Family fortunes, new ideas about home and industry, colourful characters and a dash of scandal are the ingredients for a best-selling novel. However, they are also just some of the essential elements of the story of the moor around Marsden which has shaped, and been shaped by the activities of men, women and children for many centuries.

The National Trust acquired Marsden Moor in 1955. The moor was conveyed to the Trust by Captain Sir Joseph Benedict Everard Henry Radcliffe, 6th Baronet, in lieu of death duties of his father, Sir Everard Henry Joseph Radcliffe of Rudding Park, Harrogate.

The Radcliffes
Locally, the Radcliffes are better known for their association with the Luddites. Joseph Radcliffe, of Milnsbridge House, was created a baronet in 1813, for his duties as a local and county magistrate in the Luddite Trials. He died in 1819, and Milnsbridge House was sold to the Armitage family, the Radcliffes moving to Rudding Park. The Radcliffes had extensive land and property holdings in this area, many of which were sold in the early 20th century, the 5,500 acre Marsden Moor Estate being an exception.

Whilst there are various archives at WYAS Leeds, Calderdale, and to a lesser extent in Kirklees, it would appear that there is no collective work on the Radcliffe family. Originating from parent stock at Radcliffe Tower near Bury, the family spread throughout Lancashire and rose almost to the summit of English nobility. However, by the early 19th century the family was almost extinct in Lancashire.

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The Radcliffes of Milnsbridge House are descended from Edmund Radcliffe of Oldham, Lancashire. Edmund’s son William took holy orders at Brasenose College, Oxford and became curate at Thorpe Salvin and later Dinnington in South Yorkshire. He had a large family and it was his eldest son, William, who married Elizabeth Dawson (widow of John Sellick Dawson) at Marsden chapel in 1706, and through this union succeeded to Milnsbridge House and estate. In 1724 he purchased the manor of Marsden for £495.

William’s eldest son, William (1710-95) was a noted local JP who made a wager that he would never marry, which was a potential problem for succession of title. His sister Mary married Joseph Pickford of Alt Hill near Ashton, Lancashire, and they had a son, Joseph.

Joseph married twice; firstly to Catherine Perceval, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Perceval of Royton, Lancs, and secondly to Elizabeth Sunderland, only daughter and heiress of Richard Sunderland of Croydon, Surrey. Joseph had one son by each marriage, but sadly both died before him.

It was this Joseph who succeeded to the Milnsbridge estate on the death of his uncle, William Radcliffe. A condition in the will was that Joseph Pickford change his surname to Radcliffe. Joseph took up residence at Milnsbridge House that year, and continued in his uncle’s profession as JP.

In spite of his deliberations at the Luddite Trials, Sir Joseph was well respected. He died at Clifton, near Bristol, in February 1819, and was buried at Rhyton near Oldham. Sir Joseph was succeeded by his grandson, Sir Joseph Radcliffe 2nd Bart, who firmly established the family at Rudding Park.

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To the present day
The history of Marsden Moor is probably responsible, to a large extent, for its unique character. In Norman times the South Pennine Moorlands were the hunting grounds of the Lords of Pontefract, and were no doubt a wild and beautiful place; the last eagles in the area were shot in 1851. By then the estate had been owned by the Radcliffes for over 100 years, but managed locally.

For the next 100 years the estate was managed from Harrogate, not always in harmony with the local population. One particularly bitter dispute occurred in the early 20th century when the landowners tried, unsuccessfully, to prevent access along the Packhorse Route from Eastergate to Haigh Gutter. This resulted in the Marsden Urban District Council erecting stone posts with “PH Road” carved on them. These are still in evidence today and serve as useful markers in winter!

The estate passed quietly into the ownership of the National Trust in 1955, almost mentioned as an afterthought by the local “Colne Valley Chronicle” some months later. It was a further 30 years before the Trust established a local base and management.