PONDEN HALL, STANBURY.
An exceptional Grade II* Listed historic detached manor house enjoying spacious accommodation, superb far reaching views and approximately 4 acres of land.
Comprising, hallways, study, drawing room, sitting room, dining kitchen, utility, cellar, 6 bedrooms, shower room, 2 bathrooms and additional adjoining annex with open plan living area including kitchen, 2 further bedrooms and 2 en suites. Parking, gardens and approx 4 acres of grazing land.
For an owners perspective on life at Ponden Hall first hand see the website- www.pondenhall.moonfruit.net
Leeds approx 30 miles, Bradford approx 16 miles, Halifax approx 14 miles.

THE HISTORY

The main body of Ponden Hall was built in 1634 by the Heaton family, originally from Lancashire, who appear to have settled on the hill below the moors, above the small lake of Ponden, in the 1500s. At some point they built another house opposite, Ponden House (now a guesthouse built on the original house foundations).
In 1634 a new house was built onto the older 1500s building. As far as we know it had an entrance facing east across the water. In 1680 a 'peat loft' - a freestanding, two-storeyed building, designed to house peat upstairs, and cows below, the heat rising to dry the peat - was built alongside, and in 1801 the house was refurbished and modernised at some expense. You can read about it on a plaque above the front door.
Modernisation meant that a new section of house was built between the Peat Loft and the main house, joining the two. Downstairs was the new, south-facing main entrance, in a small, paved courtyard, upstairs the grand, new library, built to display the owners' wealth from Ponden Mill (at the bottom of the hill), where they manufactured cloth for uniforms worn during the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815).
The library had a fine collection of books (a catalogue still exists), including a Shakespeare First Folio, and was then described as 'the finest library in the West Riding'. We know Emily Bronte visited and read here.

New fireplaces, 'Tudor rose' mouldings, built-in cupboards and an internal corridor were built downstairs; upstairs a landing was built so that the rooms no longer opened out one from another. The old 'long house' construction gave way to the more modern and convenient corridor with rooms leading from it that we are familiar with today.
Linking the house with the mill was a long, tree-lined driveway, passing through the area now occupied by the reservoir. Remnants of the avenue of trees and the driveway itself can both still be seen today at the house end.
The Heatons' fortunes boomed during this period, but later, cheaper imports of cloth meant they could no longer financially support the mill, and it was eventually sold.

A famous story concerns a visit by Oliver Cromwell to Stanbury. The Heatons heard he was looking for property to commandeer and, so the story goes, covered the house with bracken, cut from the moors, so that no-one could spot it from the village. They managed to keep it out of his hands.
The Heaton family eventually dwindled to three brothers, one a widow who lost his wife and children in one of the great Haworth cholera epidemics; the other two bachelors and childless. The last of these bachelors died in 1898, at which point the household was broken up, much of the furniture being sold at auction. Books from the library were reputedly sold in the market in Keighley. What didn't sell was torn up for vegetable wrappings.
No-one knows what happened to the Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world's most sought-after rare books. Only 228 known copies still exist. The last to be sold, at Sotheby's in 2006, fetched £2.5 million.

Today the acres and acres of land once owned by the Heatons, running right up to the Lancashire border, have mostly been divided up and sold. Now the land belonging to the Hall extends to the reservoir (which flooded the place where Ponden Water once stood, in the early 1870s), with a stunning view straight down the Worth Valley.
Our Clients moved into the Hall in 1998, 100 years after the last Heaton left. They undertook extensive, vital restoration work, including insulating and relaying the impressive stone slate roof and installing underfloor heating throughout the ground floor.
The 1680 Peat Loft is now a stylish, self-contained cottage, with English oak flooring, extensive kitchen, two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and underfloor heating throughout.

