| Otley | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Jubilee Clock Tower andButtercross in the Market Place | |
| Area | 4.59 sq mi (11.9 km2) |
| Population | 13,668 (2011 census)[1] |
| • Density | 2,978/sq mi (1,150/km2) |
| OS grid reference | SE205455 |
| • London | 193 miles |
| Civil parish |
|
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OTLEY |
| Postcode district | LS21 |
| Dialling code | 01943 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| 53°54′18″N1°41′13″W / 53.905°N 1.687°W /53.905; -1.687 | |
Otley is amarket town andcivil parish at a bridging point on theRiver Wharfe, in theCity of Leedsmetropolitan borough inWest Yorkshire, England.Historically a part of theWest Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census.[1] It is in two parts: south of the river is the historic town of Otley and to the north isNewall, which was formerly a separate township. The town is in lowerWharfedale on theA660 road which connects it toLeeds.
The town is in theOtley and Yeadon ward ofLeeds City Council and theLeeds North Westparliamentary constituency.
Otley's name is derived from Otto, Otho, Othe, or Otta, aSaxon personal name andleah, a woodland clearing inOld English. It was recorded asOttanlege in 972 andOtelai orOthelia in theDomesday Book of 1086.[2][3] The nameChevin has close parallels to the earlyBrythonicWelsh termCefn meaning ridge and may be a survival of the ancientCumbric language.[4]
There are pre-historic settlement finds alongside both sides of the River Wharfe and it is believed the valley has been settled at this site since the Bronze Age. There are Bronze Age carvings on rocks situated on top of The Chevin: one such example is the Knotties Stone.[5] West Yorkshire Geology Trust has reference to Otley Chevin and Caley Crags having a rich history of human settlement stretching back into Palaeolithic times. Flint tools, Bronze Age rock carvings and Iron Age earthworks have been found. In medieval times the forest park was used as common pasture land, as a source of wood and sandstones for buildings and walls.[citation needed]
The majority of the early development of the town dates fromSaxon times and was part of an extensive manor granted by KingÆthelstan to thesee of York. TheArchbishops of York had a residence and werelords of the manor. Their palace was located on the site occupied by the Manor House.[3] Otley is close toLeeds and may have formed part of the kingdom ofElmet. Remains of the Archbishop's Palace were found during the construction of St Joseph's Primary School.
As in other areas of the north, theNorman Conquest largely laid waste this area.[6] The Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one, but this contains much Saxon sculpture.[6] Thus in the 11th and 12th century Otley would have been a loose congregation of buildings around the two focal points of the manor house by the bridge and the church.[6] An important reason for the town's location was a water supply, the Calhead Beck (now covered over) which ran down from Otley Chevin over Whitley Croft, a little East of the church and then to the river near the bridge.[6]
The town grew in the first half of the 13th century when the archbishops laid outburgage (freehold) plots to attract merchants and tradespeople. The burgage plots were on Boroughgate, Walkergate and Kirkgate. This began to create the layout of today,[6] based on a triangle of these plots forming the streets.[7] Bondgate was for the workers: bondsmen and tenants.[8] A leper hospital was founded on the road toHarewood beyond Cross Green.[6][7]
As well as farming and use of woodland, important local activities were quarrying stone, and the manufacture ofpotash frombracken, used to make a soap which therefore supported a community carrying outfulling, the cleansing and finishing of woollen cloth on Watergate.[6] The Chevin provided stone for building (and millstones) as well as bracken, wood and common grazing, while the river provided reeds forthatching houses.[6]
Thewoollen industry developed as a cottage industry but during theIndustrial Revolution and the mechanisation of the textile industry, mills were built using water then steam power. A cotton mill and weaving shed forcalicoes were built by the river in the late 18th century. Later woolcombing and worsted spinning were introduced.[7] By the mid 19th century 500 inhabitants were employed in two worsted-mills, a paper-mill, and other mills.[3] Atannery was established in the 19th century.[7] At this time the opening of the new Leeds Road and Bradford Road greatly increased access for trade.[9] Many houses were built from the middle of the 19th century onwards, including the first row of terraces by the newly formed Otley Building Society from 1847.[9]Otley railway station opened in 1865 connecting goods and people to Leeds, with a connection to Bradford in 1875. At its peak it had 50 trains a day, but it was closed in 1965 under theBeeching cuts.[8] Kirkgate was the first street to be paved in 1866, followed by sewers in 1869.[9]
