Callis (Erringden)
| Locality | |
|---|---|
| Coordinate | Near 53.734, -2.0424 ? |
| Adm. div. | West Riding of Yorkshire |
| Vicinity | In Erringden |
| Type | Building |
| Interest | Local tradition |
| Status | Defunct? |
| First Record | 1775 |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-07-31. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-06.
By the last quarter of the 18th century there was evidently a tradition in the Halifax area to the effect that Robin Hood had resided in a house at Callis, a locality on the south side of the Calder, c. 250 m south of Charlestown.
John Watson who reports this tradition puts his entry on Callis under the township of Sowerby,[1] Callis is on the western side of Callis Wood, north of Erringden Moor. Among other localities in the vicinity with the element 'Callis' in their names are Callis Wood Bottom, Callis Bridge and Callis Nab.[2] The early 25" O.S. maps listed below have a 'Callis Wood House' c. 200 m east of Callis. A large, still existing farm there is known locally as Callis House Farm.[3] If not the farm itself then a predecessor was most likely the place where Robin Hood was said to have lived. Callis House figures in the records at least as early as the 16th century.[4] Watson, whose sketchy account does not suggest detailed knowledge of this area, refers to the outlaw's alleged abode as the oldest house in the parish.
A. H. Smith cites a mention of 'my playces called Calys' in a 1571 will and explains Callis as '[p]robably a pseudo-manorial name from the surname of Adam de Calys' who figures in 1371; 'Calys' is said to be a transferred name from that of Calais in France.[5] The tithe award for Hebden (1841) includes no mention of Callis (see Background below).
Gazetteers
- Not included in Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), pp. 293-11.
Sources
- Crabtree, John. A Concise History of the Parish and Vicarage of Halifax, in the County of York (Halifax: London, 1836), p. 412; summarizes Watson.
- Watson, John. The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax, in Yorkshire (London, 1775), p. 293.
Maps
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.8 (1907; rev. 1905) (georeferenced).
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.8 (1894; surveyed 1892)
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.8 (1894; surveyed 1892)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire 229 (1853; surveyed 1848)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.NE (1894; surveyed 1889-92)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.NE (1908; rev. 1905) (georeferenced)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.NE (1908; rev. 1905)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCXXIX.NE (1947; rev. 1938).
Background
- Charlestown History Group: Callis Wood, Erringden and South Hillside.
- Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. III, pp. 171-72.
- 1846 tithe award for Hebden in the parish of Linton, online at the Genealogist.com, piece 43, sub-piece 205, image 010 (subscription required)
- accompanying map, online at the [https://www.thegenealogist.com Genealogist.com, piece 43, sub-piece 205, sub-image 001 (subscription required).
Notes
- ↑ Watson, John. The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax, in Yorkshire (London, 1775), p. 293.
- ↑ Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. III, pp. 171-72.
- ↑ Charlestown History Group: Callis Wood, Erringden and South Hillside.
- ↑ Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. III, pp. 171-72.
- ↑ Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. III, pp. 171-72.