Editing Batley (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
Batley is recorded in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' as 'Bateleia'. After the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]], the manor was granted to [[De Lacy#Ilbert de Lacy|Elbert de Lacy]] and in 1086 was within the [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]] of [[Agbrigg and Morley|Morley]].<ref>{{OpenDomesday|OS=SE2424 |name=Batley |display=Batley |accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref> It subsequently passed into the ownership of the de Batleys, and by the 12th century had passed by marriage to the Copley family. Their residence at Batley Hall was held directly from [[the Crown]]; at this time the district was part of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]].<ref>Batley Official Guide and Industrial Review 1966, page 55. Home Publishing Co Ltd H/12392/B/K</ref> 

There has been a church in Batley since the 11th century. [[All Saints' Church, Batley|Batley Parish Church]] was built in 1485 and contains parts of a 13th-century predecessor.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1134620|desc=Church of All Saints, Stocks Lane|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> Despite Batley being an ancient settlement, this is all that remains of any great antiquity.

[[File:Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 399209.jpg|thumb|[[Batley Town Hall]]]]

[[Howley Hall]] in Soothill was built during the 1580s by Sir John Savile, a member of the great Yorkshire landowners, the Savile family. The house was besieged during the [[English Civil War]] in 1643 before the [[Battle of Adwalton Moor]] but appears to have sustained no serious damage. It continued to be occupied during the 17th century but fell into disrepair. Howley Hall was destroyed in 1730. Among the numerous ruins that are still present are the cellars of its great hall.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1016323|desc=Howley Hall; a 16th century country house and gardens|access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

[[Methodism]] came to Batley in the 1740s through the evangelism of [[John Nelson (Methodist)|John Nelson]], a [[lay preacher]] from Birstall and frequent companion of the movement's founder [[John Wesley]].<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Batley, Yorks |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=3226 |last=Dews |first=Colin D.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Nelson, John |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=2033 |last=Hargreaves |first=John A.}}</ref> Two leading figures in the early Methodist movement, [[John William Fletcher]] and [[Mary Bosanquet Fletcher|Mary Bosanquet]], were married at All Saints Church in Batley in 1781.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Earl Kent |title=Women of Mr. Wesley's Methodism |publisher=Edwin Mellen |year=1983 |isbn=978-0889465381 |location=New York |pages=142}}</ref> By the 1780s meetings were being held in the town and the first Methodist chapel was established around 1800.<ref name=":0" />