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Early history of the St Ives Estate is not clear. To the west lies Catstones moor with the 'Catstones Ring', a scheduled ancient monument. The age and purpose of these remains is not known and it is thought that they may be from Iron Age or Roman times¹. On the St Ives Estate there is an earth work, known as the 'Fairfax Entrenchment'. Again, we do not have a clear idea as to what function this served or who built it. This too may be of a similar age to the Catstones Ring but this is only conjecture. Dr A Z Redmond² has researched the known history of the area in a report for the Friends of St Ives that was funded by 'Heritage Lottery Fund'. It is from information in this report that most of the following short notes have been derived.

From the large number of items found in the upper part of the estate and dating from the Neolithic-Bronze Age, we know that the area has been occupied for a long time. From the 12th Century to the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, the main area of the Estate was part of the properties belonging to the Monks of Rievaux, having been given to them by Adam de Birkin between 1165 -85. The deeds covering the transfer of the land also includes the instruction that the land be free from secular dues. This was indicated by patriarchal crosses on buildings, two of which were later transferred to more recent buildings and can be seen to this day. One is located on one of the gables of the old coach house near the mansion and the other is on the gable of the old hunting dog kennels at Cuckoo Nest. Some of the land that now falls within the Estate (White Cote) was owned by the monks of Drax. Monastic ownership lasted up to the dissolution when the Estate passed to Walter Paslew of East Riddlesden in 1540.

For most of the next century, land in the area was owned by the Laycocks and the Milners two families well linked to the history of the Bingley area. Another notable family in Bingley was the Ferrands, who purchased St Ives in 1635. However the St Ives of that era was the property we now know as Harden Grange. In 1858 the two names were exchanged.

Whilst General Fairfax and his troops may have camped on the estate, the facts have yet to be verified. It is almost certain that they did not make the 'Fairfax Entrenchment'. There are however compelling stories that 200 of Fairfax's troops died and were buried on the estate.

Regrettably, Druid's Alter, just outside the Estate and overlooking the Aire Valley; never saw Druids or the rituals that our 19th century ancestors loved to imagine.

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The following history of the Ferrand Family was sent to us by Brenda Graham, who has ancestoral links with the Ferrands via the Richardson family.

It is recorded that the Ferrands came with William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle (or Aumal) and Lord of Skipton Castle from Normandy in the late12th century. The King of England was the Duke of Normandy at that time - Aumal is situated on the Eastern border of Normandy.

Hereditary custody of the Gate of Skipton Castle was granted to William Ferrand in about 1190 by William de Fortibus. The grandson of William de Fortibus had one surviving child, Aveline, who married Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, second son of Henry Ill, this marriage produced no issue and it was then that the Castle was escheated to the crown in c1296. The Bailiffs of Queen Dowager Eleanour contested the hereditary grant of the custody of the Gate of Skipton Castle and from this it is known that the first three custodians of the Gate were Hugo, Henry and then Hugo Ferrand. This latter Hugo Ferrand was reinstated in 1307.

The barony of Skipton was then granted to Robert Clifford; the Ferrands served four generations of de Fortibus and eleven generations of Cliffords a total of more than four hundred years, which is quite remarkable. Sir Francis Clifford, later the 4th Earl of Cumberland, petitioned the Earl Marshall for a grant of Arms for William Ferrand of Carleton Hall 'by reason of the fidelity and good service of himself and his ancestors to our house ever since our possession of Skipton Castle, these four hundred years continuing.' The arms were granted on 20th March 1586. Their Motto Justus Propositi Tenax, roughly translated, Firm and Fair of Purpose, was indicative of their loyalty, commitment and bravery during centuries of difficult and tumultuous times.

The Ferrands lived at Carleton, 2 miles south of Skipton. John Ferrand lived there in 1739. The sole heiress of the Dawtry (or de Altaripa) family married Roger Ferrand in 1475, whose name is the earliest of the Grant of Arms. His grandson built Carleton Hall in 1584. When the hall was pulled down in the 1920s William Ferrand was given the date stone and Dawtry Coat of Arms, which he placed in the courtyard of St Ives, Bingley.

On a visit to Skipton Castle recently, when all the visitors had gone, I was allowed to close the huge wooden gates just as our ancestors would have done. The present gates date back to the 1500s; they are beautifully crafted and so cleverly hung that I could close these impressive gates, at a touch, with the palm of my hand. I felt very honoured indeed.

This is a short account of the history of the early Ferrands, some gleaned from the National Archives and also members of the Ferrand family, past and present, who have dedicated many years of research to produce accurate and detailed records of the family.