Eccleshill, West Yorkshire

This article is about the City of Bradford area and ward. For the civil parish in Lancashire, see Eccleshill, Lancashire.
Eccleshill

Harrogate Road, Eccleshill
Eccleshill
 Eccleshill shown within West Yorkshire
Population 17,945 (Ward. 2011)
OS grid referenceSE175358
Metropolitan boroughCity of Bradford
Metropolitan county West Yorkshire
RegionYorkshire and the Humber
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BRADFORD
Postcode district BD2 & BD10
Dialling code 01274
Police West Yorkshire
Fire West Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
CouncillorsAnn Wallace (Liberal Democrats)
Geoffrey Reid (Liberal Democrats)
Ruth Billheimer (Labour)
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°49′26″N 1°44′13″W / 53.824°N 1.737°W / 53.824; -1.737

Eccleshill is an area, former village, and ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The ward population of Eccleshill is 17,540,[1] increasing at the 2011 Census to 17,945.[2]

Eccleshill is a more or less completely residential urban area with very little open space[1] although there is substantial open land directly to the east.

The origins of the name Eccleshill are uncertain. At the time of the Domesday Book the area was known as Egleshill either meaning 'eagles hill'[3] or perhaps named after a Saxon landlord called Aikel or Eckil—alternatively it could mean Ecclesiastical Hill.[4]

History

In Roman times the Eccleshill area was crossed by two lanes. One lane was along what is now Norman Lane and the other to Apperley Bridge down the road now known as Bank.[4]

After the Norman Conquest the lands of Eccleshill were given to William, Earl of Warren.[5] In 1274 ownership of lands passed to the Sheffields and in 1407 to the Bolling family of Calverley then the Scargills, Saviles, Wyatts, Zouches, Stanhopes, Hirds, and then to Jeremiah Rawson.[5]

In the Middle Ages Eccleshill was shunned by church authorities after a supposed incident in which it is said a preacher was stoned to death on the main road though Eccleshill village.[4] This supposed incident is said to be the reason behind naming the main road 'Stony Lane'. The real explanation may be that the road was stony or that it led to Stone Hall.

In 1713 Eccleshill Hall was built for Dr Stanhope, located to the east of Stony Lane on what is now Victoria Road.[3] The hall was demolished in 1878 and all that remains is part of a stone gatepost embedded in a roadside wall.[4] The school in Chapel Street (1875) was declared unfit in 1884 and to replace it the Central Board School was built in 1887 on the site of the old Ecclesill Hall.[3] In 1889 the Central Board School school was renamed Hutton School after the chairman of the School Board.[3] The school was demolished in 2016 to make way for housing.

On the other side of Victoria Road from the Old Mill is a row of houses and street once known as Dobby Row - a dobby being part of an early form of weaving loom - a Dobby loom, itself taking its name from a corruption of the words 'draw boy' - a weaving assistant.[4] Salem Chapel (1825) and Sunday school both now demolished, were built on Dobby Row, an event that was to prompt the renaming of the street to Chapel Street.[4] Salem Chapel burial ground remains on Chapel Street.[4]

Industrial and commercial history

The quarrying, pottery, spinning and weaving industries have been located in the area for some time but only quarrying remains today.

Pottery

In 1837, the Manor Pottery was established by Jeremiah Rawson, lord of the manor on a site east of the Undercliffe Road-Pullan Avenue junction using of a bed of fireclay at a quarry near Bolton Junction.[3][6][7] There was a rail tunnel under Leeds Road with waggons carrying clay from the quarry to the pottery on the other side of the road.[3] Manor Pottery produced a salt glazed brown stoneware, household utensils, brown and cream crockery, ornaments, garden vases, busts, and statuettes although these did not bear any distinguishing marks.[4][6][7][8] Although the product stood comparison with other local wares, the local market for pottery was eventually supplied by better and cheaper stoneware from Staffordshire, and by 1867 the pottery had been sold to William Woodhead and production switched over to house bricks, firebricks and sewer pipes.[3][6][8] The kilns were shut down in the early 20th century, and in 1921 the chimney was demolished,[3][6] however the manor house still remains.[3][9]

Wool and Mills

In the 1838 White's Directory Eccleshill is described as engaged in the manufacture of white woollen cloth.[3] Eccleshill has a number of mills. The Old Mill on Victoria Road was a woollen mill built in the early 1800s and destroyed by fire in 1816.[7] The present building on the site is dated 1863 although parts of it date back to the early 1800s. Victoria Road was previously named Mill Lane—the renaming in 1889 was to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee that year.[4]

In around 1816 Union Mill on Harrogate Road was constructed for the manufacture of woollens.[4] Later a further three storey mill building was added to the south of the site. From 1892 to 1983 John Pilley and Sons owned and operated the mills[10] and so the mills became known as Pilley's Mill. Union Mills had a serious fire in 1905.[11] Today the buildings are a mixture of commercial and light industrial units.

