Holdsworth House

The history of Holdsworth House is as mesmerising as its architecture. Our stunning Jacobean manor dates back to 1633, although there is evidence of a building on the site as far back as 1272.

We have connections to the Anne Lister and Bronte families from the 1800s and to this day Holdsworth House retains many period features. You’ll discover stone mullioned windows, beamed ceilings and impressive fireplaces that all add a sense of calm, comfort and tradition.

Holdsworth House has always been independently owned. From 1633 to 1963 it was the home to numerous families of wealth and distinction. In 1962 the manor was bought by Rita and Freddie Pearson who opened it to the public in 1963 as The Cavalier Country Club.

Today the Pearsons’ daughters continue to take an active role in preserving the house’s history, character and success. We are proud it is one of Yorkshire’s leading four star hotels.

The site, on which the house now stands, was first mentioned in documents as far back as 1272 when the De Aldworth family paid six old pence for 2½ acres of land in the hamlet. The name Aldworth refers to old estate or farm. The hamlet was originally called Haldworth – a Saxon name. The letter S wasn’t added until the 16th century.

ROOMS & SUITES
Book direct for the lowest price, breakfast included and free cancellation. Click here if you are attending a wedding. Holdsworth House is one of Yorkshire’s best four star hotels, set in the peaceful suburbs of Halifax and equidistant between Leeds and Manchester. Nearby is a wealth of history, culture, dramatic landscapes and local attractions, making Holdsworth House perfectly located for exploring.

SPLIT-LEVEL SUITES
Our four Split-level Suites oare set over two floors, with the ensuite and lounge area at ground level and a double bed on the upper floor. These rooms include a sofa bed, making them ideal for families with up to two children under 12 years.

ACCESSIBLE ROOM
There is a designated Accessible bedroom on the ground floor with a spacious en suite shower room. An accessible parking space is available close to the rear hotel entrance. There is an adapted toilet near reception. We also have bedrooms with showers rather than baths; please call us direct to request your preferred room type.

RESTAURANT & BAR
The award-winning restaurant at Holdsworth House in Halifax offers à la carte fine dining for something special. Choose from our seasonal mains or our popular grill choices. Or book our afternoon tea for a delicious and pleasant afternoon out.

The three adjoining dining rooms overlook the gardens. The Stone Room, the Panelled Room and the Mullioned Room each offers a cosy atmosphere, open fireplaces and stone mullioned windows to the world outside.

THE LONG BAR
As its name suggests, the Long Bar occupies a lengthy stretch of the manor. To its north sits the pretty Colonnade Courtyard, of which the bar offers delightful views through its large arched window. To its south are the impressive gardens; you can access the gardens via the Bar door.

The Long Bar is the place to sit for coffee, to enjoy a local ales or to take your pick from the extensive gin, whisky and cocktail list. We stock over 30 gin brands, including some fabulous Yorkshire ones, as well as having locally-brewed Little Valley Brewery Withens Pale Ale on tap.

PARTIES & PRIVATE DINING
Holdsworth House is synonymous with celebrating. For parties marking milestone birthdays, wedding anniversaries or any special occasion, Holdsworth House will cater for up to 120 guests.

Choose a beautiful private dining room, an elegant function room, the historic Gazebo or cosy restaurant. Our experienced event manager will help you plan your party and our Duty Manager will be to hand throughout your visit.

BREAKFAST
Breakfast is included in all overnight room rates only when you book direct with the hotel. We prepare a fresh cooked, plated breakfast for you, using locally sourced ingredients and a scrumptious homemade black pudding. We also offer a full continental style breakfast, including gluten-free cereals. For something special, fresh from the kitchen see our full breakfast menu.

AFTERNOON TEA
For 60 years Holdsworth House has been the place to celebrate milestone birthdays and special occasions with a delicious afternoon tea. Take a seat in one of our historic rooms and soak up the cosy atmosphere of our Jacobean manor. Original wood panelling, large open fireplaces, antique furniture and vintage china all set the scene for a quintessentially British experience.

