Brearley Hall, Mytholmroyd

The sketch and description were originally published in The Halifax Courier in 1912-1913. Few homesteads are more pleasantly situated than Brearley Hall, which stands on an eminence between Mytholmroyd and Luddenden Foot. Antiquaries tell us that this is the ancient residence of Midgley’s Lord of the Manor and digging very deep into the past, they refer to the time when the Soothills were Lords of Midgley in the 14th Century, with Brearley Hall as their seat. The present building bears the date 1636. There have been important internal alterations, but the exterior is much the same as of yore. Dr John Fawcett’s name will ever be associated with Brearley Hall. For 20 Years – 20 of his most active years – did he reside there and conduct his academy, the fore-runner of Rawdon College. Here received their first training John Foster the essayist, William Ward the missionary, and ‘Sutcliffe of Olney’. Mr Gamaliel Sutcliffe, JP (Heptonstall) is the present owner. PH/28.