My fascination with the Hall family’s past began in childhood, listening to my father tell stories about his grandfather, Squire Hall, and Squire’s brother Matthew. Born in Middlesbrough in 1947, I am the son of Thomas Patrick Hall, born in 1908, who worked as a crane driver at the local steelworks.
Squire Hall: the iron moulder
Squire had come to Middlesbrough as a child with his family. His father, John Hall, born in 1818, relocated from West Yorkshire with his second wife, Mary Ann Wimbles, after his first wife, Elizabeth Spurr, died. With the decline of the wool trade in the later 19th century, John saw new opportunities in the expanding steel industry.
John’s grandfather, Thomas Hall, born in 1751, was a mill owner and farmer, one of 23 investors who funded The Old Mill in Batley, later becoming Messrs. Hall, Sheard & Company. When Thomas died in 1835, he left considerable wealth to his surviving children, though our John as a grandchild received just £10.
Like his father, Squire became a skilled iron moulder, a highly specialised trade involving casting iron using special tools to shape sand and clay within moulding boxes. Squire was so talented that he was chosen to represent Middlesbrough in a London exhibition showcasing British industry, likely one of the Annual International Exhibitions held in South Kensington between 1871 and 1874.
Squire designed and moulded a decorative umbrella stand for the exhibition featuring a farm labourer holding a scythe, reaping hay. So proud of his work, he asked permission to make a second casting for himself, which remains in the family today. The original was gifted to Middlesbrough Infirmary after the exhibition.
Matthew Hall: music hall, comic and theatre manager
Thanks to research by distant relative Lauren Newby, we know Matthew Hall’s remarkable story. Starting as a gas fitter in 1881, he was drawn to the stage, likely influenced by his wife Kathleen Birchall Geoghegan, whose father Joseph Bryan Geoghegan was a performer and prolific songwriter. Many of Joseph’s compositions are still sung in folk clubs and concerts today. A particular favourite of mine is Ten Thousand Miles Away as sung by Bellowhead.
Matthew performed as Merry Matt Hall with the catchphrase “Make way for Merry Matt Hall”. By the 1890s, he managed the Hippodrome in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, nicknamed ‘The Blood Tub’ for staging melodramas, variety acts, and boxing contests. One story tells of a humiliated weightlifter dropping a barbell and shouting at the jeering crowd, making Matt laugh so hard he was taken ill on the spot.
Matthew’s personal life was complicated. In 1896, he divorced Kathleen for adultery, later living with Florence Gibson, a nurse. By 1911, Florence called herself Florence Hall and lived with two daughters, possibly Matthew’s children.
When Matthew died suddenly on 23 July 1922 in Barnsley, obituaries in The Stage were heartfelt: “Peace, perfect peace… a father’s love lives forever”, signed by Amy, Marion, and Victor Hall. Another read: “A devoted and wonderful father. Never forgotten by his ever-loving daughters, Mabel, Mona.” (Mona being the Latin name for the Isle of Man, where she was born, during a tour).
Louis Hall: Batley’s gentleman cricketer
Louis Hall, born 1 November 1852, in Batley, made his first-class debut for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1873, appearing in 315 matches over a career lasting until 1894. Known as ‘The Batley Blocker’ for his methodical, defensive batting style, he carried his bat through innings on 17 occasions, a feat matched only by WG Grace and Cecil Wood.
He formed a legendary opening partnership with George Ulyett, sharing 11 stands of over 100 runs. His highest score of 160 came against Lancashire in 1887, when he also amassed 1,544 runs. Though never capped for England, Hall’s contributions were widely respected, and he occasionally captained Yorkshire.
A thin, wiry man with a drooping moustache, Hall was awarded a benefit match in 1890 but deferred it so injured teammate Billy Bates could have his. When finally played at Sheffield, it yielded £570, demonstrating the esteem in which he was held. After retiring in 1894, he served on Batley Town Council as a Liberal and coached cricket at Uppingham School. A devout Methodist, he taught Sunday school and promoted temperance until he died in Morecambe on 19 November 1915.
William Hall: Willie Hall, police officer
William Hall was born in 1814 in The Old Kilns, Clerk Green, Batley. At 18, Willie became Batley’s first police constable, wearing no uniform but carrying his authorisation in his pocket. Rather than arrest young offenders, he would dish out thrashings yet was respected for his warm heart and fair dealing.
Single-handedly, he tackled situations from sheep-stealers to prize fights. One evening, spotting a crowd gathering for an illegal fight, he confronted them alone. When threatened, referee Micky Bent stepped forward: “Mr. Hall knows me and I know him, ye shan’t touch him while I am here.” The fight was abandoned.
Later appointed superintendent at Pontefract when the county constabulary was established, Willie retired to Batley and died unexpectedly on 23 November 1896, aged 82. A friend remarked: “Poor Willie! He was one of the most humane, most genial, most lovable, and yet most faithful servants that ever lived.”
Ellis Hall: bowman at the Battle of Flodden
Ellis Hall, born in Keighley in 1480, was discovered through DNA testing. A Y-DNA match with Christopher Hall traced our common ancestor to Joseph Hall, born in 1721, confirming a branch of our family had settled around Keighley.
Ellis served as a bowman at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, one of England’s bloodiest conflicts. While Henry VIII fought abroad, James IV of Scotland invaded the north. Ellis, a freeholder from Keighley, marched under the Earl of Surrey’s command to Branxton, Northumberland. The battle on 9 September 1513, claimed the Scottish king’s life, resulting in their defeat. Ellis returned to Yorkshire, having survived and seemingly enriched.
After the war, Ellis purchased a moorland acre from Henry Keighley, cleared it for pasture, and around 1530 donated it to Keighley church with one condition: the rent must fund two torches to burn continually at the Virgin Mary’s altar.
Under Edward VI’s reign, chantry lands were seized by the Crown. In 1552, Ellis’s son Robert and grandsons William, John, and Christopher forcibly reclaimed the land. Legal action by tenant Henry Ambler dragged on for 40 years until 1586, when Christopher Hall sold the deed to Ambler, finally extinguishing the torch tradition.
Origins of the Hall surname
According to Spen Valley Past and Present by Frank Peel, in 1379 we find Thomas del Halle and his wife Maude Shepherd, daughter of Robert Shepherd, owner of Liversedge Hall. Thomas was a Franklin (Freeman) living at Liversedge Place. A generation earlier, John Halle served as chaplain and may have been the first to adopt the surname, as hereditary names did not become common until the 14th century.
Numerous records show Hall families in Liversedge, Roberttown, and Mirfield before expanding to nearby towns. Given England’s small population of just over two million in the 1400s–1500s, these Halls likely descended from one family initially residing at Liversedge.
For those with the surname Hall who believe they might be connected, join our Facebook group: Hall family of West Yorkshire. To investigate your family history, start with ‘family search’, a free site for building family trees and finding records.
