Welcome to our website
We hope you enjoy looking at our website, which we created in Autumn 2015 to provide information about the history of East Keswick, and about the East Keswick Local History Group. The website is in the course of being developed, with new content being added.
East Keswick is a village 10 miles north east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. Its history dates back to the Doomsday Book.
The Local History Group undertakes research into the history of East Keswick and the surrounding area. It has around 50 members and meets regularly in the village. We also have a couple of outside meetings each year. New members are always welcome.
East Keswick is a village 10 miles north east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. Its history dates back to the Doomsday Book.
The Local History Group undertakes research into the history of East Keswick and the surrounding area. It has around 50 members and meets regularly in the village. We also have a couple of outside meetings each year. New members are always welcome.
Our meetings
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Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings, which are mostly free to members, and £5 to non members.
Unless otherwise stated, meetings are at 8pm, but will change to 7:30pm from March 2025, in the Verity Room of East Keswick Village Hall (School Lane, East Kewsick, Leeds LS17 9DA).
2025 Meeting/Events Programme (New)
Thursday 11th Dec, 7:30pm: "A detective story; the re-discovery of Parlington Hall" by Brian Hull
The history of the Hall in Aberford, including scarce pictures (some from as early as 1850's) and analysis of the mansion's demise.
Parlington Hall and estate were bought by the Gascoignes in 1545, from the Wentworth family of South Yorkshire, near Rotherham.
It is fair to state that what it comprised at that time with regard to the hall is lost to history. The talk establishes from the earliest known drawings found to date, how it developed from the early eighteenth century, through to the nineteenth. The alternatives that were proposed, by famous architects, but never happened, and then we tour around the gardens of the late nineteenth century using rare photographs to get a glimpse of the hall in its heyday. Finally we witness how it was abandoned and dismantled over decades until the final section of the main hall was demolished in 1961, leaving only the west wing and stables, parts of which exist to this day.
2026 Meeting/Events Programme (New)
Thursday 29th Jan, 7-30pm: "400 years of Leeds through the collections of Leeds Museums and Galleries" by Patrick Bourne.
Next year Leeds is celebrating the 400th anniversary of its royal charter, granted by King Charles I on July 13th 1626. The year-long celebrations for "Leeds 400" will feature a variety of events, including exhibitions, community projects, and large-scale performances, focusing on the city's history, culture, and people.
We are fortunate to have the Assistant Community Curator of Leeds Museums and Galleries, Patrick Bourne, coming to give us a talk showing how the history of Leeds is told through items in their collections.
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Past Meetings in 2025
Thursday 23rd January, 8pm: "The Forgotten war" - The Civil War in Yorkshire 1642-1643. Most accounts of the English Civil War tend to concentrate on the southern counties between Oxford and London with perhaps a passing reference to the "Battle of Adwalton" near Bradford and of course to the decisive battle on Marston Moor.
This talk looks at the start of the Civil War and argues that the war started in Yorkshire with Charles coming to the North to claim his arsenal in Hull. The talk then describes the engagements between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in mainly West and East Yorkshire culminating in the Battle of Adwalton. Speaker: Mike Turpin
Thursday 20th March, 8pm: "The Commonwealth War Graves Commission". A talk about the history and ongoing work of the CGWC who look after memorials all over the world including some in East Keswick. Speaker Brian Joyce
Thursday 15 May, 7:30pm: “What the Papers Said!” A glimpse into two centuries of East Keswick life as reported by the national and local press. Margaret Moseley's illustrated talk is about articles found in newpapers and magazines from 1740-1930. Amongst other stories, hear more about: “Attempted Burglary and Noble Resistance of an Octogenarian...East Keswick...The house where the outrage was committed is occupied by Mr F. Shires, farmer, a man of 80 years who resides alone.” The Leeds Intelligencer, May 17, 1845
Members only Event: Thursday 17th July - visit to Ripon Workhouse and Prison Museums.
10-25 Meet at the Workhouse HG4 1LE
10-30 Guided Tour of the Workhouse
11-45 Walk to Prison
12-00 Guided Tour of the Prison
13-15 Finish
There is an optional tour of the Courthouse we could arrange after a lunch break (plenty of places nearby) if people are interested.