THE BRONTE CONNECTIONS

World-famous literary figures the Brontë sisters are strongly associated with the house. It has long been argued that it was the inspiration behind the house 'Thrushcross Grange' in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights, although recent scholarly opinion has begun to identify it more closely with the 'Wuthering Heights' house itself.
On the east gable end of the house, a tiny single-paned window is said to be the one Emily used in her novel, where Cathy's ghost, memorably, scratched furiously at the glass, trying to get in.
I muttered, knocking my knuckles through the glass, and stretching an arm out to seize the importunate branch; instead of which, my fingers closed on the fingers of a little, ice-cold hand!
Both Branwell and Emily Brontë used the library - once reputedly 'the finest in West Yorkshire' - and Branwell wrote a short story about the house, 'Thurston's at Darkwall'. In the back garden are the withered remains of a now-dead pear tree, supposedly the gift of a lovesick teenage Heaton to an older, uninterested Emily.

THE ACCOMMODATION COMPRISES

FRONT ENTRANCE HALL

Accessed via a solid timber and glazed door. Doors lead through to the study, bathroom and inner hallway. Coat hooks to one wall. Feature stained glass panelled window to the rear. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

STUDY

3.07m(10'1'') x 4.07m(13'4'')Windows incorporating deep stone sills to the front. Exposed beams to the ceiling. A timber and stained glass panelled door leads into the bathroom. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

STUDY

An additional photograph.

BATHROOM

3.05m(10'0'') x 1.80m(5'11'')A white suite comprising, bath with a timber panelled surround, shower screen, mixer tap and overhead shower, wash hand basin and W.C. Extractor fan. Shaver point. Part tiled walls. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Tiled floor. Under floor heating.

INNER HALLWAY

Doors access the drawing room and dining kitchen. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Coat hooks to one wall. Stained glass panelled window to the rear. Under stairs storage cupboard with a trap door to the cellar. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

DRAWING ROOM/ DINING

7.95m(26'1'') x 6.42m(21'1'')A splendid room with mullion windows overlooking the front garden. The central feature being the painted stone fireplace incorporating a solid fuel burning stove set on a raised stone hearth. Exposed beams to the ceiling. Storage cupboards with drawers beneath to one side of the fireplace. Ornate plaster mouldings to the walls. A door accesses a further inner hallway. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

DRAWING ROOM/ DINING

An additional photograph.

DRAWING ROOM/ DINING

An additional photograph.

DRAWING ROOM/ DINING

An additional photograph.

INNER HALLWAY

Accessing the sitting room, store room and the utility room. A wide staircase leads to the first floor. Decorative plaster ceiling coving and centre ceiling rose. Deep timber skirting boards. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating

SITTING ROOM

4.49m(14'9'') x 4.57m(15'0'')Currently utilised as a playroom. Mullion windows to the front and side enjoy views across the garden and beyond. Exposed stone fireplace incorporating a cast iron grate. Tongue and groove with exposed beams to the ceiling. Deep timber skirting boards. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

STORE ROOM

2.94m(9'8'') x 3.16m(10'4'')Stone and timber shelving. Mullion windows enjoy views towards the reservoir and countryside beyond. Exposed beams to the ceiling. Stone flagged floor.

UTILITY ROOM

Tiled surface. Plumbed for an automatic washing machine. Window to the side enjoys far reaching views. Storage cupboard. Door accesses the kitchen. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling. Tiled floor.

CELLAR

Accessed via a trap door which is located in the understairs storage cupboard. Barrelled ceiling.

DINING KITCHEN

4.57m(15'0'') x 4.86m(15'11'') minA well proportioned kitchen benefiting from bespoke base and drawer units with solid timber surfaces. Fitted unit with plate racks and glazed display cabinet above. Storage cupboard to one wall. Oil fired 'AGA' set within a chimney breast with tiled splashbacks and exposed beam above. Plumbed for a dishwasher. Belfast sink. Sash windows to the side one with a timber window seat where to enjoy the far reaching views across the reservoir and countryside beyond, a further sash window overlooks the rear patio. Spotlights to the ceiling. A timber and glazed stable door leads out to the rear. Stone flagged floor with under floor heating.

DINING KITCHEN

An additional photograph.

DINING KITCHEN

An additional photograph.

FIRST FLOOR

LANDING

A door accesses the bathroom. Inner landings access the bedroom accommodation. Exposed stone work to one wall.

LANDING

An additional photograph.