On warmer days take your tea and a glass of fizz on the garden terrace or in the Colonnade Courtyard. Wherever you sit, you’ll have an interesting, feature-packed view. Holdsworth House afternoon tea is served 1.00pm-5:00pm daily in the restaurant, hall or bar.

All our afternoon teas are prepared fresh to order and include chef’s daily selection of sandwiches and savoury and sweet treats. Gluten free is available, please advise us before booking so that we can be sure to meet your needs.

WEDDINGS 
Welcome to Holdsworth House Hotel the leading, award-winning wedding venue in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Independent and family owned, we’ve hosted weddings for 60 years and our reviews speak for themselves.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Packed full of tradition and character, Holdsworth House Hotel is a hidden gem with many secrets waiting to be discovered. From beamed ceilings and oak panelled halls to ancient tapestries and beautiful stone mullion windows, it offers visitors something special and somewhere unique.

SERVANT BELLS
The original servant bells that were once used by Holdsworth House’s occupants to call for their servant’s assistance or attention, were moved from the kitchen to the raised restaurant area when the house was bought by the Pearson family in 1962.

CROSS OF MALTA
The cross on the hotel’s gable denotes that, at some distant time, the estate was in the hands of the ancient Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Such properties contributed to the welfare of the Crusaders and houses bearing this ornament were said to be under the cross.

AN EYE FOR ANTIQUES
Holdsworth House was first opened as a hotel in 1963 by the late Rita and Freddie Pearson (pictured). A great deal of fine oak furniture was purchased by Freddie in the 1960s. Freddie thought he had be ‘robbed’ if he paid more than £5 for one of the fine carved chairs, which are still used in the restaurant.

WIG CUPBOARDS
At the top of the Hall stairs three wig cupboards are set into the wall, which probably date from the early 18th century. Their purpose is self-explanatory.

THE WITCH’S CUPBOARD
The oak doors that are hung as decoration on the walls of the restaurant were nicknamed The Witch’s Cupboard by John Lennon who stayed here in 1964. After appearing on the Antiques Roadshow in 2019, we discovered the doors are from a 17th century alchemist’s laboratory. Read about what Antiques Roadshow expert Lisa Lloyd thought they were worth.

In 2021, the doors were borrowed by the crew of The Gallow’s Pole. During filming the TV show that’s based on the book by Benjamin Myers, director Shane Meadows asked us if he could borrow the doors to add authenticity to the film set for his 18th century alchemist character. We were delighted to oblige!

PARTERRE GARDEN
To commemorate the hotel’s 35th anniversary in 1997, the period Sunken Parterre gardens at the front to the house were restored. The design was taken from John Parkinson’s book A Garden of Pleasant Flowers published in 1629. The planting includes many contemporary flowers and shrubs.

The sundial overlooking the Parterre garden was added at the same time and a local junior school put together a time capsule, which was buried beneath the sundial’s base.

GAZEBO
The delightful four-gabled Gazebo in the corner of the hotel’s sunken garden was probably built a little after 1633. There are several suggestions as to its original use: either as a summerhouse, a gatekeeper’s lodge or a small private chapel.

There is a legend that a tunnel ran from the main house to the Gazebo, used during times of religious persecution. There may well have been a ’priest hole’ behind one of the fireplaces in the main house at one time.

Former resident of the early 1800s, Miss Elizabeth Wadsworth, planted two weeping ash trees in the front garden in 1821. Later, in the 1980s, the Pearson family planted two further ash trees, imported from Italy because of their rarity.

OUT AND ABOUT
Located equidistant between Leeds and Manchester, Holdsworth House is well-placed for visiting Yorkshire’s cities, Calderdale’s rugged landscapes and the major tourist attractions, such as Halifax Piece Hall, Shibden Hall and Brontë Country.

DAVID HOCKNEY ART AT SALTAIRE
Original artworks by David Hockney are on permanent display in Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford. The mill itself has an incredible story and houses a number of shops, restaurant and cafe, as well as a brilliant book store.

