|
(English Roots, Pg 2)
West Riding of Yorkshire
Crosslands of all spellings and national origin
seem to descend from the ancient family line of
Crossland of West Yorkshire.
Resident 11th Century Onward |
Crosslands have been in Yorkshire since at least the time of the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror which culminated in the Battle of Hastings in the 11th century.
In 1086, following victory at Hastings, William authorized a survey of the assets of England – a tax survey, called the Domesday Book by landowners. (This site has information about the Domesday Book.)
The Domesday Book identified Crossland as two adjacent land holdings in the Southern Pennine Mountain region of West Yorkshire. Crossland people have been resident in that area of Yorkshire continuously since that time and may have been living there from a much earlier time.
The origin of the Crossland people and land holding in Yorkshire is very unclear. Some think the people were Angles, others think not. There are no records and no published information that address these questions, merely speculatioin.
One of the two Crossland holdings mentioned in the Domesday Book contained about 120 acres of land, the other about 240 acres. At some point, these two holdings became known as North-Crosland and South-Crosland, repectively. Later records show that these areas were townships with various hamlets located in each.
South-Crosland was (or at some point became) a dominant location and probably a center of Crossland life. A manor house known as Crosland Hall was located there and that area was sometimes referred to as Crosland Hill. The village of North-Crosland eventually came to be known as Lockwood.
The Crossland land (or a portion of it), Crosland Hall included, belonged to the Beaumont family by the 1300s. This is inferred in a document published in 1822 which states: "Crosland-Hall, an ancient mansion of the Beaumonts... This mansion is rendered famous in local history, by the family feuds of the Elands of Eland, Beaumonts of Crosland, and Lockwoods of Lockwood, in the time of Edward III, when Sir Robert Beaumont was slain in this Hall." Note: Edward III was crowned 1327; Grace Crosland was the wife of slain Sir Robert Beaumont.
By the 14th or 15th Century, Crosslands had expanded beyond the neighborhood of South-Crosland into nearby villages such as Farnley Tyas, Elland and Lockwood and beyond the Parish boundry of Almondbury. Documents also show Crosslands living farther south in Nottingshire at an early date. The Nottinghamshire Crosslands were probably related to the Yorkshire Crosslands, but no specific link is evident.
As the Crossland line grew and expanded it also prospered. Some Crosslands rose to political position and some family lines rose to gentry status. A short survey of notable (my opinion) figures of Crossland history is available here.
A long line of Crosslands were students of divinity at Cambridge University and documents show that several of these Crosslands became vicars of Almondbury and other churches in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
Many Crosslands were apparently involved in the extensive woolen and clothier trades of the region. A woolen mill, known as Crosland factory, was built at Crossland Hall by the Beaumonts in the 1790s. Family members were probably also involved in stone quarry work at nearby Crosland Moor. Granite from quarries on the moor have long been used for construction of area buildings, such as the train station in nearby Huddersfield.
For more details about ancient Crosslands, follow this link to helpful historical information posted by Tim Geary.
Places that bore the Crossland name in much earlier days continue to carry the name today. This link, for example, leads to current photographs of the panorama around Crosland Hill and Crosland Moor. These photographs and others from area locations are posted on the very well done Huddersfield Web Site of Tony Hartley.
West Yorkshire is still a principal home of Crosslands, although today Crosslands are present in many other counties of Britain and all the English-speaking former colonies of Old England: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States.
Comment: This piece is obviously not a definitive work on ancient Crosslands. I would like to improve it, but sources of information are virtually non-existant. Little has been published about the early family and the few records known to exist about them are difficult to access.
If you are aware of documentation that would expand understanding of the Crossland line or if you would like to partner with me in developing this page, please contact me here: [email protected] |
1Phillimore, Domesday Book, 1986
2Dougdale, Visitation of Yorkshire, 1665
3Langdale, Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire, 1822
4Huddersfield, Huddersfield World Wide Web Sites
| Top Back
Pg: 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
|
