The Minor Family of Somerset

Name Suffix:<NSFX> of Upperbrea
Samuel Thomas Lister's Nephew writes in his notebook: "Md. tha
t my father John Lister, departed this life July 18th 1662.Mr
. Bentley (Eli) preached at his funeral, II John, 3, "Lord, beho
ld, he whom thous ovest is sick" The sermon preached in Halifa
x churn on this occasion was carefully taken down in a very wel
l written shorthand, in one of his numerous notebooks by Samue
l Lister, son of his departed father, over whom it was preached.
John Lister, of Overbrae, Samuel's son, ws fined $10.00 for no
taccepting a KnightHood from Charles 1st
A SHORT HISTORY OF SHIBDEN Hall BY T.W.HANSON, BANFIELD MUSEUM N
OTES THIRD SERIES NO.3
Shibden Hall was built inthe first score years of the fifteent
h century. The earliest written evidence of the property is dat
ed 1410. Halifax Parish Church, with the exception of th lengt
h of Walling on the North side-of Norman date, pierced by decora
ted windows-has been entirely re-built since Shibden Hall was er
ected. The view of the Church, from the south side, reveals n
o stone that was there when William Otes built his home. The ma
ssive oak posts and beams that support theroof of the Hall ar
e visible proof that oak trees of immense girth grew in plenty o
n the spot, for it was impracticable, five centuries ago, to tra
nsport heavy timber for any distance in such a hilly country. tr
adition says thata squirrel could travel from Shibden to Royd
s Hall wihout once descending tothe ground,-the country was s
o well wooded in former Days. The "drum and trumpet" historian
s insist that the early years of the fifteenth century were year
s of civil war in England; yet this homestead was, from a milita
ry pointof view, absolutely defenceless. The Parish of Halifa
x was too remote for campaigning, and at this time the builder
s of Shibden Hall and contemporary local houses were laying th
e foundations of the West riding textile trade. They could no
t foresee that Shibden Hall would survive for centruies after Wa
kefield and Pontefract Castles, Kirkstall and Fountains Abbeys
, ahd become ruins.
Granted the time, and the zest for the deep authentic historic t
hrill, the best way to make a pilgrimage to Shibden is to go b
y the old pack-horse track that climbs over the shoulder of Beac
on Hill-our medieval magna Via, theancient high road to Wakefie
ld and the South. Or, even better, commence at the Hipperholm
e boundary on the same road and climb the ridge, where the pave
d road lies in a deep trough, and has altered little in apperanc
e since those first owners of Shibden Hall, and their successor
s down to the middle of the eighteenth centry, used it to trave
l abroad. The line of this road had something to do with the po
sition of the house, for the original access to it was from th
e old road. The house faces south, as was the invariable custom
,and to-Day is in a very secluded nook, for the modern road cro
sses the valleyat the other side of the prk.
The framework of the hosue is composed of oak posts and beams, w
ith perpendicular and iagonal stoothing or studding of oak to ma
ke the walls. The timber framework was grooved to receive slab
s of stone slates, which were surfaced with clay mixed with chop
ped straw, which madethe white panels of the facade. There i
s a homeliness, an "English-ness" about our black-and-white arch
itecture that has more charm than the more imposing castles an
d abbeys. The plan of the house was simple; a through passag
e ran from the south porch to the North door. To the West of th
is passage, separated by a screen, was the house body. the flan
King gables had each southahd North rooms, used as parlours, ki
tchen and buttery. A stair-case and gallery in the house-body g
ave access to the chambers. Over the south porch was a little s
tudy. The range of wooden mullioned windows in the centre porti
on is evidence that there were chambers over the