BATHROOM

A white suite comprising, bath with a tiled surround, mixer tap and shower attachment, wash hand basin with a cupboard beneath and a W.C. Tiled to dado height. Feature arched window to the rear with a concealed storage unit beneath. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling. Towel rail. Tiled floor.

INNER LANDING

Accessing bedrooms five, six, shower room and the book cupboard. Timber floor.

BOOK CUPBOARD

Fitted book shelving. Window to the rear. Timber floor.

SHOWER ROOM

Comprising, shower cubicle. Tiled walls and floor.

BEDROOM FIVE

2.34m(7'8'') x 4.17m(13'8'')A sash window to the side enjoys views across the reservoir and surrounding countryside. Solid timber floor.

BEDROOM SIX

2.08m(6'10'') x 3.33m(10'11'')A light room with a sash window to the rear enjoying rural views a further sash window overlooks the rear patio. Loft access. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling.

MAIN LANDING

Accessing the master bedroom, bedroom two, three and four. A stained glass panelled window looks through to the staircase. Feature stained glass panel window to bedroom two.

MASTER BEDROOM

4.55m(14'11'') x 7.99m(26'3'')A superb room open to the eaves with exposed beam structure. Exposed stone to three elevations, painted stone to the fourth elevation. Stone mullion windows to the front and sides enjoy views across the grounds, reservoir and open countryside beyond. Exposed stone fireplace incorporating a solid fuel burning grate set on a stone hearth. Book shelving to one wall provides a concealed entrance to bedroom two. Solid timber floor.

MASTER BEDROOM

An additional photograph.

MASTER BEDROOM

An additional photograph.

MASTER BEDROOM

An additional photograph.

BEDROOM TWO

4.10m(13'5'') x 4.50m(14'9'')A double room with exposed mullion windows incorporating a window seat overlooking the front garden. Exposed stone to two walls. Open to the eaves with exposed beam structure. Book shelving to one wall provides a concealed entrance to the master bedroom.

BEDROOM THREE

3.45m(11'4'') into cupboard x 4.49m(14'9'')A double room with mullion windows incorporating a window seat overlooking the garden and beyond. Fitted cupboards to one wall incorporating the original shelving. (This room was formerly part of the original library visited bu Emily Bronte).

INNER LANDING

Door accesses bedroom four. Fitted book shelving. Solid timber floor.

BEDROOM FOUR

4.73m(15'6'') x 8.02m(26'4'')An impressive, spacious room with stone mullion windows to the front incorporating a window seat where to enjoy views across the surrounding countryside. Open to the eaves with impressive beam structure. Painted fireplace incorporating a solid fuel burning grate set on a stone hearth. Dado rail. Solid timber floor. A door leads through to the first floor of the self contained annex.

BEDROOM FOUR

An additional photograph.

SELF CONTAINED ANNEX

A self contained annex having the potential for many different uses such as a separate dwelling, holiday let etc subject to gaining the appropriate consents.
N.B- the services for the annex are the same as the main house.

ENTRANCE TO THE ANNEX

An additional photograph.

FIRST FLOOR

OPEN PLAN LIVING AREA

4.73m(15'6'') x 8.08m(26'6'')A spacious room, formally the old peat loft with sitting area, dining area and kitchen area. Feature windows to the side elevation. Open to the eaves with exposed beam structure. Exposed stone to the walls. A timber and glazed door leads out to the side. A timber spindle balustrade staircase leads to the ground floor.
The kitchen area benefits from, base drawer and eye level units incorporating display shelving and glazed display cabinets. The integrated appliances include a double oven with electric hob and extractor hood above. Plumbed for a dishwasher. Belfast sink with mixer tap. Tiled splashbacks.

OPEN PLAN LIVING AREA

An additional photograph.

OPEN PLAN LIVING AREA

An additional photograph.

OPEN PLAN LIVING AREA

An additional photograph.

GROUND FLOOR

Accessing two double bedrooms. Wood effect floor.

