Stansfield was mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Stanesfelt'.[1] The area comprising Stansfield extends from Stansfield Moor in the Pennines to the banks of the River Calder in Todmorden.[2]
Historically, the township of Stansfield was considered within the manor of Wakefield which was granted, after the Norman Conquest, to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. The earl then granted the manor of Stansfield to his sub-tenant John de Thornhill, and it later passed to the Savile family.[3][4] In terms of ecclesiastical organisation, Stansfield was one of the townships in the chapelry of Heptonstall within the ancient parish of Halifax.[5]
Wyon Maryons, lord of the lordship of Stansfield, was reputed to have been the descendant of a noble line from Brittany who accompanied William the Conqueror to England, and received a grant of the lands and lordship of Stansfield. His descendant, Jordan, later assumed the surname Stansfield.[9][10] Jordan de Stansfield reputedly married a daughter of Sir John Towneley of Towneley, and their descendants included Oliver de Stansfield (who was Constable of Pontefract Castle),[11] and Joanna Stansfield, Prioress of Kirklees Priory (d. 1499).[12][13][14]
St Paul's Church, Cross Stone, Stansfield, Todmorden in 2009
Cross Stone taking its name from an ancient stone cross near the site. The tradition was that the church was built by a Stansfield of Stansfield Hall in Stansfield. The church, dedicated to St Paul, was in existence in 1537 but was rebuilt in 1832.[19] It was decommissioned in 1979 and is now a private residence.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 5, 14, 75–84.
^"Stansfield, West Riding". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 78–9.
^Watson, J. (1775). The History and Antiquities of The Parish of Halifax. pp. 87–9.
^GENUKI. "The Ancient Parish of Halifax". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
^A Vision of Britain through time. "A vision of Todmorden RD". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
^A Vision of Britain through time. "A vision of West Riding". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
^"Election of Town\Parish Councillors 2019". www.calderdale.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 102–4.
^Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1872). Nichols, John Gough; Lyons, Ponsonby Annesley (eds.). An history of the original Parish of Whalley, and honor of Clitheroe, to which is subjoined an account of the Parish of Cartmell. Vol. 2 (4th ed. rev. and enl. ed.). London: George Routledge and Sons. pp. 230–1.
^"Townships: Worsthorne with Hurstwood | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^"Houses of Cistercians nuns: Kirklees Priory | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^"The Prioress of Kirklees". midgleywebpages.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^Turner, Joseph Horsfall; Watson, John (1883). Biographia Halifaxiensis : or, Halifax families and worthies. A biographical and genealogical history of Halifax Parish. Vol. 1. Bingley [England]: T. Harrison. pp. 257–8.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 101–60, 313–46.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 183–246.
^Foster, Joseph (1874). Pedigrees of the county families of Yorkshire: II. West Riding. London: W. Wilfred Head. p. 183.
^Stansfeld, J. (1885). History of the Family of Stansfeld of Stansfield in the Parish of Halifax and its numerous branches. Leeds: Leeds, Goodall and Suddick, printed for private circulation. pp. 82, 85–101.