Guiseley
Encyclopedia
Guiseley is a small town
in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough
in West Yorkshire
, England. Situated south of Otley
and Menston
, it is a suburb of north west Leeds. At the 2001 census, Guiseley together with Rawdon
had a population of over 21,000. The A65
, which passes through the town, is the main shopping street. Guiseley railway station
has regular train service into Leeds and Ilkley
.
. Its name is of Saxon origin. It was named "Gisele" in the Domesday Book, much of the Aire valley was once wooded and "ley" means a clearing in the woodland.
Guiseley's church dedicated to St Oswald
was the centre of a large parish that included many surrounding villages. It used by generations of the Longfellow family. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
's grandfather left here for the New World in the 18th century. The rector of St Oswald's for several decades was Rev. Robert More, who died in 1642. He was the father-in-law of the English explorer, Captain Christopher Levett
. Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell were married at St Oswald's and became the parents of six children, including Anne
, Charlotte
and Emily Brontë
.
Crompton Parkinson
was a major employer until its factory closed in 2004. The town was the home of Silver Cross
, a pram
manufacturer, whose factory was operational from 1936 to 2002.
The town is famous for Harry Ramsden
, whose fish and chip shop
traded from a small shed next to the tram stop. In 1930 he opened his first fish restaurant (which is still trading) and was, for many years, "the world's biggest fish and chip shop".
Harry Corbett
, famous for his children's television glove puppet character Sooty
stage act lived with his parents who owned "Springfield" fish and chip shop on Springfield Road. The restaurant featured in a BBC documentary in spring 2008 and now boasts the slogan, 'As Seen on TV', on the shopfront.
, play at Nethermoor Park, and at the start of the 2011–12 season are in the Conference North
. Guiseley Cricket Club shares the club house and plays in the Airedale-Wharfedale Senior Cricket League
. Aireborough RUFC play at Nunroyd Park.
opened in 1910 and closed in 1991.
Primary schools include Tranmere Park School and St. Oswald's C of E School.
, born in Leeds
, passed the majority of her childhood in Guiseley, where she worked at Green Bottom Mill and was a nursemaid to a local family, before running away to seek her fortune in London.
The former Yorkshire
and England cricket captain Brian Close
lived in the town during his childhood and still lives there now. Barney Colehan
lived in Guiseley until his death in 1991. He is buried in Guiseley cemetery on Chevin End Road.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough
City of Leeds
The City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England. Situated south of Otley
Otley
-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
and Menston
Menston
Menston is a village and civil parish in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, Menston is part of Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford. It has a population of 4,660.-Landmarks:...
, it is a suburb of north west Leeds. At the 2001 census, Guiseley together with Rawdon
Rawdon
Rawdon is a village in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Early beginnings:With William the Conqueror was a commander of archers named Paulyn who rendered such faithful and courageous service to the Norman cause that he was rewarded with lands, a portion of...
had a population of over 21,000. The A65
A65 road
The A65 is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, passes west of Settle, then continues through Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria....
, which passes through the town, is the main shopping street. Guiseley railway station
Guiseley railway station
Guiseley railway station is a railway station in Guiseley, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square, it is served mostly by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Rail, which also manages the...
has regular train service into Leeds and Ilkley
Ilkley railway station
Ilkley railway station is a railway station in Ilkley, in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line, it is served by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Rail, who also manage the station.-Services:...
.
History
The settlement predates the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. Its name is of Saxon origin. It was named "Gisele" in the Domesday Book, much of the Aire valley was once wooded and "ley" means a clearing in the woodland.
Guiseley's church dedicated to St Oswald
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
was the centre of a large parish that included many surrounding villages. It used by generations of the Longfellow family. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
's grandfather left here for the New World in the 18th century. The rector of St Oswald's for several decades was Rev. Robert More, who died in 1642. He was the father-in-law of the English explorer, Captain Christopher Levett
Christopher Levett
Capt. Christopher Levett was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine...
. Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell were married at St Oswald's and became the parents of six children, including Anne
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
, Charlotte
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
and Emily Brontë
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
.
Business
Crompton Parkinson
Crompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd.Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer founded by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton in 1878 and had designed and installed electric lighting installations at...
was a major employer until its factory closed in 2004. The town was the home of Silver Cross
Silver Cross (pram)
Silver Cross is a British manufacturer of wheeled baby transport, and is traditionally associated with large, four-wheel baby carriages that featured wooden bodies and leaf spring suspension....
, a pram
Baby transport
Baby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
manufacturer, whose factory was operational from 1936 to 2002.
The town is famous for Harry Ramsden
Harry Ramsden's
Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. The business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland and serves around four million meals annually....
, whose fish and chip shop
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...
traded from a small shed next to the tram stop. In 1930 he opened his first fish restaurant (which is still trading) and was, for many years, "the world's biggest fish and chip shop".
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett OBE was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W...
, famous for his children's television glove puppet character Sooty
Sooty
Sooty is a British glove puppet bear and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears his name has continued in various forms since the 1950s and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the...
stage act lived with his parents who owned "Springfield" fish and chip shop on Springfield Road. The restaurant featured in a BBC documentary in spring 2008 and now boasts the slogan, 'As Seen on TV', on the shopfront.
Religion
Guiseley Baptist Church was built in 1883 on Oxford Road in the old town. Today it has a congregation of all ages.Sports
Guiseley's semi-professional football team, Guiseley A.F.C.Guiseley A.F.C.
Guiseley A.F.C. are an English football club from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England.-History:Founded in 1909 by a local group of enthusiasts, the club’s first success came in 1913 when they won the local Wharfedale League...
, play at Nethermoor Park, and at the start of the 2011–12 season are in the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
. Guiseley Cricket Club shares the club house and plays in the Airedale-Wharfedale Senior Cricket League
Airedale-Wharfedale Senior Cricket League
The Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League is an amateur cricket competition in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It is made up of 36 local teams spread over three divisions. The league runs 3 distinct competitions as well as a cup competition for each.- Organisation & Structure :36 clubs...
. Aireborough RUFC play at Nunroyd Park.
Schools
Guiseley School on Fieldhead Road was built as a secondary modern in the 1960s and is sometimes known as Fieldhead School. Aireborough Grammar SchoolAireborough Grammar School
Aireborough Grammar School was an English state Grammar school situated on the Yeadon / Guiseley border in Aireborough, West Yorkshire. The school was founded in 1910 and closed in 1991.-History:...
opened in 1910 and closed in 1991.
Primary schools include Tranmere Park School and St. Oswald's C of E School.
Notable residents
Victorian actress Adelaide NeilsonAdelaide Neilson
Lilian Adelaide Neilson , born Elizabeth Ann Brown, was an English stage actress.-Early life:Neilson was the daughter of a strolling actress, named Brown, and was born, out of wedlock, at 35 St Peters Square Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire...
, born in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, passed the majority of her childhood in Guiseley, where she worked at Green Bottom Mill and was a nursemaid to a local family, before running away to seek her fortune in London.
The former Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
and England cricket captain Brian Close
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
lived in the town during his childhood and still lives there now. Barney Colehan
Barney Colehan
Barney Colehan was an English radio and television producer.Major Bernard Colehan arrived at the BBC from the British Forces Broadcasting Service. He first came to prominence in 1946 as a BBC radio producer responsible for Have A Go hosted by Wilfred Pickles...
lived in Guiseley until his death in 1991. He is buried in Guiseley cemetery on Chevin End Road.