Wood Lane Hall, Sowerby - HLS06048

Slide 1 - This is one of the most picturesque old Houses in the parish of Halifax, and seems to have escaped external alterations evident in all others, according to the varying tastes of the owners. It is situated in the Calder Valley on a steep hillside, mid way between Sowerby Bridge and the ancient Village of Sowerby. The sheltered situation of the building, bowered in trees and away from the busy haunts of man, makes an ideal old homestead. Its outward appearance is suggestive of a house with a history, and it is a striking illustration of how our forefathers understood the art of building. Observe the graceful circular window of the porch chamber. On the headstones of the door are the initials of the builder, Richard Dearden, and also of his wife Elizabeth, and the date 1649. He it was who renovated the old house of the Medieval period and cased the old framework with stone, thereby giving to posterity the handsome exterior we see at the present time. In the interior may be seen still in position, the crooked timbers of the medieval building.Wood Lane Hall was purchased by the Dearden family in 1613, from Isaac Hopkinson, but up to 1586 from the earliest times on record it had belonged to the Woods, who probably took their name from the same.

George Hepworth

Hebden Bridge Literary & Scientific Society

1905 , 1900s

PHDA - Hebden Bridge Local History Society

Pennine Horizons Digital Archive

HLS06048.tif