The fascinating story behind Holdsworth House's popular Weeping Ash Trees as they reach 200-year milestone

In the autumn of 1822, just as the ground had become ripe for tree planting, wealthy spinster Miss Elizabeth Wadsworth instructed her handyman, Samuel, to set out for Hipperholme and “fetch three little ash trees” for the gardens of her country manor, Holdsworth House.

It’s from Elizabeth Wadsworth’s diaries, spanning from 1817 to 1829 and held on deposit at the West Yorkshire Archive Service alongside Anne Lister’s diaries, that the origins of the trees can be traced.

Elizabeth Wadsworth was descended from a moderately wealthy family and inherited Holdsworth House from her late brothers.

Her income allowed her to live well at Holdsworth House, with a team of servants and men to maintain the house and grounds.

Elizabeth was a great philanthropist and it was from her donations that the Popples schoolhouse, the foundation of Bradshaw Primary, the master’s house and other buildings for the education of 30 poor, local children were built.

Her donations also built several almshouses in the Popples area of Halifax.

According to Wadsworth’s diaries, on November 13, 1822, with the ground freshly dug and prepared, Samuel “set the three ash trees”.

In the decades that followed, the trees thrived, knitting their branches into a wonderfully gnarled and twisting canopy.

But in the winter of 1962–1963, one of the coldest on record since 1895, one of Elizabeth’s weeping ash trees was lost to the bitterness.

It was at this same time that the Pearson family acquired Holdsworth House and began converting it from a house to a private member’s club, The Cavalier Country Club.

To celebrate the new Millennium, the Pearson family set about redesigning the gardens.

They imported a replacement weeping ash tree from Italy.

Today, the stunning trees continue to provide shade and character to the wooden gazebo that sits beneath, which hosts outdoor weddings in the summer months.

At 200 years old, the weeping ash trees remain under close observation.

A disease called ash dieback is threatening the survival of the species in the UK. But the historic trees are given the best care and attention to protect them, including specialist treatments that the hotel hope will prolong their longevity.