[1] The village was an integral part of the Tempest estate, comprising workers' cottages, farmsteads and ancillary buildings.

[1] These works included the rebuilding of the 12th-century chapel by Sir George Tempest in 1727, and the construction of the village school and master's house in 1736.

[2] Around the time of the Norman invasion, it is known that Tong Manor was farmed and was owned by a Saxon named Stainulf.

[2] Holme Bank, located nearby in Ned Lane, was an ancient holding, but the earliest actual record discovered so far is from "Bradford Archive" is 1562 (Reign of Elizabeth I).

[citation needed] Tong Lane was described in the late 19th century as lined with old trees, with a parsonage, known as Lantern House, and former inn, The Griffin, standing adjacent to the church.

[4] Long since demolished buildings within the village included a wheelwright's shop and smithy adjacent to the pinfold at the junction of Keeper Lane.

[citation needed] In contrast landholdings elsewhere, such as at Tong Street (about one-and-a-half miles to the west) were sold, resulting in industrial, commercial and residential development.

[citation needed] The preservation of the Hall and Park, and the Estate's influence on development has helped maintain the character of the village and buildings within it.

Formerly within the parish of Birstall the village is located on a prominent ridge between Pudsey Beck and Cockers Dale.

The designation covers virtually the entire village which extends in a linear fashion along Tong Lane, the main thoroughfare.

The manor remained in the hands of the Tempest family, who resisted the expansion and industrialisation of the village, for some 400 years before selling the Hall and estate in 1941, to E. W. Towler director of Redpath Dorman and Long.

These buildings used a mixture of red brick and local gritstone, making the conservation area unique[according to whom?]

[1] In 1702 Sir George Tempest built the present Tong Hall to designs by Theophilus Shelton.

A grave marker found during these works implies that there was a burial ground here prior to the 12th-century, suggesting that Tong was possibly a pre-Conquest settlement.