Ilkley
| Ilkley | |
|---|---|
| Population | Expression error: "13,828 (2001)" must be numeric |
| OS grid reference | SE116477 |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ILKLEY |
| Postcode district | LS29 |
| Dialling code | 01943 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. It has a population of 13,828[1] and lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe in Wharfedale, one of the Yorkshire Dales.
It is a prosperous town and has a thriving centre. Many of the buildings in the area are Victorian from a time when Ilkley was promoted as a spa town. Consequently it is aesthetically pleasing and the centre's two main streets, Brook Street and The Grove, are unusually wide and appear purpose-designed to enable visitors to promenade.
Since 1969 Ilkley has been a twin town with Coutances in France. In 2004 Ilkley won the Britain in Bloom contest in the category of 'Town'.
It has little by way of industry or commerce but is the UK home of The Woolmark Company.
Features
Ilkley Moor (to the south of the town) is the location for a famous folk song: "On Ilkla Moor Baht'at" ("On Ilkley Moor without a hat").
Geography
The town is 700 feet above sea level and lies in a wide valley with the River Wharfe and pastoral farmland to the north, and Ilkley Moor, a bracken and heather moorland with rocky outcrops, to the south.
The river runs through the north extent of the town from west to east, and is crossed by four bridges, in order: a 16th-century three-arched stone bridge, now closed to road traffic; a 19th-century single-span wrought-iron bridge, a suspension bridge for foot traffic only (a set of concrete stepping stones) and a prefabricated steel arched box-girder bridge. The river is prone to flooding the sports fields (and a few houses) that occupy the watermeadows.
Nearby villages are Addingham, Addingham Moorside, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Bolton Abbey, Denton, Middleton, Menston and the town of Guiseley.
Until 2006, Ilkley civil parish consisted of Ilkley ward and the north half of Rombalds ward. The latter ward housed the villages of Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston. The population of the parish in 2001 was therefore considerably higher than it is today, consisting of 24,954 residents. In 2006 Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston established their own parishes and today Ilkley consists only of the Ilkley ward, which consists of 13,828 residents.
The town is within the travel-to-work radius of Leeds and Bradford, Leeds being 17 miles away and Bradford 9, with a railway connection offering about 35 trains to each destination per day. The railway, before the Beeching axe, also connected to Addingham, Bolton Abbey, and Skipton to the west, and to Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, meeting the main Leeds to Harrogate line at Arthington.
People
A person from Ilkley is called an Olicanian which is derived from Olicana, thought to be the name of the Roman fort Ilkley is built upon. The ethnic make-up of Ilkley's population is 98.02% White, 0.74% mixed, 0.72% Asian, 0.37% Chinese or other ethnic group and 0.14% Black. The largest age group is 45 to 64-year olds (26.76%).[2]
History
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| Culture and heritage | |
The earliest evidence of habitation in the Ilkley area are finds of flint arrowheads or microliths, dating to the Mesolithic period, from about 11,000 BC onwards.[3] The area around Ilkley has been continuously settled since at least the early Bronze Age, around 1800 BC; more than 250 cup and ring markings, and swastika carvings dating to the period have been found on rock outcrops, and archaeological remains of dwellings are found on the moor. A druidical stone circle, the Twelve Apostles Stone Circle, was constructed some 200 years ago.[3] The Romans built a fort in AD 79, which some suggest was named Olicana (although the name is not universally accepted), on a site now near the centre of the town, but with the exception of some few sections of wall, it is now covered partly by the Elizabethan Manor House Art Gallery and Museum and partly by All Saints' Church.
Three Anglo-Saxon crosses formerly in the churchyard of All Saints, but now removed into the church to prevent further erosion, date to the 8th century. The site of All Saints church as a centre for Christian worship extends back to 627 AD, and the present mainly Victorian era church incorporated medieval elements.[4]
In the Domesday Book, dating to 1086, Ilkley is listed as being in the possession of William de Percy 1st Baron Percy.[5] The land was acquired by the Middelton family of Myddelton Lodge, from about a century after the time of William the Conqueror. The family lost possession through a series of land sales and mortgage repossessions throughout a period of about a hundred years from the early nineteenth century.[6] The agents of William Middelton (1815-1885) were responsible for the design of the new town of Ilkley to replace the mean village which had stood there before.[7]
Although relatively inaccessible in the 17th and 18th centuries, the town gained a minor reputation for the efficacy of its water. In the nineteenth century it became established as one of the more fashionable spa towns, with the construction a mile to the east of the town of the vast Ben Rhydding Hydro or Hydropathic Establishment between 1843 and 1844. Tourists flocked here to 'take the waters' and bathe in the cold water spring. The eastern part of the town is now called Ben Rhydding, after the Hydro, despite it having been demolished many years ago; the area was formerly known as Wheatley.