In 1872 Tunwell Mill was built by Messrs Smith and Hutton as a woollen mill[3] on Tunwell Lane near Tun Well (Town Well) directly south of Stony Lanealthough today's Tunwell Mills are not the original mill building.

At the north end of Stone Hall Road is a mill variously known as Stone Hall Shed and Whiteley's Mill where worsted was manufactured.[12] Halfway down Stone Hall Road off to the west stood Victoria Mill, a worsted mill. This mill has been demolished and domestic properties now stand on the site.[4]

Moorside Mills was built on Moorside Road in 1875 by John Moore for worsted spinning.[13][14][15] In 1919 two floors were added and a clock tower as a war memorial to those who had died in the First World War.[11] Ownership of the mill changed hands many times and in 1970 Bradford Metropolitan District Council bought the property from Messrs. W. & J. Whitehead to create the Bradford Industrial Museum.[14]

Eccleshill Mechanics' Institute

The former Eccleshill Mechanics' Institute* (1868), Stone Hall Road

Eccleshill Mechanics' Institute on Stone Hall Road was built in 1868.[16] Charles Bottomley converted the upper floor of the Eccleshill Mechanics' Institute into a 359 seat picture hall which he named Eccleshill Picture House and then opened in 1911.[17] Shortly after this the cinema was renamed 'Picture Palace' but closed in 1931 never running any 'talkies'.[3][17] Before construction of the building the institute used to meet in the now demolished school buildings at the western end of Chapel Street on a site now occupied by Eccleshill Victoria Conservative Club.

Shopping

For the last two hundred years the shopping centre for Eccleshill has been Stony Lane and it was here that Henry Sparks, founder of Sparks Bakeries, had his first shop.[3]

Transport history

In 1804 the Dudley Hill to Killinghall turnpike was constructed.[3] The tram service came from central Bradford to a terminus in front of the Eccleshill Mechanics Institute.[3]

The Railway and Eccleshill Railway Station

In 1874 the Great Northern Railway opened its Laisterdyke - Shipley branch (the Shipley and Windhill Line), a six-mile double track branch line from Quarry Gap junction in Thornbury to Shipley and Windhill railway station, passing Eccleshill, Idle and Thackley railway stations.[18] Eccleshill railway station opened in 1875.[16] This was located just north of the rail bridge crossing over Harrogate Road. Only the embankment and abutment of one side of the rail bridge remain.[4] The former Station Hotel on Harrogate Road took its name from its proximity to the railway station. The railway station closed to passengers in 1931 although goods traffic continued on the line until 1964.[19] Subsequently the line was taken up and the bridge demolished.

The Palladium / Regal cinema

In 1928 Ralph Dickinson created the purpose-built 1,000 seat Palladium Cinema on Norman Lane, opened in 1929.[17] Later the cinema changed ownership and in 1931 the new owner John Lambert altered the name to Regal.[17] In 1958 the cinema closed for refurbishment and updating, and reopened later that year, but closed finally in 1966.[17] Later with the construction of an extra internal floor the building was used as a bingo hall, a snooker hall and then a fitness centre.[17]

Geography

Eccleshill is bounded in the east by Pudsey and Fagley Beck flowing a short distance directly north under the name Carr Beck to meet the River Aire. To the south is Bradford Moor, round to the west Undercliffe and Bolton, to the north Idle, and to the north-east Greengates.

