Cad Beeston Manor House

At the top of Beeston Hill stands the oldest known secular building in Leeds.  Frank Goddard takes a look at this gem of medieval architecture, a house in which all residents of Beeston should take pride.

When our Local History Society was invited to view the manor house at Cad Beeston in May, 1991, it was a visit we had awaited with no small anticipation.  This building, inside as well as out, proved to be everything - and more - that we had ever hoped; a slice of medieval history dropped like a time capsule into the twentieth century.
The strange thing is that the house had stood at the top of Beeston Hill overlooking Leeds and the Aire valley for 570 years but for maybe half of that time no one, not even those who lived inside, knew of anything that might single it out as special.  It was not until 1985 that its worth was recognised.  At that time it was in a state of disrepair and there was some doubt about its future but fortunately, when the brick and rendered rubble of the walls began to be removed, there was someone on hand to appreciate the significance of the timber framing that was revealed beneath that crumbling facade.
The wooden beams and posts had a tale to tell and three houses were immediately scheduled as grade " listed buildings.  On one side was a terrace dwelling with a few medieval timbers remaining and on the other a Regency town house which contained incognito a substantial hint of hidden riches.  But between them stood the jewel in the crown, the fifteenth century manor house of Cad Beeston.

The ancient oak frame supports a  roof of medieval design, when first listed thought to be sixteenth century.  The stone slates (originally there may have been a thatched roof) are supported by crown post trusses but the structure has been considerably modified to allow for the insertion of an upper storey; as a hall it would have been open from the ground floor to the roof.  While the ridge of the roof remains at the original height the tops of the walls have been raised so that the roof has a shallower pitch, or slope.  The rafters have been shortened for they would have been too long in their new position.  This meant that when refurbishment was undertaken the roof could not be restored to its original alignment - you cannot put back what has been cut off! - but it remains substantially a fifteenth century roof, its old oak timers an impressive document of medieval construction methods.
How old is medieval in this case?  We can be quite precise about the building date.  A sample of timber was examined at Nottingham University using the schience of dendrochronology.  That sounds impressive but it basically means dating by a syudy of the sequence of growth in tree rings year by year and as the weather is never the same each successive year (don't we know it!) the pattern of the growth rings in trees will vary.  You might call it time's finger print.  The wood tested came from trees which put on growth for the final time in the summer of 1420 so must have been felled between then and spring 1421.  Building timber was used 2green2 in those days (see Stank Barn) so Cad Beeston Manor House was certainly built in 1421, probably in spring.
During restoration a small area of the earliest plasterworkwas found high inside the south wall, framed in a triangle of ancient woodwork.  It has been left in situ because it is impregnated with fifteenth century soot and is visible evidence of life in the hall five hundred years ago.
An informed alternative derivation relates to the Old English personal name, Cada.  There is reference to a "Cadtheweit" in Beeston in 1202, which may translate as "Cada's thwaite" (a thwaite was a clearing).  The name could be a folk memory of a fellow called Cada.  Perhaps he cleared enough land to build a farmstead on this tree-clad hill in the days before William of Normandy parcelled up his new English territories to share amongst his followers after the Conquest.
There is a third possible source of theis intriguing name.  It has been suggested that "Cad" was added to differentiate between the two constituent parts of the Beeston estate after a cadastral survey.  A cadaster is an official register of ownership, boundaries and value of property for taxation purposes.  This seems a reasonable derivation except that the first known written record of the word in English appears in the nineteenth century, much later thn documented references to Cad Beeston.  The origin of the word is from the French (cadastro) or Italian (catastro).  A version may have been current in medieval days and crossed the Channel with the Normans fromwhom it could have entered the vernacular to be used it when taxation surveys were made.
The possible origins are as fascinating as the name itself, a detective story as compelling as anything investigated by Inspector Morse.  Perhaps there is an element of all these sources in the final answer - or maybe it is just lax medieval spelling and really does just refers to the wooden hillside where the wildcat had its lair.  Cada or cat - it remains an intriguing name for a special place.
Cad Beeston is now owned by Bradlor Developments Limited who are responsible for the magnificent restoration.  They have understandably chosen to move into the Manor House which they now use as offices - with no detriment to the splendid interior which surely provides the most individually distinctive and enviable workplace in Leeds.  I suppose, in a sense, they may be regarded as the Lords of the Manor.  It can only be an honorary title but it's good to know that oldest secular building in the city now has a future as well as a past.