By Jill Stocks
Horsforth Town Street gained a new Irish venue at the end of January – and the origins of its name have been quite the topic of conversation.
But contrary to popular opinion the name Thomas Hardy’s has nothing to do with the English novelist and poet. In fact it is based on the story of Irishman Thomas Hardy.
Thomas Hardy’s Irish Bar opened on January 3t and the story of the Hardy family in Horsforth is a rather interesting one going back many centuries.
The story of Thomas Hardy arriving in Horsforth dates back to the 1600s and begins in the Ulster Province.
The Plantation of Ulster began during the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who then became James I of England, when the organised colonisation of Ulster by the British began.
This British colonisation of Ulster began in the early 1600s and was well established by the 1630s, across half a million acres in the counties of Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Donegal and Londonderry.
The Plantation of Ulster led to the creation of a lasting Ulster Protestant community but also led to native Irish nobility losing their land and years of animosity and sectarian conflict from the 1641 Irish Rebellion through to recent years and The Troubles, which began in the late 1960’s and ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement.
It was during these first troubles in the 1640s that John Stanhope decided to return to his Horsforth family home, accompanied by his servant Thomas Hardy.
Thomas settled in Horsforth and the Hardy family line continued over several generations, some as skinners, some as butchers, until William Hardy became clerk to Lawyer John Stanhope in the mid 18th century and the Hardy family went on to hold very prominent positions in society over subsequent generations.
His son John Hardy replaced him as clerk and steward in his early twenties and he himself became very wealthy through the Low Moor Ironworks Company. He was then subsequently replaced by his brother James, making him the next Hardy family member to serve the Stanhope family.
John Hardy died in 1806 but his son, also called John, inherited his company share and wealth and served as MP for Bradford in the 1830s and 40s before his death in 1855.
The next generation was headed by John Hardy’s eldest, again called John, who also served as an MP, dying in 1888.
Charles Hardy, John’s second son, was more heavily involved with the ironworks and used his wealth in supporting charities and in building churches in Bradford. Charles died in 1867.
Gathorne Hardy was a bit more detached from the ironworks but was another Hardy who served as a member of parliament, as the MP for Leominster from 1856 to 187, when he received the title of Viscount Cranbrook.
John Hardy’s youngest son, the Rt. Hon Laurence Hardy, was an active manager at the ironworks and also served as JP for the West Riding of Yorkshire, the MP for South Kent, Privy Counsellor to David Lloyd George PM and deputy speaker.
Harold Hardy was the youngest son of Gathorne Hardy and a manager and partner of the Low Moor Company. His public service was recognised when Harold Park, Low Moor was named after him.
You can read much more about the Hardy family on the Hardy family history website.
Meanwhile you can celebrate St Patrick’s Weekend over the next few days at Thomas Hardy’s where you are invited to “raise a glass, join the craic, and immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere” with live music on every day including Monday.
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