Development based on the Hydro movement, and upon the establishment of a number of convalescent homes and hospitals was accelerated by the establishment of a railway connections from Leeds and Bradford in 1865. Charles Darwin was undergoing hydropathic treatment at Wells House when his The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Other famous Victorian visitors to the town included Madame Tussaud. Today, the only remaining Hydro is the cottage known as White Wells House, which can be seen on the edge of the famous moor over-looking the town.
In the 20th century Ilkley has become a relatively wealthy dormitory town for the nearby cities of Leeds and Bradford.
Between the 5 and 17 August 1923, philosopher and educator Rudolf Steiner delivered a series of fourteen lectures at Ilkley which were published as A Modern Art of Education. They provided an important and comprehensive overview of Waldorf education. In his report of the event, which embodies the language of his distinctive philosophical approach, he commented on the town's archaeological heritage:
- in the remains of dolmens and old Druidic altars lying around everywhere, [Ilkley] has traces of something that reminds one of the ancient spirituality that has, however, no successors. It is most moving to have on the one hand the impression [of the industrialism] I just described and then, on the other, to climb a hill in this region so filled with the effects of those impressions and then find in those very characteristic places the remains of ancient sacrificial altars marked with appropriate signs.[8]
In 1967 Jimi Hendrix played at the Troutbeck Hotel (now a nursing home). However the show was cut short by the police. The local newspaper headline read: Pop Fans Ran Amok in Hotel: They ripped off doors, pulled out electrical fittings and smashed furniture after a police sergeant stepped on stage and stopped Hendrix half-way through a number.
Culture and attractions
Ilkley town centre is a popular tourist attraction with a high proliferation of small independent shops. Of particular note is Lishmans of Ilkley, an award-winning butcher shop whose owner, David Lishman, became one of Rick Stein's superheroes in 2003.[9] Ilkley is one of five towns to feature Yorkshire's famous Bettys tearooms. The town is also home to the Michelin-starred Box Tree restaurant.[10]
The Manor House, one of the town's oldest buildings, houses a museum and art gallery. The museum contains prehistoric artifacts and documents the Roman fort of Olicana - remains of which are exposed at the back of the building - as well as the rise of Ilkley as a Victorian spa town.[11] The Ilkley Toy Museum has a collection of toys dating from 350BC and contains a particularly fine collection of English wooden dolls.[12]
Ilkley is home to the largest and oldest literary festival in the north of England, the Ilkley Literature Festival. The annual Moor Music Festival also takes place just outside the town at Addingham Moorside, promoting green politics and social issues.
Ilkley's rural surroundings attract many walkers and cyclists to the area. The landmark Cow and Calf rocks, which overlook the town on Ilkley Moor, consist of a large outcrop, which allegedly imitates a cow, and a boulder, which imitates a calf. The site offers a number of rock climbing routes of up to about 15 metres in height, with grades up to E8, as well as bouldering opportunities.[13] The Swastika Stone, a rock carving on which opinions on dating vary - from 3-4,000 years old to about 2,000 years old,[verification needed] is another attraction on the moor. Many theories have been put forward to explain its meaning and origin including a desputed claim by children's author Terry Deary who suggested that the carving depicts a boomerang.[14] The Old Bridge just outside the town centre is the official start to the Dales Way, an 80-mile (129 km) walk through the dales to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District.[15]
Ilkley's Lido, constructed in 1935, is one of only four remaining public open-air swimming pools in Yorkshire[16] and is a popular tourist attraction during the summer holiday season.[17] Darwin Gardens, to the south of the town, is a Millennium Green which commemorates the town's links with English naturalist Charles Darwin. The Green features a maze, whose design was influenced by the Swastika Stone carving, and includes monuments with an evolutionary theme.[18]
The town has a long established weekly newspaper: the Ilkley Gazette.
