Editing Elland (section)

==History==

[[File:Town Hall, Elland - geograph.org.uk - 1005458.jpg|thumb|left|[[Elland Town Hall]]]]
Elland retained continuity of tenure from before the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]] into the [[Middle Ages]], as the Elland family were descended from [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[thegn]]s. The [[Manorialism|Manor]] of Elland, with [[Greetland]] and [[Southowram]], formed an [[exclave]] of the [[Honour of Pontefract]] in the surrounding Manor of [[Wakefield]]. In 1350 [[Sir John de Eland]] was murdered, as were his son and grandson in the following year, which extinguished the male line of the family and the manor passed to the Savile family. From this period, the [[manor house]] ceased to be the principal dwelling of a gentry family, as the Saviles had their seat at the moated manor of [[Thornhill, West Yorkshire|Thornhill]]. Elland manor house was never completely reconstructed and, when dismantled and excavated in 1975 by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Unit, it was found to incorporate a 13th-century [[Solar (room)|solar wing]] – one of the earliest [[Secularity|secular]] buildings in the county. The manor house stood on a knoll aligned with the bridge over the [[River Calder, West Yorkshire|River Calder]] and was destroyed during the construction of Calderdale Way [[Bypass (road)|bypass]]. The farm buildings survive.

At the request of [[John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey]], [[Edward II]] granted a [[charter]], to John de Eland, for a [[free market]] on Tuesday at his Manor of Elland, and two [[fair]]s.

The town became a centre of wool production. The decline of the [[Textile manufacturing|woollen industry]] had a significant effect on the town and many mills were demolished or [[Mill conversion|converted]] to residences.

Durable [[flagstone]]s, Elland flags, were quarried near the town and after the canal was constructed, they could be transported economically all over the county.<ref name="dimensionstone7">{{cite web |url=http://www.englishstone.org.uk/documents/dimension%20stone%207.html |title= Coal Measure Sandstones (Westphalian) |publisher= English Stone Forum |access-date=15 June 2010}}</ref><ref name="townguideElland">{{cite web |url=http://www.information-britain.co.uk/county97/townguideElland/ |title= A guide to Elland |publisher= Information Britain |access-date=15 June 2010}}</ref> Elland housed the main factory of the manufacturer of [[Gannex]] products<ref name="HistoricGannexfactory">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/mar/20/martinwainwright |title= Historic Gannex factory may make for a supermarket |first= Martin |last=Wainwright |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 March 2002 |access-date=15 June 2010}}</ref> and is the home of the Dobsons sweet factory, which produces traditional [[List of candies#Hard candy|boiled sweets]]. Since 2001, Elland has been home to [[Suma (co-operative)|Suma Wholefoods]], the largest [[Worker cooperative|workers' co-operative]] in the United Kingdom.