Cockerham Hall

We hold only a limited amount of information about Cockerham Hall and would be eager to learn more, should there be others out there who could furnish any additional information.

What we do know is that Cockerham Hall was erected around 1830 by local businessman and builder John Taylor. It is also known that he had little time with his creation, as sadly he died in 1833.

Following his death, the Hall was sold to a local but well known solicitor, known as Lawyer Mence who was a noted active Wesleyan. His full name was William Cook Mence and he also owned another property which appeared to sit between Cockerham Hall and St Mary's church called Folly Hall.

This property is well documented largely due to an obelisk which was commissioned by Mence to aid travellers to the area. Designed by John Whitworth around 1819, it sat at what is now the junction between Huddersfield Road, Church Street and Old Mill Lane, which is no more than a stones throw from Cockerham Hall. It was only removed by the Council in 1931 as it was seen to be a danger to the growing road users of the day, an act which led to much acrimony from local residents who wanted the monument to stay.

It is thought that William moved into Cockerham Hall leaving Folly Hall to his son, Charles T Mence. Charles had followed in his fathers footsteps into the family business and was also a lawyer in prominent premises in the town. Almost 20 years later in 1851, their town centre law practice was sold to William H Peacock, who also became the first Town Clerk of Barnsley, a position which he held for 30 years.

Lawyer Mence died on 2nd February 1843, having spent only a few years in Cockerham Hall.

In 1856, Mr Richard Carter took up residence at the Hall along with his brother Nicholas. Richard lived here for over twenty years, returning to his home town of Harrogate in 1882. Mr Carter played a strong role within the community during that period. He was a member of the Local Board, becoming a Municipal Councillor when the town obtained its charter of incorporation. He subsequently became an Alderman and eventually took the role of Mayor of Barnsley where he served the town and its folk for two years. He was best known for his considerable work in procuring adequate drainage and water supply for the Borough which had a great impact on health in the area.

At some point, whether this was after Richard Carter or a few years later, ownership of the Hall was then taken over by Charles Lingard, whose family were the original founders of the Barnsley Chronicle. Charles took the paper over from his father in 1874 and sold it to the Hewitt family in 1889 who remain its owners still. The Hewitt's did not take over any ownership of the Hall however which remained with the Lingard family for a few years longer.

The Hall, as one entity, comprised of the main building, a coach house and stables. In recent years the Coach House and Stables have become known as Cockerham Hall Mews and are now occupied by a pharmacy. Both organisations share the current entrance area to the property. Blake Independent Financial Planning Ltd owns the main hall and the land to the front and right of the building as you look directly towards the front door and columns.

The building is listed as is the Grade II listed mounting block and dog kennel. They are both and the same object, with steps at either side for riders to ascend to their horses and below the mounting block sits the kennel. It is quite unique and is made from Ashlar stone with the small round arched opening featuring head moulding, where a medium sized dog would have sheltered in years gone by.

Due to modern demands of access to the buildings, Blake Independent was permitted to move the structure to the side of the Hall, as in recent years it had been demolished by delivery vehicles on a couple of occasions and there was genuine concern that it would become damaged beyond repair.

Prior to its purchase by Blake Independent, it was owned for a number of years by a local solicitors practice. Martin and his team have spent much time and a great deal of money restoring the feel and elegance of the property to one that reflects its age and splendour, yet still functions in a modern office environment.

During our research, we established the fact that there had also been a Cockerham House which was owned by a country gentleman called Timothy John Manley who appears in the Gentry section of the local listings. It is thought that this house may have been further along what is now known as Huddersfield Road and perhaps closer to Cockerham Lane which sits to the back of the Hall.

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