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General William Henry Crompton Stansfield was the last Lord of the Manor of
Yeadon and also the last male heir to inherit the Esholt estate before it was
sold to Bradford Corporation in 1904.
He was born in 1836 and married Frances Elizabeth Dalton in 1858 when
he was aged 22, they had 3 daughters : Evelyn Maud, Elizabeth Alexandra and
Consuelo Albinia. During his military career he served with the Black Watch in
Crimea and also in the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Devonshire Regiment.
The estate was of great interest to him , he fostered good methods of
farming and had excellent rapport with his workforce. In addition local affairs
benefitted from his generosity, for example contributing £500 towards the cost
of building Yeadon Town Hall.
William Henry died very suddenly on September 6th 1888, it is was
probably of heart disease. His funeral was a very elaborate affair attended by
local dignitaries, estate workers and extended family. Vast crowds lined the
route to pay their respects as the cortege passed with a large military escort,
over 1000 mourners were present at the actual service.
His wife Frances Elizabeth only lived for a couple of years after his
death, their eldest daughter Evelyn Maud then became Lady of the Manor. She
never married nor did her sister Elizabeth Alexandra, the youngest girl Consuela
did marry the Rev. Malcom McCall but had no children, when the estate was
compulsorily purchased by Bradford Corporation in 1904 they were the last of the
Crompton Stansfields to live in Esholt Hall. |