Huddleston Hall is a Grade 11 listed building situated near the hamlet of Newthorpe, west of Sherburn in Elmet, a short walk down Sir John’s Lane and then left into Laith Staith Lane.
The present hall is a late 16th century manor house built of Huddeston quarry stone (the same material used for Henry V111’s chapel at Westminster).
History of the Hall
At the time of the Domesday Book 1085-6 lived a Saxon named Hunchel or Huddor and this is possibly how Huddleston got it’s name. Another possibility is that “hudr” or “huddel” meant a heap in Saxon dialect which may have referred to the local stone.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066 the area was no longer part of the Archbishop of York’s estate. It became under the control of the Norman Lord Ilbert de Lacy as part of his honour of Pontefract. De Lacy died around 1093-1095 but the area had many De Lacy connections that lasted into the 14th century.
The Huddleston family
The first to be recorded having the surname Huddleston was Nigel de Huddleston who in 1110 presented land to Selby monastery and became a monk himself. The name Nigel,as well as Gilbert his son, are of Norman origin.
One of Nigel’s descendants was Sir Richard de Huddleston who in 1296 built a chapel attached to his manor house at Huddleston (the shell of the chapel still remains). Richard however still worshipped at All Saint’s church, Sherburn on major feast days.Richard was made a knight baronet at Agincourt and the family produced many soldiers in the following centuries. Richard was the last of the male line to live at the hall and died early in the 14th century.
The estate then went by marriage to John de Melsa who was Richard’s son in law after marrying Beatrix, Richard’s daughter.
By 1304 the estate passed on to the Grenefield family and then other families including the Langton family of Farnley near Leeds in the mid 1300’s. The family arms appears on the pillar of the east side of All Saint’s church porch and it is also on the face of the south west buttress of the tower.
The Hungate Family
The present Hall was built in the 16th century for the Hungate family who were Lords of the Manor of Sherburn. Generations of the Hungates lived at the hall including Sir Philip Hungate, Bart. who died in 1652, Margaret and Elizabeth daughters of Sir Francis Hungate, Roger son of Sir Francis and finally Sir Charles Carrington Hungate who died at the Hall in 1749 aged 63. Records state that he was a lunatic! Charles was the last male heir of the Hungate family of Saxton and is buried at Saxton church.
Later Occupants
John Woodward esq. occupied the Hall in 1870 and William Harrison Wellborn born in 1851 came to live at the Hall towards the end of the 19th century. He was a sidesperson at All Saint’s church and became church warden in 1905. He eventually left the Hall to live in Hillam.
From 1945 the Hall became the residence of Guy and Elsie Pears and their son Nigel still lives there.
Huddleston Hall is now primarily a farmhouse but luckily still retains important historical features.
Research by Margaret Jones