ILKLEY
About thirteen years ago, when I used to live in the Leeds area, me and my friend Brenda used to visit the town of Ilkley on a regular basis by bus and occasionally by train. I therefore, thought it might be interesting to take a brief look at Ilkley although like everywhere no-one really can predict what its commercial composition will be until the current pandemic has passed.
Ilkley is located 12 miles north of Bradford and 17 miles northwest of Leeds and is located mainly on the south bank of the River Wharf – this explains why there are four bridges that cross it. It is an ex-spa town and until recently, this and the outstanding surrounding countryside has meant it has been a popular tourist location. The town itself is characterised by interesting Victorian architecture and wide streets which make travelling through it easy and it is well connected by train and bus to nearby locations. The parades of Brook Street and The Grove have until now provided a good selection of speciality shops and one famous name in the town, has been the Yorkshire Tea Room, Betty’s. You can’t really say that the town has been really commercial or industrial in nature, although it has had two breweries: Ilkley Brewery and Wharfedale Brewery.
Ilkley normally has a plethora of sports clubs and facilities like Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club which was founded in 1880. It has Yorkshire’s third oldest golf club (1890), a rugby club and Ilkley Harriers Athletics Club. It also has a cricket club and, nearby in Ben Rhydding there is an excellent hockey club that was founded in 1901. One should also mention that the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race includes Ilkley as part of the route.
The children in the Ilkley area are normally educated at one of four primary schools, three preparatory and can also attend Ilkley Grammar School. It would be true to say that the majority of people in the Ilkley area are Christian and this is reflected by the following churches: All Saints, Christ Church, Ilkley Baptist Church, Kingdom Hall, the Church of the Sacred Heart and the Ilkley Society of Friends.
Historically, Ilkley is interesting as flint arrowheads dating to about 11,000 BC onwards have been found there and it has been settled since early Bronze age around 1800BC. There is also remains of a Roman fort (79AD) which many believe to be Olicana.
Significantly, in the 17th and the 18th centuries Ilkley had a good reputation for the quality of its water, and became a fashionable spa town in the 19th century with the construction of a hydro at nearby Wheatley, which was later renamed Ben Rhydding, between 1843 and 1844. Tourists flocked to ‘take the waters’ including Charles Darwin who underwent hydropathic treatment at Wells House. Another Victorian visitor was Madame Tussaud.
August 1865 saw the construction of Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway which linked Leeds and Bradford and the North Eastern Railway.
Normally, visitors today can experience The Manor House (which is one of the oldest buildings in the town), Ilkley Toy Museum (which has a collection of toys dating from 350 BC) and the lovely Darwin Gardens. Up to now, Ilkley has held Ilkley Literary Festival which is the oldest such festival in the North of England, and since 1988, there has been a complementary medicine festival which has been held twice a year. Ilkley is also twinned with Coutances in France.
So once things are more back to normal, you could perhaps look up the town of Ilkley in West Yorkshire as I am sure like many places it will have risen like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of this pandemic.
* With a lot of help from Wikipedia
If you want to visit more places then look at Dean’s Places on this website
Ilkley was featured in Issue 67 of FTHM. Read issue 67 in full here:
fromthehorsesmouth.org.uk/fthm-july-2020-issue-67
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