Fagley

Fagley is an area to the south-east of Eccleshill ward. The local economy includes a sandstone quarry,[20] and a riding school.[21] Most of the shops including the post office are on Fagley Road running east-west.[22] To the east in Lower Fagley is Fagley's only existing pub, the Blue Pig Inn in rural surroundings next to Fagley Beck, the Leeds Country Way bridle path, and the border with Pudsey.[23][24] The local school is Fagley Primary School[25] and in the east of Fagley is the Fagley Youth and Community Centre.[26]

Ravenscliffe

Ravenscliffe is a housing estate in the north-east of Eccleshill. In Ravenscliffe is a sub post office[27] and The Gateway Community and Children's Centre.[28]

Landmarks

The Monkey Bridge

At the junction of Stony Lane and Victoria Road by the roadside was the 19th century lock-up and a public urinal, however these have been walled up for some considerable time. The lock-up and urinal are over-topped by a section of raised stone paved pavement with railings known as 'The Monkey Bridge'[5] overlooking a small triangular area of land at the road junction that was the site of the village stocks.

Eccleshill War Memorial

North of Stony Lane is a recreation ground a grassed former stone quarry with a fenced children's play ground and triangulation pillar.[29] South of Stony Lane is a grassed recreation ground or common with Village Green Status. Cricket and football were played here but more suitable grounds became available.[3] Eccleshill War Memorial is on the northern side[30] and to the south of the Recreation Ground on Moorwell Place is a terrace of listed former back-to-back weavers' houses[31] and a bowling green.

There are many historic wells in Eccleshill, e.g. Moor Well, and Tun Well however there is a holy well off Harrogate Road opposite the end of Ravenscliffe Avenue, close to the site of Eccleshill Railway Station. This well is a well documented historic well and is covered by a manhole cover and located in a private garden.[32]

The school on Fagley Lane was built in 1845, and the former Central Board School on Victoria Road was built in 1886 and stands on the site of Eccleshill Hall and was subsequently renamed Hutton School.[4]

Eccleshill Pool

The Eccleshill (Swimming) Pool is located on Harrogate Road towards Greengates.[33]

To the east of Harrogate Road can be found the Eccleshill NHS Treatment Centre,[34] and playing fields. East of the playing fields is the Eccleshill Community Hospital,[35] Eccleshill Parkan area of grassland, and the Eccleshill Adventure Playground.[36]

Eccleshill has four post offices, one on Harrogate Road, one in Fagley and anothers in Ravenscliffe and Thorpe Edge. There is also a driving test centre on Victoria Road.[37] Eccleshill Police Station is not in Eccleshill ward but just outside in Idle.[38] At the western end of Norman Lane is Enterprise 5, a large shopping centre with a Morrisons supermarket together with other shops and stores.

Eccleshill has a number of public houses particularly along Victoria Road and Norman Lane, however several public houses along Harrogate Road have closed in recent years.[39]

Listed buildings

Eccleshill's listed buildings include private houses on Moorside Road,[40] a church, a public house and a private house on Stony Lane,[41] private houses on Stone Hall Road and Back Stone Hall Road,[42] listed farmhouses and former farmhouses on Fagley Lane and Fagley Road,[43] listed three-storey former back-to-back weavers' houses (1851–54) on Moorwell Place,[31] and a listed former Wesleyan chapel (1775) on Lands Lane.[44] and the Manor House off Leeds Road.[9]

Bradford Industrial Museum

Entrance to Bradford Industrial Museum on Moorside Road

In the south of Eccleshill off Moorside Road close to Fagley is the Bradford Industrial Museum in what was Moorside Mills.[14][45] This museum houses machinery from local textile and printing industries and has a row of workers houses. It used to house the popular Horses at Work exhibition but this has now closed.[46]

Churches

Initially the churches built in Eccleshill were nonconformist. Prior to 1775 the only place of worship in Eccleshill was The Quaker Meeting House on Tunwell Lane.[3] In 1775 Prospect Chapel also known as Bank Top Chapel a Wesleyan Chapel was constructed on Lands Lane off Norman Lane.[47] In 1776 Methodist John Wesley (1703-1791) preached there.[47] The building was in use as a chapel until 1854 but had many subsequent uses including as an organ works.[3] On the opposite side of Norman Lane is Prospect Chapel burial ground, created in 1823.[4]

Originally built in 1854 as a Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox church is the only listed church building in Eccleshill.[48] Tucked behind this church is a former Wesleyan Sunday School of 1885,[4] now residential accommodation.