Folklore
On the moor are several mounds of rocks, or cairns. These are known as the skirtful cairns. The story has it that Rombald was a giant who lived on the moor. One day, his wife was angry at him and collected rocks to throw at him. She collected the rocks by holding up her skirt and dropping them into it. The skirt ripped and rocks fell out in piles, thus the name skirtful cairns.
The spectral hound, known as the Barguest is supposed by some to appear on the moors above Ilkley and Otley as a portent of doom. The alleged sightings of a huge black dog descending from the moor have mostly occurred near the Cow and Calf rocks.
Religion
According to Census 2001, 75.64% of Ilkley residents are Christian. The second largest group are people with no religion who account for 15.53% of residents. 7.48% did not state their religion and 1.34% fall into a variety of other religious groups.[2]
Churches
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Churches marked with an asterix (*) are members of Churches Together in Ilkley, an organisation which encourages co-operation amongst member churches.[19]
Education
Higher education
In 1978 Ilkley College of Education merged with Bingley College of Education to become Ilkley College. In 1982 Ilkley College merged with Bradford College to become Bradford and Ilkley Community College.[20]
From 1973 onwards David Gayle brought some of the most distinguished names in dance to the college through his Yorkshire Ballet Seminars.
In 1999 the Ilkley campus of Bradford and Ilkley Community College closed despite opposition. The campus had occupied a 15.64 acre site at Wells House, Wells Road (originally a hotel) which was sold for housing after its closure.[21]
Schools
A free school was first established in Ilkley by a Mr Marshall who in 1608 bequeathed £100 for its endowment.[22] Current schools are:
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Notable residents
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References and notes
- ^ Ilkley Neighbourhood Statistics: 2001 Population: All people (Accessed 7 January 2007) The Office for National Statistics reports the slightly higher figure of 13,978 in Ward population estimates for England and Wales, mid-2002 (experimental statistics) (Accessed 8 January 2007)
- ^ a b Ilkley Neighbourhood Statistics (Accessed 7 January 2007)
- ^ a b http://www.timetravel-britain.com/06/Oct/ilkley.shtml Discovering Prehistory on Ilkley Moor], by John Abraham, on the Timetravel Britain website. Accessed 11-01-2007
- ^ Brief History of All Saints Church. Accessed 11-01-2007
- ^ Ilkley a 'Ghost Town' in 1086, edited version of an Ilkley Gazette article from the 18 February 1993. Accessed 11-01-2007
- ^ Who were the Middletons?, containing excerpts from The Lords of Ilkley Manor - The Road to Ruin: The Middelton Family of Stockeld Park (1763-1947) by David Carpenter. Accessed 11-January-2007
- ^ Middelton Mini-Biographies taken from from The Lords of Ilkley Manor - The Road to Ruin. Accessed 11-January-2007
- ^ Rudolf Steiner, Rudolf Steiner Speaks to the British: Lectures and Addresses in England and Wales. London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1998
- ^ Rick Stein's superheroes. The Observer, 14 September 2003
- ^ Michelin Guide Star History 2006-1974: England C-J. (Accessed 11 January 2007)
- ^ Bradford Museums Galleries & Heritage | Manor House. (Accessed 10 January 2007
- ^ Ilkley Toy Museum: About Us. (Accessed 10 January 2007)
- ^ Ilkley on the YorkshireGrit website. Accessed 11-01-2007
- ^ Boomerangs a 'British invention'. BBC News, 10 May 2004
- ^ Dales Way Association. (Accessed 10 January 2007)
- ^ Lidos in the United Kingdom. (Accessed 11 January 2007)
- ^ Lido clocks up record crowds. Ilkley Gazette, 20 July 2006
- ^ The Evolution of Darwin Gardens Millennium Green. (Accessed 11 January 2007)
- ^ Churches Together in Ilkley: Information (Accessed 8 January 2007)
- ^ Quality Assessment Report by the HEFCE for Bradford and Ilkley Community College (Accessed 7 January 2007)
- ^ Sale of college campus is agreed. Telegraph & Argus, 17 October 1998
- ^ 'Ifield - Ilkley', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 603-08. Date accessed: 11 January 2007