Wodhall in Metheley (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Methley

In the civil parish of Rothwell.
In the historic county of Yorkshire.
Modern Authority of Leeds.
1974 county of West Yorkshire.
Medieval County of Yorkshire West Riding.

OS Map Grid Reference: SE39602717
Latitude 53.73946° Longitude -1.40112°

Wodhall in Metheley has been described as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are uncertain remains.

Comments

Identification of this site is uncertain. Several possibly alternative sites are suggested;
Hatfeild Hall is built on the site of a Woodhall owned by Waterson, from his mother's family but this is in Stanley not Methley. It is normal described as Woodhall in Stanley, presumably to differentiate it from the numerous other Woodhalls but possibly to specifically differentiate it from Waterson's other Woodhall in Methley.
Methley Hall was Waterson's prime seat but never seems to be called Woodhall.
However, there was a manor of Woodhall in Methley. In 1408-9 Robert Walys by Thomas Towton, Master of the Hospital of St Nicholas in Pontefract, released to John Waterton and others all his right in Wodhall in Methley (Darbyshire and Lumb). The relationship between John and Robert Waterson is unclear and Darbyshire seems to confabulate the two men. The manor certainly seems to come to Robert and 'John' may be a mistake. On 7 June 1410 Henry IV granted to Thomas Toueton, master of the hospital of St. Nicholas of Pontefract, licence to grant the manor of Methley, co. York, to Robert Walton (sic) in exchange for the advowsons of the churches of Gosberton, co. Lincoln, and Wath, co. York. (VCH ref. Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. v (2), 52 d).
The suggest from this is that some land transfer was going on within the rather complex medieval system and the licence for Wodhall was mainly to confirm the transfer of ownership. It was identified as being 'situated in Mickletown and partly Woodrow, the Manor house in Mickletown was the three gabled property fronting on to Main Street' This was demolished in the 1960s. Nothing about the historic description or photographs of Wodhall in Darbyshire suggests fortifications and this seems to have been a modest manor house. However, it may be that preconceptions about licences to crenellate have been the reason why other houses have been suggested.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Methley Historians and Methley Historians
  Methley Village
Books
- Page, Wm. (ed), 1974, VCH York Vol. 3 online transcription
  Darbyshire, H.S. and Lumb, G.D., 1937, The History of Methley (Thoresby Society 35) p. 28-30
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1909, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry IV (1408-13) Vol. 4 p. 232 online copy
  Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. v (2), 52 d

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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