The Wharfedale Printing Machine was developed in Otley by William Dawson and David Payne.[10] An early example can be seen inOtley Museum. By 1900 the printing machinery trade, with over 2,000 people employed in seven machine shops, was Otley's most important industry.[7]
During the First World War, Farnley Camp at Otley housed the Northern Command Gas and Grenade School, which taught military personnel about explosives.[11]
After the First World War there was a general shortage of housing in Britain, and much of it was crowded slums. Otley Council prepared one of the first subsidized housing schemes, commencing with relatively open land in Newall on the North of the river in 1920.[9] The 1920s also saw the beginnings of the conversion of properties to a sewer drainage system, and electric lighting instead of gas on the streets.[9]
Further estates followed and by 1955 there were more than 1,000council houses. Private housing was also expanded during this time, but was greatly reduced in the Second World War. House building revived in the 1960s to 1980s, but industry declined, with many factories closing, including the printing machine works in 1981.[8][9]
Wharfemeadows park provided leisure space for residents and theRiver Wharfe a place to swim with public open air swimming baths opening on the site in 1924.[12] By the 1960s the outdoor pool was a popular leisure destination and was in use until 1993 when a fault with the pumping system precipitated its closure.[12] In February 2016, in response to a Leeds City Council invitation for ‘Expressions of Interest' for the site of 'the former Otley Lido', a group of local residents launched an ongoing campaign to regenerate the site as a modern open air swimming pool and community centre.[13]
Until 2010Otley Museum was based in theCivic Centre when it was displaced by major redevelopment of the building.[14][15] In January 2010, its collections, reflecting the town's story from prehistory to the present day,[16] were packed for storage while new premises were sought.[15] A proposal by the Town Council to develop a National Printing Museum based on the printers' engineers collection was criticised by trustees on the basis that printing was just one aspect of the town's history and that demand for such a museum had not been demonstrated.[14] In 2024, while still without a permanent physical home, the museum publicised its new website which will serve as a showcase for photographs of some of the approximately 1900 artefacts that have been curated by volunteers.[17] Visitors can view items from the collection by prior arrangement at its temporary location atOtley Cycle Club.[16]
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Historically Otley was a market-town and the centre of a largeecclesiastical parish in thewapentakes ofSkyrack andClaro in theWest Riding of Yorkshire. The variouschapelries andtownships in the ancient parish became separate civil parishes in 1866.[18] The local authority was the lord of the manor until 1864 when Otley Board was formed and many public buildings date from then on.[7] From 1894 Otley formed anUrban District, and in 1897 and 1903 expanded north of the River Wharfe to includeNewall. Since local government reorganisation in 1974 Otley has been a civil parish in themetropolitan borough of theCity of Leeds, in the county of West Yorkshire. The parish council has exercised its option to declare itself atown council. The town council and theOtley Museum were both based atOtley Civic Centre until the building closed in 2010.[19]
Otley lies in theLeeds North West constituency of theUK Parliament and is represented by MPKatie White of theLabour Party. It is part of the Otley & Yeadon ward on Leeds City Council and is represented by three Liberal Democrat Councillors Ryk Downes, Colin Campbell & Sandy Lay.[20] It istwinned with the French town ofMontereau-Fault-Yonne, south of Paris.
Otley and Wharfedaleward has a population of 24,000, and Otley itself has a population of 14,348, according to theCensus 2001.
Otley lies 28 miles (45 km) south-west of York, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Leeds, 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Bradford, and 196 miles (315 km) from London. The town lies in lowerWharfedale, at a bridging point over theRiver Wharfe where there is a seven-arched medieval bridge, and is surrounded byarable farmland. The historic town developed on the south bank of the Wharfe, but in the 20th century Otley expanded north of the river, to include new developments atNewall and the Weston Estate.