CRAGG VALE COINERS & THE GALLOWS POLE
Author Benjamin Myers’ Walter Scott prize-winning novel The Gallows Pole is based in Cragg Vale near Halifax, West Yorkshire. The true story of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners reveals how a group of coin clippers and counterfeiters almost brought down the national economy during the Industrial Revolution.

Cartographer Christopher Goddard has created a fantastic illustrated map for walking the area. His (approx 10 kilometre) route takes in Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale and many points of interest mentioned in Myers’ novel. Book a Walking Break at Holdsworth House and get the map included. Call 01422 240024 for more details.

HALIFAX PIECE HALL
In 1633, when Holdsworth House was built, Halifax was already the biggest producer of cloth in West Yorkshire. Cloth and textiles were traded in Halifax and sent all over the world. In 1774, the existing cloth market was deemed too small, so The Piece Hall was built. “Piece” referred to a 30-yard length of woven wool fabric produced on a handloom.

The Piece Hall was paid for by the local merchants themselves. There were 315 small rooms for each to trade their wares. It is impossible to overstate the importance the Halifax cloth industry had in recent British history and the Roman style architecture of the Piece Hall was a deliberate statement to show off great wealth, pride and status.

In 2016, a £19 million restoration project breathed new life into the Piece Hall. Now a Grade I Listed building, it is the sole survivor of the great eighteenth century northern cloth halls. Visit it today for indpendent shops, food and drink, world-class entertainment and concerts and to learn more about its incredible heritage.

ANNE LISTER’S SHIBDEN HALL & ‘GENTLEMAN JACK’ FILM LOCATIONS
The BBC/HBO production Gentleman Jack, written and directed by Sally Wainwright, is about prolific diarist Anne Lister, who lived at nearby Shibden Hall in Halifax.

Anne Lister was born in 1791 and was a landowner, traveller, industrialist and student. Lister is posthumously known for her diaries, which ran to more than five million words and detailed every moment of her life, much of it written in a secret code.

Her diaries were hidden behind wood panelling at Shibden Hall after her death, as Lister’s family were suspicious they revealed intimate details of Lister’s secret gay love life. In her time, she was rather cruelly nicknamed ‘Gentleman Jack’ for what many considered her masculine appearance and choice of black attire.

Shibden Hall, Lister’s ancestral home, is around three miles from Holdsworth House. It is set in around 90 acres of stunning parkland that forms Shibden Park, which was landscaped under the direction of Anne Lister. Visitors can enjoy the cafe, miniature railway, boating lake, pitch and putt course as well as trails, play area, orienteering course and woodland.

BRONTË YORKSHIRE
Famous throughout the world as the home of the Brontë Sisters, the beautiful town of Haworth is a quaint, hilly town around 20 minutes from Holdsworth House by car. Step back in time to cobbled streets, boutique shops, tea rooms and apothecaries.

BRONTË PARSONAGE MUSEUM, HAWORTH
Pay a visit to the magnificent Brontë Parsonage Museum where the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, lived and wrote their novels including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

See the writing desks, needlework boxes, garments, diaries, paintings and drawings. The Brontë Parsonage Museum has a host of literary-related events that are always excellent to attend during your stay at Holdsworth House.

For walkers, The Brontë Way is a 43-mile walking route starting at Oakwell Hall near Birstall and finishing at Gawthorpe Hall near Burnley in Lancashire. The Bronte Way takes in some of the places from their real lives and fictional stories and was listed in the Top 50 Trips of a Lifetime by National Geographic Traveler. Alternatively, there are some wonderful walks around Haworth (with or without a dog) here.

KEIGHLEY & WORTH VALLEY RAILWAY
The 1970 film The Railway Children based on E Nesbit’s novel, was filmed in West Yorkshire using the compact five miles of line of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

The famous film’s sequel The Railway Children Return, released more than 50 years after the original, was also filmed in the same iconic Oakworth station and in nearby Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage. The sequel stars Jenny Agguter (also in the original), Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay, who we had the pleasure of welcoming to the hotel during filming in 2021.

Visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway to see the film locations and ride on the wonderful steam engine trains. Their programme of events and timetables offer fun for all the family and steam engine enthusiasts. There are five stations, the nearest to Holdsworth House is Oxenhope at 6.6 miles/16 minutes drive.

WALKING AND HIKING IN WEST YORKSHIRE
For some brilliant routes, listed by ease and interest, visit South Pennines website. Or follow The Calderdale Way – a 50 mile circular footpath route around the boundary of Calderdale, which runs right past Holdsworth House.

Some people attempt the entire walk over a series of days as it offers such a variety of views and landscapes, but the best way is to walk the Way is in sections, all marked by a CW ‘tree’ motif. Click here for more details on the Calderdale Way.

The Anne Lister Walk by cartographer Chris Goddard is a 10 kilometre (approx) route that explores the beautiful valley of Shibden Dale around Anne Lister’s former home, Shibden Hall near Halifax.

The route takes in many sites around the estate and the hand-drawn map contains a wealth of information about Anne Lister, the history of the area and the filming of the TV series Gentleman Jack. Buy the map direct from Chris or book a walking break at Holdsworth House and get a map included.

HAREWOOD HOUSE
Fans of the Julian Fellows’ film Downton Abbey can visit Harewood House in Yorkshire, which is featured in the film. Harewood is just north of Leeds. It was also used as a film location for ITV’s Victoria.

SPORTING ACTIVITIES
The rugged landscapes of West Yorkshire and Calderdale make it a hotspot for outdoor enthusiasts. Choose from rock climbing or the thousands of miles of excellent footpaths or bike trails to see God’s Own Country at its best.

GOLF COURSE
Holdsworth House is partnered with the region’s premier golf course West End Golf Club, less than 4 miles away (postcode HX2 0NT). At the top, West End is 1000 feet above sea level and offers magnificent, long distance views and yet there are no really steep gradients and the layout offers easy walking. The course measures 5,971 yards, par 69 for men and 5,302 yards, par 71 for ladies and is a fair and enjoyable test for any level of golfer 52 weeks of the year.

ROAD CYCLING OR MOUNTAIN BIKING
Come and try part of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart route, which includes England’s longest continuous road climb – Cragg Vale on the B6138. Here are some great road and mountain bike routes in the Halifax region.

We welcome cyclists at Holdsworth House. We have a bike rack outside or are happy for you to bring your bike into your room for storage overnight.

INDOOR CLIMBING
Less than 20-minutes drive from Holdsworth House is the town of Brighouse. It’s home to the brilliant 1940s Weekend each June and Christmas Market in late November, but also Rokt Climbing Gym. Rokt is an award-winning tourist attraction, offering indoor climbing at its best and the highest outdoor climbing wall in the UK, the Roktface!

FILM AND TV
Halifax and Calderdale have become a hotbed of filming activity for the small screen. Discover it all on a literary and TV trail during your stay.

HAPPY VALLEY
In recent years, writer and director Sally Wainwright OBE has provided Holdsworth House and the surrounding Yorkshire landscapes with a starring role on TV. In 2022, seven years after season two of Happy Valley last aired, we welcomed Wainwright, the cast and crew back to Calderdale to film the third and final series (including a scene filmed at Holdsworth House).

With the three-series show spanning more than seven years, many of the stars have stayed at the hotel including Sarah Lancashire, James Norton (pictured), Siobhan Finneran, Derek Riddell, Rhys Connah and George Costigan. (N.B. We were told the beanie hat worn by James was so he didn’t reveal his long hair! #spoiler)

LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX
Holdsworth House was used as a film location for the BAFTA-winning series Last Tango in Halifax. Written by Sally Wainwright and created by Red Production Company for the BBC, Holdsworth House was shown in the final three episodes of series two.

Stars Anne Reid (Celia), Sarah Lancashire (Caroline) and Nicola Walker (Gillian) were amongst the cast who arrived with film crew for a week. The plot saw Caroline and Kate spending a romantic weekend away at the hotel and ultimately choosing it as the wedding venue for Alan and Celia.