Price £13 for the Workhouse and Prison. Extra £3 for the Courthouse
Email us at [email protected] if you would like to come along and let us know if you would be interested in the additional visit to the Courthouse.
Event: Sunday 14th September 2pm - Guided Village walks
Friday 19th September 2pm - Guided Village walks
Starting from the Village Hall we will help you explore the village, which was recorded in the Domesday survey, and its growth as a rural farming and artisan community.
We will talk about the 200 years of the Harewood Lascelles family owning large parts of the village and surrounding farmland.
We will discuss how the village continued to grow from the middle of the 19th century, as commuters were attracted by the healthy environment and improved transport links and how both World Wars exacted a particularly heavy toll on the local young men.
We will also share stories about some notable residents, including the Moon family who founded a Yorkshire wide Grocery empire that thrived for 100 years and the Laurence family who ran two boarding schools and trained Methodist missionaries.
Although there was significant house building in the 1970s and 80s a large part of the village is subject to conservation status meaning that the heart of the village retains many older buildings which illustrate its history.
Thursday 25 Sept, 7:30pm: AGM & "Witchcraft in 16th and 17th century Yorkshire" by Dave Weldrake. This talk contrasts the image of the witch as presented by demonologists in Early Modern England with the reality of what witches were actually accused of. It attempts to distinguish fact from fiction and to show that witchcraft in this period was less a matter of Devil worship and more one of neighbourhood quarrels.
Dave Weldrake is a former chairman of the Yorkshire branch of the Council for British Archaeology and was for nearly 25 years the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service.
Thursday 6th Nov, 7:30pm: -"History of Hull" - talk by David Taylor. Due to its distant position in the east of Yorkshire, Hull does not seem to have the prominence of York or some of the West Riding towns.
It does however have a long and complicated history most of which I was unaware of until I started this project.
It has been an interesting journey taking me to Iceland and the Caribbean amongst other places.
I aim to give a picture of some of the main events and life of the city. Because of its critical location on the Humber, it has been a strategic port used by some British Monarchs as a base and an arsenal, a major trading port and has benefited from the large fishing industry in the 20th century.
It was ‘City of Culture’ in 2017 and, in common with many cities, has been transformed in the later 20th century which continues to the present day.
Link to more Past Programme Meetings and Events
Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings, which are mostly free to members, and £5 to non members.
Unless otherwise stated, meetings are at 8pm, but will change to 7:30pm from March 2025, in the Verity Room of East Keswick Village Hall (School Lane, East Kewsick, Leeds LS17 9DA).
2025 Meeting/Events Programme (New)
Thursday 11th Dec, 7:30pm: "A detective story; the re-discovery of Parlington Hall" by Brian Hull
The history of the Hall in Aberford, including scarce pictures (some from as early as 1850's) and analysis of the mansion's demise.
Parlington Hall and estate were bought by the Gascoignes in 1545, from the Wentworth family of South Yorkshire, near Rotherham.
It is fair to state that what it comprised at that time with regard to the hall is lost to history. The talk establishes from the earliest known drawings found to date, how it developed from the early eighteenth century, through to the nineteenth. The alternatives that were proposed, by famous architects, but never happened, and then we tour around the gardens of the late nineteenth century using rare photographs to get a glimpse of the hall in its heyday. Finally we witness how it was abandoned and dismantled over decades until the final section of the main hall was demolished in 1961, leaving only the west wing and stables, parts of which exist to this day.
2026 Meeting/Events Programme (New)
Thursday 29th Jan, 7-30pm: "400 years of Leeds through the collections of Leeds Museums and Galleries" by Patrick Bourne.
Next year Leeds is celebrating the 400th anniversary of its royal charter, granted by King Charles I on July 13th 1626. The year-long celebrations for "Leeds 400" will feature a variety of events, including exhibitions, community projects, and large-scale performances, focusing on the city's history, culture, and people.
We are fortunate to have the Assistant Community Curator of Leeds Museums and Galleries, Patrick Bourne, coming to give us a talk showing how the history of Leeds is told through items in their collections.
****************************************************
Past Meetings in 2025
Thursday 23rd January, 8pm: "The Forgotten war" - The Civil War in Yorkshire 1642-1643. Most accounts of the English Civil War tend to concentrate on the southern counties between Oxford and London with perhaps a passing reference to the "Battle of Adwalton" near Bradford and of course to the decisive battle on Marston Moor.