The south side of the valley is dominated by agritstoneescarpment overlooking Otley calledthe Chevin and to the north is Newall Carr.[3] In 1944, Major Le G.G.W. Horton Fawkes ofFarnley Hall donated 263 acres (106 ha) of land on the Chevin to the people of Otley. This has been expanded to 700 acres (280 ha) and constitutesChevin Forest Park. It was from a quarry on the Chevin that the foundation stones for theHouses of Parliament were hewn.
To the east and west of Otley are flooded gravel pits, where sand and gravel have been extracted in the 20th century. The gravel pits to the east at Knotford Nook are a notedbirdwatching site. Those to the west are devoted toangling andsailing.
To the west are the villages ofBurley-in-Wharfedale andMenston. To the east isPool-in-Wharfedale. To the south is the towns ofGuiseley, andYeadon.
Roman roads bypassed Otley, South of the Chevin and North of Timble, so most of roads in the area were little better than tracks until the 18th century when efforts were made to facilitate trade.[6] By 1820 there was a regularpost coach to Leeds on 4 days a week and 9 carriers delivering as far asManchester. In 1840 and 1841 new roads to Leeds and Bradford were opened.[8] From 1900 the first motor vehicles appeared in Otley, and in 1912 a motor haulage business started with a vehicle with interchangeable bodies so that it could work as either as lorry orcharabanc. By 1930 there were bus companies operating and in 1939Otley bus station opened.Trolleybuses operated by Leeds Corporation Tramways arrived in 1915, but ceased in 1928.[8]
TheOtley and Ilkley Joint Railway openedOtley railway station in 1865 and closed in March 1965; the town bypass follows the part of the line of the old railway.[8][21] The trackbed between Burley in Wharfedale, Otley and Pool is to become acycleway,footpath andequestrian route known as theWharfedale Greenway, with possible extensions onward to Ilkley alongside the extant railway. Planning permission for the first phase of the greenway was granted in July 2020.[22]
The main roads through the town are theA660 to the south east, which connects Otley toBramhope,Adel andLeeds city centre, and theA65 to the west, which goes toIlkley andSkipton. The A6038 heads toGuiseley,Shipley andBradford, connecting with the A65. ToHarrogate, the A659 heads east to the A658, which is the main Bradford–Harrogate road.
Otley bus station is run byWest Yorkshire Metro and services are operated byFirst West Yorkshire, Harrogate Bus Company,Keighley Bus Company, andConnexionsbuses. There are local services connecting the town and outlying areas.
Otley Bridge is a 7 span stone bridge andScheduled Ancient Monument, dating from 1228, which was rebuilt after the flood of 1673 and widened in 1776.[7][8] In 1957 a concrete cantilevered footwalk was added to separate pedestrians from road traffic.[8] On the north side eastwards, 2 miles of the riverbank is Wharfemeadows Park with extensive gardens on land donated to the town in 1924 by the Fawkes family.[7][8][23] It originally had an open-air swimming pool.[8] Opposite on the south side is the much smaller Tittybottle Park, originally designated Manor Park in 1909 but it acquired its popular (and now official) name for its popularity with mothers and nannies.[8][23] On the south side westward, is Manor Garth Park, formerly part of the land of the manor house.[23] About 0.6 miles (1 km) east of the bridge is Gallows Hill, where the medievalgallows stood.[6] Low-lying land by this was formerly asewage works, but was bought by the Town Council in the 1980s and developed into Gallows Hillnature reserve.[23][24]
While markets have been held from at least 1227[6] it has only been in the current Market Place from about 1800.[8] It contains theButtercross (covered area for farm produce, now used for occasional charity events, otherwise rest and shelter for visitors) and the Jubilee Clock, which was erected in 1888 at a cost of £175. It has two plaques, one in memory to two locals killed in theTransvaal War and one expressing the gratitude of Belgian refugees who came to Otley during the First World War.[8] Many of the buildings around are listed.
