The small town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England, has been around as far back as 1085, is listed in the Domesday Book , and has roles in history during the English Civil War and as the site of a prisoner-of-war camp during both the First World War and Second World War.
Evidence for prehistoric habitation in the Skipton area includes an "important outlying group" of cup and ring marked rocks on Skipton Moor, to the south-east of the town, [1] and in the same area there is an enclosed Iron Age hilltop settlement. [2]
Skipton has an entry in the Domesday Book, the great survey of England compiled in 1085 by William I.
Skipton Castle was built in the 11th century, probably around 1090 [3] by Robert de Romille, who came over from Normandy with William I in 1066.
Reginaldus Flandrensis witnessed a Skipton charter around 1130.[ citation needed ] "He held an office of trust as Seneschall of Skipton Castle, and we must assume that these lands were given to him at about that time as a reward for his services. They amounted to 1 Knight's fee and 14 carucates, and were held under Skipton Castle for feudal service."[ citation needed ]
The castle and titles of Skipton passed into the hands of Robert Clifford in 1310, [4] and remained with the Cliffords. The castle was fortified to withstand attacks from Scotland, such as when Skipton was raided during The Great Raid of 1322.
During the English Civil War, a Royalist garrison was situated at Skipton Castle, under the command of Sir John Mallory. It was the last remaining Royalist stronghold in North England until its honourable surrender on 20 December 1645 after a three-year siege.
Lady Anne Clifford meticulously restored Skipton Castle after the Civil War.
Britain's longest inland waterway (127 miles), the Leeds-Liverpool Canal took 46 years to build, and finally came in at five times the original budget. The first part to open was the lock-free section from Skipton to Bingley, in 1773. The entire canal was opened in 1816 and was busy all through the nineteenth century and carried stone, coal, wool, cotton, limestone, grain, and other goods.
In 1906 the Leeds Liverpool Canal carried 2,337,401 tons of cargo an average distance of 22 miles, and produced £180,000 in revenue.
Even before the Leeds Liverpool Canal was proposed, there was great demand for better transport facilities. Bingley was a centre for the lime trade, and in 1740 Messrs Mawd & Lister of Bingley were selling over 23,000 horse-loads a year of lime. Their locally quarried supply was dwindling, and they were keen to transport lime from Skipton. Accordingly, a petition was made to parliament in 1744 for a Bill to make the River Aire navigable between Bingley and Skipton. The Bill was opposed by Lord Thanet and failed.
The Act received Royal Assent in May 1770. The construction of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal began almost immediately, and a contract was issued to a John Tickle to arrange the digging from Bingley to Skipton. It seems that there were problems with progress, and in 1772 an order was issued that each contractor in future would be issued a contract for only a one-mile stretch of construction.
The Leeds Intelligencer reported on 8 April 1773:
"On Thursday last, that part of the Grand Canal from Bingley to Skipton was opened, and two boats laden with coals arrived at the last mentioned place, which were sold at half the price they have hitherto given for that most necessary convenience of life, which is a recent instance, among other, of the great use of canals in general. On which occasion the bells were set ringing at Skipton; there were also bonfires, illuminations, and other demonstrations of joy."
Lord Thanet in Skipton owned both Skipton Castle and the local limestone quarries. He proposed the construction of a quarter mile branch canal to connect the quarries with the new Leeds Liverpool Canal, after the refusal of the canal company to alter the line previously surveyed. An Act was passed in 1773 in support of this. The branch canal was built quickly. In 1785 the canal company took over the lease.
In March 1774 the Bingley Five Rise Locks were first used, the first boat through there taking 29 minutes to navigate the locks.
The Springs Branch canal was extended by another 240 yards and a tramway built to move limestone more easily from the quarries. There was more and more demand for limestone to be used in the new Low Moor Ironworks, Bradford, for iron smelting.
It took years to solve the problems involved in navigation westwards from Skipton. A tunnel had to be built at Foulridge.
The tramway from the Haw Bank Quarry (in what is now Skipton Rock, just the other side of the A65 bypass) originally ended high above the Springs Branch Canal and stone was dropped about 100 feet (30 m) into boats from chutes. This was a noisy operation and Lord Thanet, the occupant of Skipton Castle, demanded an extension of the tramway to the main canal. This was refused by the canal company, but a new tramway was built in 1836. By this time Haw Bank Quarry was producing 80,000 tons of limestone a year. [5] Sometime into the 2000s Tarmac Northern Ltd moved into the quarry and started operating out of the site, in 2007 the Quarry shutdown from being dug up and now is just a housing site for Tarmac Northern Ltd.
Skipton boomed during the Industrial Revolution, as it lay on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, between the major cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Many mills sprung up, including: [6]
Belle Vue Mill was the home of Kingsley Cards until 2006, and is now[ when? ] a property development.
The Otley Road drill hall was completed in 1892. [7]
In 1914 there was a military camp, 'Raikeswood Camp', at the head of what is now Salisbury Street, which was used a billet of the Bradford Pals Battalions (16th & 18th Battalions of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own). After the Pals left, the camp was used from January 1918 as a prisoner-of-war camp holding captured German soldiers, some 500 officers and 130 soldiers. The camp was operational until October 1919. [8]
Overdale Camp (what is now Overdale Caravan Park) was used as a POW camp during the Second World War and held both Italian and German soldiers. [8]
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Airedale is a valley, or dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the village of Malham. At Airton the valley widens and becomes Airedale proper. The river flows past Skipton on to Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Leeds.