This talk looks at the start of the Civil War and argues that the war started in Yorkshire with Charles coming to the North to claim his arsenal in Hull. The talk then describes the engagements between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in mainly West and East Yorkshire culminating in the Battle of Adwalton. Speaker: Mike Turpin
Thursday 20th March, 8pm: "The Commonwealth War Graves Commission". A talk about the history and ongoing work of the CGWC who look after memorials all over the world including some in East Keswick. Speaker Brian Joyce
Thursday 15 May, 7:30pm: “What the Papers Said!” A glimpse into two centuries of East Keswick life as reported by the national and local press. Margaret Moseley's illustrated talk is about articles found in newpapers and magazines from 1740-1930. Amongst other stories, hear more about: “Attempted Burglary and Noble Resistance of an Octogenarian...East Keswick...The house where the outrage was committed is occupied by Mr F. Shires, farmer, a man of 80 years who resides alone.” The Leeds Intelligencer, May 17, 1845
Members only Event: Thursday 17th July - visit to Ripon Workhouse and Prison Museums.
10-25 Meet at the Workhouse HG4 1LE
10-30 Guided Tour of the Workhouse
11-45 Walk to Prison
12-00 Guided Tour of the Prison
13-15 Finish
There is an optional tour of the Courthouse we could arrange after a lunch break (plenty of places nearby) if people are interested.
Price £13 for the Workhouse and Prison. Extra £3 for the Courthouse
Email us at [email protected] if you would like to come along and let us know if you would be interested in the additional visit to the Courthouse.
Event: Sunday 14th September 2pm - Guided Village walks
Friday 19th September 2pm - Guided Village walks
Starting from the Village Hall we will help you explore the village, which was recorded in the Domesday survey, and its growth as a rural farming and artisan community.
We will talk about the 200 years of the Harewood Lascelles family owning large parts of the village and surrounding farmland.
We will discuss how the village continued to grow from the middle of the 19th century, as commuters were attracted by the healthy environment and improved transport links and how both World Wars exacted a particularly heavy toll on the local young men.
We will also share stories about some notable residents, including the Moon family who founded a Yorkshire wide Grocery empire that thrived for 100 years and the Laurence family who ran two boarding schools and trained Methodist missionaries.
Although there was significant house building in the 1970s and 80s a large part of the village is subject to conservation status meaning that the heart of the village retains many older buildings which illustrate its history.
Thursday 25 Sept, 7:30pm: AGM & "Witchcraft in 16th and 17th century Yorkshire" by Dave Weldrake. This talk contrasts the image of the witch as presented by demonologists in Early Modern England with the reality of what witches were actually accused of. It attempts to distinguish fact from fiction and to show that witchcraft in this period was less a matter of Devil worship and more one of neighbourhood quarrels.
Dave Weldrake is a former chairman of the Yorkshire branch of the Council for British Archaeology and was for nearly 25 years the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service.
Thursday 6th Nov, 7:30pm: -"History of Hull" - talk by David Taylor. Due to its distant position in the east of Yorkshire, Hull does not seem to have the prominence of York or some of the West Riding towns.
It does however have a long and complicated history most of which I was unaware of until I started this project.
It has been an interesting journey taking me to Iceland and the Caribbean amongst other places.
I aim to give a picture of some of the main events and life of the city. Because of its critical location on the Humber, it has been a strategic port used by some British Monarchs as a base and an arsenal, a major trading port and has benefited from the large fishing industry in the 20th century.
It was ‘City of Culture’ in 2017 and, in common with many cities, has been transformed in the later 20th century which continues to the present day.
Link to more Past Programme Meetings and Events
Membership
You don’t have to be actively involved in researching local history to become a member. If you have an interest in the history of East Keswick and the surrounding area you should find our programme interesting. For an annual subscription (currently £10) members will receive a newsletter, and entrance to most meetings will be free.
Contact Liz Parr, Secretary, email: [email protected]
You don’t have to be actively involved in researching local history to become a member. If you have an interest in the history of East Keswick and the surrounding area you should find our programme interesting. For an annual subscription (currently £10) members will receive a newsletter, and entrance to most meetings will be free.
Contact Liz Parr, Secretary, email: [email protected]