Description
Liversedge Hall was the seat of the Liversedge branch of the Exley family, founded by Francis Exley (m. Sybil Oates), son of John Exley (m. Eliz. Tonge, 1555). Victor identified this as one of only two Exley lines he could positively connect to Exley Hall, Southowram (the other being the Rawdon line).
Liversedge is located in the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire, between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book (1086) as Livresec. By the 15th century it was already involved in woollen manufacture; records from 1379 document fullers in the area. The Heavy Woollen District later specialised in “shoddy and mungo” (recycled wool products) and was the site of the 1812 Luddite attack on Rawfolds Mill, when roughly 200 armed weavers attempted to destroy cropping frames (an event that inspired Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley). See Liversedge and the Heavy Woollen District.
The full article includes a map marking Liversedge among the key Exley locations across Yorkshire, along with Exley Hall (Southowram), Rawdon, Halifax, Bradford/Manningham, and Birstall.
Note: Victor himself descends from the Rawdon line, not the Liversedge line. The Liversedge branch’s later generations are not yet documented in the vault.
Associated People
- Francis Exley (m. Sybil Oates) — founder of the Liversedge line
- Sybil Oates — wife of Francis
- John Exley (m. Eliz. Tonge, 1555) — Francis’s father
Sources
- Victor Exley Letter Sept-Oct 1990: “John & Eliz.’s other son Francis married Sybil Oates & they started the Liversedge line”
- Victor Exley Article Full PDF: map of Exley locations includes Liversedge