Quarry Bank Mill in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. Built in 1784, the cotton mill is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Quarry Bank Mill was established by Samuel Greg, and was notable for innovations both in machinery and also in its approach to labour relations, the latter largely as a result of the work of Greg's wife, Hannah Lightbody. The family took a somewhat paternalistic attitude toward the workers, providing medical care for all and limited education to the children, but all laboured roughly 72 hours per week until 1847 when a new law shortened the hours.
The Bradford Canal was a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) English canal which ran from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley into the centre of Bradford. It opened in 1774, and was closed in 1866, when it was declared to be a public health hazard. Four years later it reopened with a better water supply, and closed for the second time in 1922. It was subsequently filled in, although consideration has been given to restoring it. There are some remains, including a short section of canal at the junction and a pumping station building, which is now a dwelling.
Bradley is a village in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Skipton and Keighley, approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 m) from the A629 and 2 miles (3 km) from the nearby town of Skipton. Bradley is divided into two parts, the hamlet of High Bradley and the village of Low Bradley, known collectively as Bradleys Both although traditionally the village used to be named Bradley Ambo.
Bingley is a grade II listed railway station that serves the market town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is located 13.5 miles (21.7 km) from Leeds and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) away from Bradford Forster Square, on the Airedale line; services are operated by Northern Trains.
Barrowford is a village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England, north of Nelson, near the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Sutton-in-Craven is a village, electoral ward and a civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England that is situated in the Aire Valley between Skipton and Keighley. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2001 the population was 3,480, increasing to 3,714 at the Census 2011. The village is adjacent to Glusburn and Cross Hills, but although these three effectively form a small town, Sutton village maintains its distinct identity.
Trencherfield Mill is a cotton spinning mill standing next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The mill was driven by a 2,500 hp triple-expansion four-cylinder engine built by J & E Wood of Bolton in 1907. The two halves of the engine were called Rina and Helen. They drove a 26-foot flywheel with 54 ropes at 68 rpm. The engine was stopped in 1968. The mill is now part of the Wigan Pier redevelopment area and is used for other purposes.
The Thanet Canal, also known as the Springs Branch, is a short branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, in North Yorkshire, England. It leaves the main canal in Skipton, and runs to some loading wharfs near Skipton Castle, which were used to load limestone from local quarries into boats for onward shipment. It was opened in 1773, and extended in 1794.
The Lancashire Loom was a semi-automatic power loom invented by James Bullough and William Kenworthy in 1842. Although it is self-acting, it has to be stopped to recharge empty shuttles. It was the mainstay of the Lancashire cotton industry for a century.
The Junction Mills were cotton spinning and weaving mills to the west of the Portland Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in England. They were built between 1831 and 1890 for the Samuel Heginbottom and his sons. The firm went out of business in 1930, and all the buildings have been demolished but the 210 feet (64 m) octagonal chimney, built in 1867, and typical of that period has been preserved in situ.
Waterside Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne was a combined cotton spinning weaving mill in Whitelands, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. It was built as two independent factories. The weaving sheds date from 1857; the four-storey spinning mill dates from 1863. The spinning was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s. Production finished in 1959. Waterside Mill was converted to electricity around 1911.
Harp Mill was a former cotton spinning mill in the Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Queensway, Castleton was a hub of cotton mills including the three 't', Th'Arrow, Th'Harp, and Th'Ensor. The 1908 Castleton map includes: Marland Cotton Mill, Castleton Cotton Mill, Globe Works, Arrow Cotton Mill, Harp Cotton Mill, Globe Leather Works, Castleton Size Works and Castleton Iron Works. Th'Harp was built in 1908 for the Harp Doubling Company and was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1938. The mill closed in 1958, and was sold to the hosiery manufacturer N. Corah Ltd.
Empress Mill, Ince was a single storey shed mill alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, spinning cotton in Ince, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was acquired by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1930, and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production ceased in 1975. It was the last mill in Ince to close, despite the intervention of Member of Parliament Michael McGuire, and a debate in the House of Commons on 20 March 1975.
Imperial Mill, Blackburn is a cotton spinning mill at Wallace and Gorse Street in Greenbank, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. It was designed by P.S. Stott, built in 1901, on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1929's and production finished in 1980.
The Weavers' Triangle is an area of Burnley in Lancashire, England consisting mostly of 19th-century industrial buildings at the western side of town centre clustered around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The area has significant historic interest as the cotton mills and associated buildings encapsulate the social and economic development of the town and its weaving industry. From the 1980s, the area has been the focus of major redevelopment efforts.
Clarence Mill is a five-storey former cotton spinning mill in Bollington, Cheshire, in England. It was built between 1834 and 1877 for the Swindells family of Bollington. It was built alongside the Macclesfield Canal, which opened in 1831.
Bancroft Shed was a weaving shed in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, England, situated on the road to Skipton. Construction was started in 1914 and the shed was commissioned in 1920 for James Nutter & Sons Limited. The mill closed on 22 December 1978 and was demolished. The engine house, chimneys and boilers have been preserved and maintained as a working steam museum. The mill was the last steam-driven weaving shed to be constructed and the last to close.
The Eller Beck is a small river in North Yorkshire, England, that flows through the town of Skipton and is a tributary of the River Aire. Its channel was heavily modified to supply water to mills in the 18th and 19th centuries, and although all the mills have closed, the water now supplies power to the National Grid, generated by a turbine at High Corn Mill. The beck flows through several underground culverts in Skipton that contribute to the flood risk. To alleviate flooding in Skipton town centre, a scheme involving two flood water storage reservoirs was designed and eventually completed in 2017.