BEDROOM SEVEN

4.42m(14'6'') x 3.02m(9'11'')A double room with a window to the rear elevation. Feature arched window to one wall. A timber and glazed door leads out to the rear. Exposed stone to two walls. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Wood floor. Door accesses the en suite. Storage cupboard.

EN SUITE

A white suite comprising, shower cubicle, wash hand basin and W.C. Tiled splashbacks. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling. Extractor. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Travertine tiled floor.

BEDROOM EIGHT

3.69m(12'1'') into robe x 3.07m(10'1'')A double room with a window to the rear. Fitted wardrobe. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Exposed stone to one wall. Wood effect floor. Door accesses the en suite bathroom.

EN SUITE BATHROOM

A white suite comprising, bath with mixer tap and shower attachment, overhead shower and shower screen, wash hand basin and W.C. Tiled splashbacks. Exposed beam to the ceiling. Sunken spotlights to the ceiling. Extractor fan. Travertine tiled floor.

EXTERNALS

Stone pillars to the front access a stone flagged drive which creates ample parking. Steps lead upto a raised gravelled seating area. To the front of the property manicured lawned gardens and walled garden framed by mature trees and well stocked flowerbeds. Further lawned gardens to the side of the property where to enjoy the breathtaking views across the reservoir and countryside beyond. A style accesses the field. To the rear of the property a stone flagged path leads to the rear entrance and stone flagged patio.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

EXTERNALS

An additional photograph.

VIEW FROM THE PROPERTY

An additional photograph.

VIEW OF STANBURY RESERVOIR

An additional photograph.

VIEW FROM THE PROPERTY

An additional photograph.

VIEW OF STANBURY RESERVOIR

An additional photograph.

LAND

Approximately 4 acres of grazing land.

BOILER ROOM

External access. Housing the central heating boiler and under floor heating equipment.

LOCAL AUTHORITY

Bradford MBC

EPC GRAPH

SERVICES

Benefits from mains electricity, spring water, septic tank drainage (located in the back field) and oil for the under floor heating. The AGA heats the water. All services should be checked by any prospective purchaser.

TENURE

Freehold

VIEWING

Strictly by appointment with the sole selling agent, Charnock Bates, No 70 Commercial Street, Halifax HX1 2JE.
01422 380100
info@charnockbates.com
www.charnockbates.co.uk

DIRECTIONS TO

From Halifax proceed on the main A629 Keighley Road towards Denholme. Proceed through Denholme towards Haworth. Continue straight forward until reaching The Flappit Public House turn left onto th B6144 Haworth Road contunie straight forward and at the crossroads turn right onto the A629 signed Keighley. Proceed forward, upon reaching the mini roundabout take a left onto the A6033 signed Hebden Bridge and Haworth B6142. Continue forward until taking a right onto Lees Lane and take a right again onto Lees Lane B6142 signed Haworth. Continue until taking a right turning onto Ebor Lane proceeding until taking a left onto Mytholmes Lane. Follow the road until turning right onto Rawdon Road, B6142, turn right onto West Lane following until bearing right onto Sun Lane continue passing the open countryside and onto Main Street continuing onto Hob Lane. Proceed forward passing the signs for Stanbury, Old Silent Public House and the former Ponden Mill. Follow the road onto Scar Top Road. Once reaching the Stanbury Reservoir take a left onto the tarmac road which goes across the reservoir, follow the road until the end taking a right onto Ponden Lane. Follow the tarmacked road to the top until reaching the entrance to Ponden Hall on the right hand side.
For Satellite Navigation- BD22 0HR

IMPORTANT NOTICE
CHARNOCK BATES for themselves and for vendors of this property whose agents they are give notice that:
(i) the particulars are set out as a general outline only for the guidance of intended purchasers and do not constitute, nor constitute part of, an offer or contract.
(ii) all descriptions, floor plans, metric and imperial dimensions are approximate, reference to conditions and necessary permissions for use and occupation and other details are given without responsibility and any intending purchasers should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the correctness of each of them.
(iii) no person in the employment of Charnock Bates associates has any authority to make or give any representation or warrant whatever in relation to this property.
(iv) these particulars do not form part of any offer or contract and must not be relied upon.