Filming took place in the restaurant, hall and gardens. Chef was required to produce a selection of dishes for the characters to tuck into on screen and our wedding brochures were used when they discussed wedding plans. Guests can book an overnight break at Holdsworth House to follow in the footsteps of the stars.

ANNE LISTER – “GENTLEMAN JACK”
The BBC/HBO production Gentleman Jack, written and directed by Sally Wainwright, is about prolific diarist Anne Lister, who lived at nearby Shibden Hall in Halifax.

Anne Lister was born in 1791 and was a landowner, traveller, industrialist and student. Lister has become posthumously famous for her diaries, which ran to more than 6600 pages and detailed almost every moment of her life.

As a lesbian living in a prejudiced era, Lister kept her sexuality a secret from society but wrote prolifically about her love life, in secret code, in her diaries, which have been painstakingly transcribed by Halifax biographer Helena Whitbread. Lister eventually defied convention by living with her female lover, Ann Walker.

The TV production, entitled “Gentleman Jack”, is so named because this was how people of the time referred unkindly to Lister. The series stars Suranne Jones, with much filming taking place at Shibden Hall itself.

Shibden Hall, Lister’s ancestral home, is around three miles from Holdsworth House. It is set in around 90 acres of stunning parkland that forms Shibden Park, which was landscaped under the direction of Anne Lister.

Visitors can enjoy the cafe, miniature railway, boating lake, pitch and putt course as well as trails, play area, orienteering course and woodland. The Hall itself has been preserved by Calderdale Council and is a museum for a highly recommended visit during your stay at Holdsworth House.

THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
On Sunday 8 July 2018 the BBC descended on The Piece Hall in Halifax to film an exciting episode of The Antiques Roadshow. Since Holdsworth House dates from 1633 and is filled with antiques and curiosities, we knew we’d be in with a good chance of turning up with something of interest.

CRAGG VALE COINERS: THE GALLOW’S POLE
An adaptation of Benjamin Myers’ Walter Scott prize-winning novel, The Gallows Pole, has been created for a BBC drama. Based and filmed in Cragg Vale near Halifax, West Yorkshire, the series (directed by Shane Meadows) fictionalises the true story of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners – a group of metal coin clippers and counterfeiters that almost brought down the national economy during the Industrial Revolution.

ACKLEY BRIDGE
Ackley Bridge is a grip-tight- to-your-seats drama about a school, it’s teachers and the multi-ethnic, multi-faith community it serves. The Channel 4 show is filmed across the road from Holdsworth House at the former St Catherine’s school, which was also used to film the CBBC programme Hank Zipzer, starring Henry Winkler.

As well as some of the stars being a familiar sight around the hotel, elements of Ackley Bridge have even been filmed at the hotel, when the script has called for a bar or restaurant setting.

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN & THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN
The 1970 film based on E Nesbit’s novel, The Railway Children, was filmed in West Yorkshire using the compact 5-mile track of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

In 2021 the sequel, The Railway Chilren Return, went back to its roots and filmed once again at the iconic Oakworth station and in nearby Haworth at the Bronte Parsonage. The sequel stars Jenny Agguter (also in the original), Sheridan Smith and Sir Tom Courtenay, who we had the pleasure of welcoming to the hotel during filming.

SALLY WAINWRIGHT OBE
Writer and director Sally Wainwright has provided Holdsworth House and the surrounding Yorkshire landscapes with a starring role on the small screen. As well as Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley , Wainwright has also showcased the region in the Brontë drama To Walk Invisible.

A STARRING ROLE
Holdsworth House has also been used for filming Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Great Britain, the BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s All Star Mr and Mrs, and CBBC’s Hank Zipzer. TV casts and crews, as well as many celebrities performing at local theatres often stay at Holdsworth House.

The influence of writers like Sally Wainwright has a huge positive impact on local businesses, as people from across the world flock to film locations. At Holdsworth House, we are very grateful to Sally, the production companies and stars who continue to work across Halifax and Calderdale, and to Calderdale Council who understand the value of film tourism.

Website: www.holdsworthhouse.co.uk

Rooms: 36

Price: from 196 EUR per night