to be reused from the late 17th century. A window to each floor of the outer right-hand bay has a monolithic lintel and sill, preserving 16-pane sashes. A hipped gable is present to the left, with an end stack, with a further stack at the ridge where the two-bay addition joins. The rear of the building is L-shaped, with a two-bay wing under a hipped roof. The first bay of this wing has a tall stair window with impost blocks and a keystone, while the second bay features windows with plain stone surrounds and projecting sills. A later 19th or 20th-century brick kitchen extension and stack are considered of no particular interest.

The interior reveals a four-bay early timber-frame with posts on padstones and large king-post trusses without struts, featuring cambered tie-beams and straight braces to the ridge; one truss is a closing truss with vertical struts. At a right angle to this range is an 18th-century oak fish-bone king-post roof, with tenoned and pegged purlins through the principal rafters. Original 18th-century fireplaces with original surrounds and six-panelled doors remain. One cell contains a stop-chamfered spine-beam and bressumer, along with a board-and-muntin wall and a portion of a close-studded wall with original clay infill.

Historical records indicate that Jeremiah Marsden, a Puritan Minister, lived at Haigh Hall between 1660 and 1662. In the early 18th century, it was the home of William Elmsall, steward to George, 3rd Earl of Cardigan, who purchased cloth from Yorkshire Clothiers for the Earl and his acquaintances. The Earl stayed at the house in 1730. The Savile coat of arms above the doorway reflects the connection between the Savile family, Lords of the Manor during the 16th and 17th centuries, and the Cardigans through marriage. Members of the Elmsall family held the incumbency of East Ardsley, including Henry Elmsall (1716-1758) and his son Henry (1772-1797), who may also have resided here given that the living was held in plurality with St. Mary’s Woodkirk.