| Description | Post medieval farmstead located to the north east of the scheduled remains of former 16th century Howley Hall (PRN 3455). Possible medieval structural remnants may survive as part of Howley Hall Farm, which is now part of Howley Hall Golf Club. Howley Hall Farm, however, was de listed c.1986 because of nature of 20th century alterations.
In July 2012 David Hunter (WYAAS) made a site visit to Howley Hall Farm in regard to planning application 11/04042/FU change of use including part demolition and extensions of farmhouse and outbuildings to 8 houses and detached garages block with green keepers store. Please note: that during Hunter's site visit no access to interior of the farmhouse/ cottage was possible, however all the other farm buildings were inspected internally.
The farm comprises of three yards with a continuous western range of buildings of various dates. All the buildings are stone built with thick slate roofs and some use of brick. The mistal, northern cart shed and barn have substantial wooden roof structures and some of the timbers are clearly reused and converted from even larger structural members. The two southern yards appear relatively recent in date and associated with animal husbandry. The northern yard appears to be older and is associated with the large barn and cart shed; this may have been a stack yard.
The cottage’s eastern facing windows are of various dates with the earliest being small stone mullioned openings. This façade also has a string course between floors. The cottage has a squat chimney stack, kneelers and coped southern gable. It was not possible to inspect the interior of the cottage and it is not known if evidence of earlier features survive within this building. Drawings presented with the planning application show it to have thick walls and thick or irregular floor plates which are both suggestive of the partial reuse of an older structure. In addition a large blocked entrance and smaller blocked doorway in the internal rear (southern) wall of the cart house could not be related to the existing south facing wall which again suggests an earlier structure has been incorporated or altered.
A mistal with feed store was attached to the northern end of the cottage by an area of two storey walling which includes a high quality round headed door surround. It is possible that two storey wall and door surround dates to the medieval period, and various blocked windows and extensions does suggest some antiquity, as does its roof structure. Both the cottage and mistal, however, are clearly later in date
History: An “Old Howley Hall” is recorded as the home of John de Heton in the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1293. The Mirfield family had a mansion at Howley Hall during the medieval period and this house may be shown on Saxton’s 1585 map of Yorkshire. Sir John Savile (the first Alderman of Leeds), however, built a new mansion on the estate in this year, which with its associated gardens lay to the east of Howley Hall Farm and is the scheduled site PRN 3544. Prior to the Battle of Adwalton Moor (1643) the Savile mansion was besieged and bombarded before it fell to Parliamentary troops. The Savile Mansion survived a further 90 years before it was eventually demolished in 1730. The present clubhouse (also known as the Bailiff’s House) and parts of the farm probably date to soon after the demolition of 1730. |