Agrammar school was founded by Royal Charter issued to Thomas Cave in 1607 byKing James VI and I, who named it "The Grammar School of Prince Henry".[8] The single storey building was pulled down and rebuilt in the Elizabethan style with two storeys in 1840.[8] It closed in 1878 and was used as a court-house,[3][8] and in recent times has been commercial premises, then a public house until closure in 2020.[25] In 1918 the foundation was re-established in temporary premises and in 1925Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley, in Farnley Lane opened.[8]
Otley has a number of primary schools.
Otley's first church was built in the early 7th century, made of wood, but was burnt down.[8] TheParish Church (All Saints) originates from Saxon times and contains the remains of two earlyAnglo-Saxon crosses, one of which has been reproduced for the town's war memorial. The present building is based on aNorman church from the 12th century but little of the original remains, except the north doorway.[3][26] Substantial changes were made in the 13th, 14th and 18th century, with the Tower Clock dating from 1793.[8] This church was the centre of an ancient ecclesiastical parish which comprised the chapelries ofBaildon,Bramhope,Burley in Wharfedale,Denton, andFarnley, and the townships ofEsholt,Hawksworth,Lindley,Menston,Newall with Clifton,Pool-in-Wharfedale, andLittle Timble.[6]
The graveyard contains the "Navvies' Monument", a replica of the entrance toBramhope Tunnel, a monument to those killed during its construction.[8] Inside the church is the tomb of the grandparents ofThomas Fairfax who commanded Parliament's forces at theBattle of Marston Moor in 1644.
The Bridge Church was originally the Salem Chapel, built in 1826, being for many years the Congregational Church but having its present name from 1972 with the formation of theUnited Reformed Church.[8] The church also operated a church hall in Newall Carr Road, some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the church, until the hall was declared redundant.[27]
Our Lady and All Saints Roman Catholic Church was opened in 1851.[8]
What is now Beech Hill Church started life in 1916 as 'Bethel Gospel Mission' and moved to its current location on Westgate in 2021.[28]
Methodist preacherJohn Wesley was a frequent visitor to the town in the 18th century. Allegedly his horse died in the town and is buried in the grounds of the parish church. Its grave is marked by an unusual stone, also known locally as the "Donkey Stone". HisJournal for 1761 reads, "6 July Monday; In the evening I preached at Otley and afterwards talked with many of the Society. There is reason to believe that ten or twelve of these are filled with the love of God." Wesley Street is named after him. A chapel was established on Walkergate in about 1800, replaced by a larger one on Westgate in 1857: a third Chapel (now Trinity Methodist Church) was built on Boroughate in 1876.[8]
APrimitive Methodist Chapel opened on New Market in 1835, and became theSalvation Army Citadel which closed in 2019. A Primitive Church on Station Road opened in 1874 and closed in 1965 (it is now residences).[8] Another Primitive Church on Craven Street opened in 1901 and closed in the early 1950s. It is now the headquarters of 2nd Otley Scouts, and is known as the Chevin Community Centre.[29]
An 1890Quaker meeting house on Cross Green is now aGospel Hall.[28]
Other Christian groups meet in members' homes or rented rooms.[28]
Otley has a diverse range of cultural organisations. It has five activeMorris dance sides, the Wharfedale Wayzgoose (Border),[30] The Buttercross Belles (Ladies Northwest),[31] Flash Company (Border,Molly, Appalachian &Clog), Hellz Bellz (Contemporary) and Kitchen Taps (Appalachian Step).
Drama groups include the Otley Community Players, Otley Youth Theatre (OY), and a thriving arts centre in the former courthouse. There is a poetry society, which meets monthly in the Black Horse Hotel. The town has aBrass Band[32] who perform at many events in the town. It is not a regular contesting band, but won first prize in the unregistered section at their first contest atHardraw Scar in September 2007 and again in 2008. Since then they have competed in the 1st to 3rd section winning Second prize and Best March in 2014.
Otley hosts the annual OtleyFolk Festival in September, aVictorian Fayre in December, a carnival in June, and, in May, what is reputed to be the oldest one dayagricultural show in the country.[8] This celebrated its bicentenary in 2009. There is abeer festival, organised by the church, in November.Otley has fourScout troops, Otley Parish, Otley Bridge, 2nd Otley, and Otley Methodist Scouts.[33] AnArmy Cadet Force detachment is also located in the town.
