A few weeks ago, my little brother Nick received a notification in his mailing list that Langton Hall was having an open day on the 26 January. He applied for tickets for the afternoon reception and sent me the link in the hope that I would accompany him.
Within the same notification was a request for anyone with a web following or a local business able and willing to promote Langton Hall to get in touch with the management. A chosen few of such people would be invited to an evening meal with likeminded people and accommodation for the night.
Nick, much to my resistance, persuaded me to send the article what I have wrote in Yorkshire Bylines entitled ‘The family tree of the Norcliffes’ which included a brief description of Langton Hall. I also mentioned that I have written three books, and that Langton Hall was the Norcliffe family seat from 1618 to 1946.
I never discovered which of these was the clincher but, to my amazement, not only was I invited to the afternoon reception, but also the evening meal and accommodation. I was also asked to describe the history of the family connection with the Hall during the dinner. I had no idea how many had been invited, nor who they would be. I was allowed to bring a guest and, as Nick was the one to initiate this, both Moi and I thought it fair that I took him.
Renovations Major General Norcliffe would have been proud of
We arrived at the appointed time and were met in the car park by the manager. She took us to the reception area, where we met Mr William Langton, who proved to be a very pleasant and approachable individual, always willing to engage in friendly conversation.
His surname and the name of the hall is purely coincidental. Mr Langton is in fact a property developer from Leeds and saw that Langton Hall was for sale and negotiated with what was left of the Norcliffe family for its purchase. This took many months, but eventually in 2019 he was given the keys and immediately set about renovation.
The hall had been leased to Woodlea School from 1946 to 2012 but had been left empty and neglected until 2019. The hall was in a sorry state by then and William said he should have walked away at the initial viewing, but he instantly fell in love with the place.
The renovations are now finished, the landscape and internal decorations are just what one would expect from a country seat. Major General Sir Norcliffe Norcliffe of the 18th Hussars, who inherited the hall and family seat from his mother in 1835, would have been proud.
This is me and my little brother Nick posing in our best bib and tucker in front of a portrait of, as he was then, Major Norcliffe Norcliffe of the 4th Dragoons.
Langton Hall now a well-appointed holiday retreat and wedding venue
In many ways the hall is now much better, for it has running water to all nine bathrooms, two large kitchens, self- catering cottages, and of course electricity everywhere. We were encouraged to view the hall and adjoining former servants’ cottages during the afternoon reception and I had to point out in my evening talk that even though my name is Norcliffe, I would not claim any ownership, for I couldn’t afford even the light bulbs. There must have been 1,000 or more – chandeliers, table and standard lamps, up light and down light everywhere, all very tastefully done. There was a grand piano in the reception hall and another in the dining room, two snooker tables, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a badminton/basketball court and a gymnasium.
The hall, or part thereof and the outside cottages are all for hire. William is hoping, now that it is finished, it will become a quality holiday retreat and/or a venue for weddings. It is set in beautiful rolling countryside that was used by the Guards Armoured division during their training for the Normandy landings in 1944. It is also said that the King and Winston Churchill visited at that time. Unfortunately, probably due to its isolation, the mobile phone reception is poor. But William has made this into a positive that many people would appreciate, as do I; less phone chatter is good. He often says that the wildlife is better than the Wi-Fi.
Gentleman Jack – and a lack of actual Norcliffe gentlemen!
Another notable visitor to the hall was Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, made famous in the recent BBC television series Gentleman Jack. Anne Lister and Isabella Norcliffe were lovers and Anne stayed in Langton Hall many times. Shibden Hall to Langton Hall is over 60 miles, so they must have been very keen. It appears that Isabella Norcliffe was a formidable character. Anne described in her diaries that Isabella can be too rowdy, and Anne also didn’t approve of her alcohol consumption. As a result, the relationship blew hot and cold throughout Anne’s life.
The one problem that the Norcliffes have always been troubled with is the inability to produce a male heir consistently. Gentlemen wishing to inherit the Norcliffe seat had to take the Norcliffe name, even though it was kept closely within the family. An example of this was Norcliffe Norcliffe’s father. He was born Thomas Dalton but inherited the seat from the female side of the family in 1807. He already had a family, including a son named Norcliffe Dalton, presumably in deference to the Norcliffe side of the family. So, when his father took the name Sir Thomas Norcliffe his son became Norcliffe Norcliffe.
