IN THE SHADOW OF THE ROSSE - Shipley

tion of a small cottage, received strips of only a few square yards of land, all of which
were grouped together on a site on the north side of the Crowgill quarry. These, being
of little practical use to their individual owners, were quickly sold and amalgamated
into larger plots.
The lord of the manor of Shipley at the time of the enclosure survey was the Rev.
Cyril Jackson, Dean of Christ Church College, Oxford, who was also the largest landowner
in the township. He died in 1819, and by the time of the award in 1825, the lord
of the manor was John Wilmer Field of Heaton Hall. He received 1/16 of the former
common as his right as the lord of the manor. This would appear to have been a national
standard. 2
Mr. Field also received additional land in his right as a conventional landowner. In all
he was given a total of 79 acres out the 278 acres enclosed. As with the cases of the
other large awards, the land granted to Mr. Field was spread over the whole of the enclosure
zone. This resulted in him receiving some plots of land near to the centre of
town and some within the Moorhead area.
Among the various plots allocated to Mr. Field was the land that this study is concerned
with. Situated at the eastern junction of the new Moorhead Lane and the Bradford-Keighley
Turnpike, this parcel of ground was originally made into a field of just
over 6 acres. This was later subdivided into three fields, which were named: Low
Moor Field, High Moor Field and Cragg Field. The names of the first two fields are significant,
in that they suggest that this area formed part of the boundary between the
Shipley High Moor and Shipley Low Moor. The name, ‘Cragg Field’ suggests that there
was an outcrop of rock on the site. And it was the existence of, what can be assumed to
have been, good quality sandstone, that would dictate the future of this site over the
next few decades.
Fields created at the time of the enclosures
Fields created at the time of the enclosures
Well before this time, the lord of the manor of Shipley had been an absentee landlord.
As a result, the manor house, which stood on the site of the present Town Hall,
had become the home of the farmer of the manor’s main farm, which operated under
2