In January 2013The Guardian newspaper featured an article in its Weekend section entitledLet's move to Otley, West Yorkshire.[34]
The Black Horse Hotel (original demolished, current from 1901[8] and the Royal White Horse Hotel (the former Barclays Bank (closed 2019), in Manor Square[8]) were the originalposting houses and many of the others werecoaching inns.[9] By 1900 there were over 30 inns, and Otley was said to have "a pub on every corner".[9] This reputation has continued into recent years with BBC Radio 4's statistics programme "More or Less" concluding that it had the greatest number per head of population.[35]
Today there are 20pubs in the town although theRoebuck (formerly known as theSpite), theChevin and theRoyalty are on the outskirts, with theRoebuck located inNorth Yorkshire.[36] Some of the oldest buildings have been demolished or replaced, but the Red Lion on Kirkgate dates from 1745, the Bowling Green from 1757 (originally a courthouse), the Rose & Crown (originally cottages) 1731.[9] The Old Grammar School was (as of 2017) the Stew and Oyster pub, this closed in January 2020.[37] The Old Cock on Crossgate (despite its name) has only recently become a pub, but inhabits former cottages from 1757.[38] These are all Grade II listed buildings.
TheBlack Bull in the Market Place, was allegedly drunk dry by Cromwell's troops on the night before the battle of Marston Moor during theEnglish Civil War and has a 15th-century well in the beer garden.[39]
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Otley is "Hotton" in theITV televisionsoap operaEmmerdale,[40] and appears inITV'sHeartbeat where Otley Courthouse is the old Police Station.[41] ITV'sDCI Banks also regularly filmed in the town.[42] Otley was also the setting for the drama seriesThe Chase[43] and the ITV dramatisation ofThe Bad Mother's Handbook.[44]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire andITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter.[45]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Leeds on 95.3 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Harrogate & The Yorkshire Dales on 107.1 FM,Capital Yorkshire on 105.6 FM,Heart Yorkshire on 107.6 FM,Drystone Radio on 102 FM and Rombalds Radio, a community based radio station that broadcast online.[46]
The local newspaper is theWharfedale Observer.[47]
Otley Angling Club was formed in 1897 by local land owners. It controls the fishing on the River Wharfe through Otley and a coarse fishing pond on the outskirts of the town. It runs regular fishing matches on the river and junior matches on the club pond.[48]
Otley Athletic Club meets at Otley Cricket Club.[49]
Otley Cricket Club, founded in 1820, play in the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League. The club has won the league title 13 times and shared it in 1966. The club has three Senior teams and provides facilities for Juniors from Under 9 to Under 17. The Club play atCross Green.[50]
Otley R.U.F.C. play home matches at Cross Green,[51] which was the venue for the Italy v USA fixture in the 1991Rugby World Cup. In 1979 Cross Green was the site of a victory by the North of England against theAll Blacks.[52] Otley R.U.F.C. finished 5th inNational Division One in both the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons but were relegated toNational Division Two at the end of the 2006–07 season. The club won National Division Two in 2007–08 and returned to National Division One for the 2008–09 season.
Otley Town Football Club has teams in the Premier division of the West Yorkshire League, the Premier division of the Harrogate & District League and the reserves division of the West Yorkshire League. It runs junior teams including two girls' teams. The club is a Charter Standard football club run by volunteers. The Sunday League team, Otley Wharfeside AFC, play in the Wharfedale Triangle Football League.
Otley Cycle Club was founded on 27 January 1927.[53] Its patron isLizzie Armitstead, an international champion cyclist who was born in the town. It meets regularly and hosts a number of races throughout the year.[54]
On 5 July 2014, theTour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the town.[55] On 3 May 2015, the final stage of the firstTour de Yorkshire came through the outskirts of Otley. On 30 April 2016, Otley was the start of the second stage of theTour de Yorkshire.[56]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Councillor Sandy Lay – first elected 4 April 2012
Otley travel guide from WikivoyageNeighbouring towns, villages and places | |
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