A house is mentioned here in Domesday Book.
Parts of the present building date to the 1300s.
The Rookes family were the first tenants in 1313.
The timber-framed house is dated to 1458.
It was cased in stone around 1640. The wings were added in 1651 [east] and 1656 [west].
It is said to be one of the finest remaining manor houses in the country.
In 1598, Henry VIII granted the Rookes family the freehold in exchange for knight's service.
Members of the family who lived here included Richard Rookes [15??], William Rookes [1540?], William Rookes [1611], and John Rookes [around 1700]. The last of the family to live at the hall was Edward Rookes Leedes. When he went bankrupt and committed suicide, the estate was sold for £34,000 to a group who founded Low Moor Iron Works and who bought the land for the mineral rights and then extracted coal and iron stone.
Subsequent owners and tenants have included
In 2002, Sir Ernest Hall spoke out against plans to build houses on land around the Hall – as part of a multi-million pound Royds Regeneration Scheme – because he feared that the beauty of the countryside heritage would be spoiled and said that the site and its ancient woodland should be for the people to enjoy. He put the hall up for sale in 2004.
The original Eastfields Chapel stood on the estate.
This is discussed in the book The Old Halls & Manor Houses of Yorkshire.
This lies in the Bradford area – not Calderdale
See Manor of Royds Hall, Mr Smith and Upper Rookes, Norwood Green
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Malcolm Bull 2017 /
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Revised 14:06 on 8th May 2017 / mmr105 / 6
