- East Riddlesden Hall
East Riddlesden Hall is a
17th century Britishmanor house inKeighley ,West Yorkshire , now owned by the National Trust. The hall was built in 1642 by a wealthy Halifax clothier, James Murgatroyd. There is amedieval tithebarn in the grounds.East Riddlesden Hall perches on a small plateau overlooking a bend in the
River Aire on its way downstream from the town ofKeighley . Interesting features include well-restored living accommodation on two floors, two YorkshireRose windows , walled garden, the ruined Starkie wing and severalghosts (reputedly).The property was extended and re-built by James Murgatroyd, who built other stone manor houses throughout the
West Riding of Yorkshire , in 1648. In thegreat hall , a small fireplace can be seen above the main fire place, where the floor for the first floor accommodation was not built. James Murgatroyd was a Royalist and this can be seen in royalist symbols and graffiti on and in the building. For example, the Bothy (now the tea room and shop) has the heads ofCharles I of England andHenrietta Maria of France carved in the top most stone work.The Murgatroyd family are reputed to be the inspiration for the Murgatroyd
Baronet s in thecomic opera "Ruddigore " byGilbert and Sullivan , and the opera has been performed at the Hall. The Murgatroyds of East Riddlesden Hall were notorious in the 17th century for their profanity anddebauchery , and members of the family were fined, imprisoned andexcommunicated .Filming location
East Riddlesden Hall has been used as a
filming location for the 1992 film "Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights " [cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104181/locations | title = Filming locations for Wuthering Heights (1992) | publisher = The Internet Movie Database | accessdate = 2008-01-16 ] and for the "Sharpe's Justice " episode from the Sharpe TV series in 1997. [cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120109/locations | title = Filming locations for Sharpe's Justice (1997) (TV) | publisher = The Internet Movie Database | accessdate = 2008-01-16 ] It also featured in series eight of theparanormal television programme "Most Haunted ".References
External links
* [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-eastriddlesdenhall.htm East Riddlesden Hall information at the National Trust]
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