Travel Tong, West Yorkshire Map

Travel to Tong, West Yorkshire Map

Tong, West Yorkshire tourist guide map of landmarks & destinations by Walkfo

Tong, West Yorkshire history

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Evidence of early activity within the Tong area is sparse, an undated flint found within the grounds of Tong Hall represents the prehistoric period. Later artefacts within the general area include a Roman pre-Flavian coin (i.e. before 69 AD) and two coins dating to the second and third centuries found in the vicinity of Westgate Hill. The village was an integral part of the Tempest estate, comprising workers’ cottages, farmsteads and ancillary buildings. By 1725 a linear settlement extended eastwards from the chapel, towards Keepers Lane and Hill Green. Dwellings were mainly located to the front of Tong Lane with barns or outbuildings to the rear. It is believed settlement may have initially comprised two focal points, near the church and at Hill Green. Rebuilding work/renovation of village buildings, undertaken by the Tempests, occurred in the 17th and early 18th centuries. These works included the rebuilding of the 12th-century chapel by Sir George Tempest in 1727, and the construction of the village school and master’s house in 1736. A vicarage also superseded the parsonage adjacent to the church. Church Farmhouse similarly dates from the 18th century. Although there is little remaining evidence of any permanent settlement of the area from prehistoric to through Roman times, St James Church provides conclusive evidence of an earlier settlement of some importance at Tong in Saxon times. Excavations undertaken during the restoration of the church in the 1970s uncovered the fragmentary walls and foundation stones of two earlier buildings contained within the footprint of the remains of a Norman-era church which was built circa 1140. The discovery of grave markers within these two buildings alludes to the fact that a church existed on the site of the present day church from the eleventh century, and, moreover, prior to the Norman invasion of 1066. Around the time of the Norman invasion, it is known that Tong Manor was farmed and was owned by a Saxon named Stainulf. As happened across the country after 1066, the Norman invaders knocked down existing churches and built a new place of worship, often on the site of the church they demolished, and, under William the Conqueror, high ranking Normans were installed as the new lords and overlords of the English manors. By the time of the Domesday Survey, in 1086, some twenty years after the invasion, Tong Manor was held by Ilbert de Lacy, an ally of William The Conqueror, who is recorded in the survey as holding 162 manors. Among de Lacy’s holdings was all of what is now Bradford (excluding Eccleshill). At the time of the Domesday survey all manors which were held directly by de Lacy lay undeveloped wasteland, including the 2,000-acre (8.1 km) Tong Manor, although it is known that Tong was cultivated when in the possession of Stainulf. Asolf, an extensive landowner in West Riding, appears to have been lord of Tong Manor from around 1135 to about 1159 and it is therefore probably he who rebuilt the church in about 1140 on the site of the demolished pre-Conquest church. Asolf had many sons, who, instead of taking the name Fitzasolf (son of Asolf) were named after where they were made lord of the manor on their father’s death. In this way, Asolf’s son Richard de Tang (c.1130–c.1195) was the first in a line of Lords of Tong who would inhabit Tong Hall and oversee the running of the manor until 1941. The name Tong comes from the Old English term tang meaning tong or fork and refers to the village’s position on a raised sliver of land between Ringshaw Beck and Cockersdale which converge at the eastern extreme of the manor. Tong remained in the possession of the de Tangs as an agricultural manor for nine generations until the death of Hugh de Tong in 1445 and the passing of the manor to his grandson, John Mirfield, to which the woollen town of Mirfield got its name. Holme Bank, located nearby in Ned Lane, was an ancient holding, but the earliest actual record discovered so far is from “Bradford Archive” is 1562 (Reign of Elizabeth I). Holme Bank Farm like most of the surrounding farms and cottages were owned by the Tempest family of Tong Hall. Tong Lane was described in the late 19th century as lined with old trees, with a parsonage, known as Lantern House, and former inn, The Griffin, standing adjacent to the church. The inn’s license was subsequently transferred to the Greyhound Inn, a straw-thatched building on Tong Lane, but later moved to its present site, and thus, a griffin is the symbol of the historic pub village cricket team, Tong Cricket Club who have played in several cricket leagues in the West Yorkshire area. Long since demolished buildings within the village included a wheelwright’s shop and smithy adjacent to the pinfold at the junction of Keeper Lane. In order to prevent over-population of the village the Lord of the Manor discouraged new development. Some buildings were dismantled when they became vacant and the stone re-used. In contrast landholdings elsewhere, such as at Tong Street (about one-and-a-half miles to the west) were sold, resulting in industrial, commercial and residential development. In the early 20th century the antiquarian, James Parker, described Tong village as set within a “charming” rural landscape, the village remaining the same “as it has done in generations past.” According to the estate sale particulars of 1943 the majority of village buildings had retained their function as farmsteads and dwellings, many of the dwellings being single-storey cottages. The preservation of the Hall and Park, and the Estate’s influence on development has helped maintain the character of the village and buildings within it. Many buildings within the Conservation Area are Grade II listed structures dating between the 17th and 18th centuries, with Tong Hall and gatepiers to the entrance of the drive listed respectively as Grade I and Grade II* listed structures. Despite modern residential development the layout of the linear settlement today is very similar to that recorded in 1725.

  

Tong, West Yorkshire map & travel guide with history & landmarks to explore

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Tourist Guide to Tong, West Yorkshire Map

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