St. Lukes church was built by the Rev William Scoresby, Vicar of Bradford.[3] and consecrated in 1848. It was designed in a largely Gothic style with a spire however the spire was removed in the 1970s when the stonework began crumbling.[4] The ecclesiastical parish of Eccleshill takes in Greengates, and Apperley Bridge south of the River Aire.

* Listed building

Governance

Eccleshill was an independent township up until 1899 when along with Thornton, Tong, Idle and North Bierley it joined with Bradford.[3][5][16] As of 2004, Eccleshill ward includes the south-east quadrant of Greengates, Thorpe Edge housing estate, part of Five Lane Ends, Bank Top, the eponymous Eccleshill, Fagley and the Ravenscliffe housing estate.[1]

Economy

To the east of Eccleshill near Fagley is a sandstone quarry.[20] Along the south-western end of Victoria Road is the Victoria Industrial Estate including The Old Mill and a variety of commercial and light industrial units.[49] Similarly, nearby Union Mills (Pilley's Mill) is a mixture of commercial and light industrial units.

Education

Eccleshill Library on Bolton Road

To the west in Swain House is the Hanson Academy and off Harrogate Road is Eccleshill North Middle School,[50] while Eccleshill Public Library is on Bolton Road.[51] Also home to Fagley primary school, Falsgrave Avenue, Fagley

Transport

The area is served by the First Bradford 640, 641 and 645 Green Line bus services. The main roads through the area are the north—south A658 Harrogate Road, and the A6176 Bolton Road—Pullan Avenue.

Sport

Eccleshill United Football Club are currently members of the Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division. Other local sports teams include Eccleshill Badminton Club[52] who use the facilities of Hanson Academy, and Victoria Rangers A.R.L.F.C. and Victoria Rangers A.F.C. who use the facilities of Eccleshill Sports and Social Club.[53] On the Union Mills site next to Pilley's Mill is a reservoir or mill pond known as Pilley's Dam. This reservoir is used for recreational angling and angling competitions and bream, carp, perch and pike can be caught.[54]

Events

The Eccleshill Village Fair is held annually in The Delph a grassed over former Stoney Lane Quarry north of Stony Lane.[55] The spelling of Stoney/Stony Lane is contentious even today although older maps favour the Stoney spelling.

Notable people

See the category People from Eccleshill.

Artist David Hockney (b. 1937) grew up in Eccleshill.[56] TV presenter, journalist, and game show host Richard Whiteley (1943–2005) was born in Eccleshill into a family of mill owners, and lived there in his youth.[12] The company was Thomas Whiteley & Co. (1889–1963) worsted manufacturers[12] based in mill premises off Stone Hall Road. TV presenter and journalist Christa Ackroyd (b. 1957) and actor Duncan Preston (b. 1946) were born in Eccleshill.[57]

Popular Victorian actress and 'postcard beauty' Marie Studholme (1872–1930) was born at Stone Hall, Eccleshill.[58] Inventor Edward Spurr (1907–1998) was brought up in Eccleshill[59] and Yorkshire and England cricketer Don Brennan (1920–1985) was born in Eccleshill.[60]

Arthur Wood (1898–1973), a Yorkshire and England cricketer was born in Fagley[61] and Eric Anderson (1915–1943), a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross lived in Ashfield Place, Fagley.[62]

References

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  2. "City of Bradford Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Eccleshill Local History Group (January 1990). Memories of Eccleshill. Department of External Studies, University of Leeds.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Eccleshill History Trail" (PDF). Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
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  31. 1 2 "1-23 Moorwell Place". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
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  36. "Eccleshill Adventure Playground". Bradford Community Environment Project. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
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  44. "3a Lands Lane". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
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  46. Winrow, Jo (16 August 2011). "Consultation on Bradford heavy horses 'was a sham'". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
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  53. "Victoria Rangers ARLFC". Pitchero. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
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  55. "The Greatest Eccleshill Village Fair Yet!". the eccymeccy. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  56. Greenhalf, Jim (9 July 2012). "David Hockney at 75". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  57. "West Yorkshire Thespians". Bingley Little Theatre. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  58. Bailey, Peter (2004). "Studholme, Marie (1872–1930)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  59. "Bradford's forgotten inventor Edward Spurr". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  60. "Don Brennan". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  61. Warner, David (2011). The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook (113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 382. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.
  62. "Sfax War Cemetery Tunisia". WW1Cemeteries.com. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

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