The Norcliffe coat of arms reflects this inability to produce a son for it included voided diamonds, which in heraldry are called ‘mascles’. There are several mascles in the Norcliffe coat of arms and again in heraldry this means it is the arms of a lady.
Langton Hall’s wonderful evening dinner menu
There were 18 local businesspeople and dignitaries at the dinner, 12 beautifully turned-out ladies and six smartly dressed men. The wonderful evening menu was prepared by the celebrity chef, Dan Graham, and consisted of three courses over about three hours. Before the meal started, William spoke of his intentions for the hall and hoped that the evening would develop into a very sociable gathering. To that end, there were long gaps between courses, and the idea worked very well. We were all able to mingle, and as the wine flowed freely (in both senses of the word) during the afternoon reception and during the dinner, we were all very happy and talkative.
The menu at the celebration dinner party, held on Sunday 26 January 2025, was as follows:
Chefs’ selection of canapés
Bread and butter
Starter:
Tartare of yellow fin tuna, sushi rice, wasabi mayo, pickled ginger, soy & chilli dressing, coriander
Main course:
Duo of dry-aged beef, seared fillet steak, slow cooked cheek,
truffle mash, glazed carrot, tender stem broccoli, bordelaise jus.
Dessert:
Classic custard tart, forced Yorkshire rhubarb, gingerbread
Petit fours
I was invited to give my talk between the starter and main. It was received with polite applause, which in truth was all it deserved really. More socialising took place and then we had the main course, after which we had another long break to socialise. This was when things really kicked off.
A loud cheer for an impromptu performance
The entertainment during the afternoon reception and the evening meal was provided by an excellent local singer/guitarist. During one of his rest periods in the afternoon I was able to compare our respective guitars and singing styles. I thought nothing of this again until he asked for requests while the sweet was being served. I suggested a song by The Beatles but I’d forgotten its title, so I began to sing it, knowing that the title was in the first verse. As the title came at the very end, I more or less sang it all, and there it was: You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away. He then said, “Are you gonna come up here and sing it?” I had just enough wine and confidence to do as he suggested. And, as there was an enthusiastic chant of encouragement from the other guests, how could I resist?
I fully expected the guitarist to play and me to sing, but as soon as I got to him, he wrapped his pride and joy guitar over my shoulders, much to the surprise of the others, who I’m sure were wondering what the hell was going to happen now.
When I’d finished, I received the biggest cheer that I’ve ever had. I’m sure this was partly relief that it wasn’t rubbish, but the cheer continued to a demand an encore. Luckily, I could remember two sing-along songs, Wild Rover and Goodnight Irene, which also went down very well. I felt that I couldn’t abuse the guitar anymore and gave it back. He was very brave I thought, to lend a partly drunk member of the audience his guitar, and I also felt rather sorry for him that I had received a louder applause than he did. But he took it very well and it probably added to his performance in a strange way.
Late-night dancing and chatting
At around 10.30, after the entertainment of at times dubious quality, and with the dinner consumed but not all the wine, William put on some music on his sound system. Dancing was encouraged and my little brother had been teaching the jive to one of the assembled guests, who had earlier described herself as an equestrian coach. I will not give her name but will call her “H”. It seems she had ridden for Britain in the recent past.
I was later in conversation with her, as I had been on several occasions throughout the afternoon and evening, and, indeed, it was H who led the chanting and applause during my playing.
I later said to H that I used to dance ballroom. At first I was dragged kicking and screaming to the dance school by my wife, but now it’s the other way round – I would continue but Moi doesn’t want to. H then said, “Oh, I will go with you.” I tried to explain that Moi is very jealous and doesn’t want me to go on my own. The reply given by H in all innocence and without a hint of deceit or underhand dishonesty was “Well you won’t be on your own, you’ll be with me”.
It was a fantastic day. Langton Hall is well worth a stay. As far as I could tell, the rooms and cottages are very reasonably priced. My room was the garden apartment with the indoor pool adjoining. I could easily have gone midnight skinny-dipping on a belly full of wine. What could possibly have gone wrong.
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