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Tankersley Supplementary

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In 1822, the following places were in
the Parish of Tankersley:


"BIRDWELL, a hamlet in the township of Worsbrough, and parish of Tankersley; 3¼ miles S. of Barnsley."


"BROMLEY, a hamlet in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross; 5½ miles S. of Barnsley."


"CONDUIT HOUSE, (the seat of the Rev. Stuart Corbett, D.D.) in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross; 5¾ miles SE. of Penistone, 6 from Barnsley, 7¼ from Sheffield."


"FINKLE STREET, a single house in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley; 5 miles SW. of Penistone, 8 from Sheffield."


"HERMIT HILL, a hamlet in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley; 5 miles from Barnsley, 6 from Penistone."


"HOWBROOK, a hamlet in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley, liberty of Pontefract; 6 miles SSW. Barnsley."


"NORTHORPE, a farm-house in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley; 4½ miles from Penistone."


"PILLEY, in the township and parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross, liberty of Pontefract; 4 miles S. of Barnsley, 7 from Penistone and Rotherham."


"TWIGENBURY, a single house in the township and parish of Tankersley; 5 miles S. of Barnsley."


"WHARNCLIFFE LODGE, (the residence of Lady Viscountess Erne.) in the township of Wortley, and parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross; 6 miles NW. of Sheffield, 8½ from Penistone, 9 from Rotherham.

This house, which is situated on one of the highest peaks of Wharncliffe Chase, was built in the time of Henry VIII. by Sir Thomas Wortley. In this house, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, spent much of the first two or three years of her married life, the earliest and the happiest. Here was born, that singular and romantic character, her son.

Wharncliffe is partly a Forest, and partly a deer Park. It is still a member of the great estate of the Wortley family, and is now the property of James Stuart Wortley, Esq. and occupied by the mother of this knight of the shire. It is famous, also, for being the scene of the old ballad of "the Dragon of Wantley," and a cleft in the rocks is now called the Dragons Den. In Hunter's Hallamshire, page 2, the reader will find an interesting account of this place."


"WORTLEY, in the parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross, liberty of Pontefract; (Wortley Hall, the seat of James Archibald Stuart Wortley, Esq.) 5 miles from Barnsley, 5 miles SE. of Penistone, 8 from Sheffield, 10 from Rotherham. Pop. 904. The Chapel is a perpetual curacy, value, p.r. !£98. Patron, James Archibald Stuart Wortley, Esq.

The ancient seat of the Wortleys, of which Sir Thomas Wortley was High Sheriff of the County, in the 6th and 17th years of Henry VII. and a man of great power and consequence in the neighbourhood. In the pedigrees of this great family, he is said to have allied himself in marriage with two of the principal houses in the north of England, the Fitzwilliams and the Pilkingtons. He built the Lodge, upon Wharncliffe Chase, now called Wharncliffe lodge. --Hunter's Hallamshire.

There is an amusing account of Taylor, the Water Poet's visit to this place, given in Hunter's Hallamshire, transcribed from one of his rare Tracts, entitled "Part of this Summer's Travels, or News from Hell, Hull, and Halifax; from York, Linne, Leicester, Chester, &c. with many pleasant passages, worthy your observation and reading, by John Taylor. Imprinted by JO. 12mo." it appears that he returned from his Tour on the 20th of September, 1639."

[Description(s) edited from various 19th century sources by Colin Hinson © 2013]