Manor of Wakefield
Prior to the Norman Conquest, the land and estates known collectively as the Manor of Wakefield belonged to the monarch, and therefore passed into the possession of William the Conqueror.
Following the Rebellion of 1088, the manor was granted to the family of the William de Warenne (First Earl of Surrey) by William II as a reward for their loyalty during the revolt. After the death of John the Eighth Earl Warenne, the manor reverted to the crown in the early 1360s. In the mid-1620s the manor was granted to Henry Rich by Charles I. The manor was later purchased by the Duke of Leeds in 1700.[1]
The following townships (or constituent hamlets) were wholly or partly within the Manor of Wakefield:
- Austonley
- Cartworth
- Cumberworth Half
- Dalton
- Fulstone
- Golcar
- Hepworth
- Holme
- Kirkburton
- Lindley cum Quarmby — with the exception of a portion of Quarmby
- Linthwaite — hamlet of Lower Linthwaite only
- Lockwood — hamlet of North Crosland only
- Longwood
- Scammonden
- Shelley
- Shepley
- Thurstonland
- Upperthong
- Wooldale
Seven of the above townships comprised the Graveship of Holme, which was one of the 12 graveship subdivisions of the Manor of Wakefield.
All other hamlets and townships in the local area were part of the Honour of Pontefract.