Ben Rhydding
Encyclopedia
Ben Rhydding is a Wharfedale
village
in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is part of the Ilkley
urban area and civil parish
.
It is situated on a north-facing valley beneath the Cow and Calf Rocks and above and to the south of the River Wharfe
, and falls within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire
.
The former name for the village area was Wheatley. In the 19th century it was noted for a popular and thoroughly equipped hydropathic establishment, opened in about 1844 at a cost of £30,000. It was the third major hydropathic establishment in England, "perhaps the most deeply respected and certainly the longest-lived". Ben Rhydding, the name given to the establishment was also given to the railway station built to serve it and by which the village subsequently became known, is allegedly the ancient name of the uplands above Wheatley. In a 1900 history of Upper Wharfedale, a footnote describes the circumstances, citing Collyer's
History of Ilkley:
Ben Rhydding is nowadays a predominantly residential area of Ilkley, served by a railway station
, but relying in the main on the town for shopping and civic facilities. It is well within the travel to work area
of Bradford
and Leeds
.
Wharfedale
Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale include Buckden, Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham, and Wetherby...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford
City of Bradford
The City of Bradford is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden and...
, 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is part of the Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
urban area and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
.
It is situated on a north-facing valley beneath the Cow and Calf Rocks and above and to the south of the River Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
, and falls within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
.
The former name for the village area was Wheatley. In the 19th century it was noted for a popular and thoroughly equipped hydropathic establishment, opened in about 1844 at a cost of £30,000. It was the third major hydropathic establishment in England, "perhaps the most deeply respected and certainly the longest-lived". Ben Rhydding, the name given to the establishment was also given to the railway station built to serve it and by which the village subsequently became known, is allegedly the ancient name of the uplands above Wheatley. In a 1900 history of Upper Wharfedale, a footnote describes the circumstances, citing Collyer's
Robert Collyer
thumb|Robert Collyer in 1880thumb|Robert Collyer in 1903Robert Collyer was an English-born American Unitarian clergyman.-Biography:...
History of Ilkley:
Ben Rhydding is nowadays a predominantly residential area of Ilkley, served by a railway station
Ben Rhydding railway station
Ben Rhydding railway station is a railway station in Ben Rhydding, situated a mile to the east of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square, it is served by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Rail, who also manage the...
, but relying in the main on the town for shopping and civic facilities. It is well within the travel to work area
Travel to Work Area
A Travel to Work Area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of...
of Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
and 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...
.
Location grid
External links
- Conservation Area Assessment for Ben Rhydding, dated 2003, from the City of BradfordCity of BradfordThe City of Bradford is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden and...
Metropolitan District Council - Memorials from Ben Rhydding, by John Pringle NicholJohn Pringle NicholJohn Pringle Nichol FRSE was a Scottish educator, astronomer and economist who did much to popularise astronomy in a manner that appealed to nineteenth century tastes.-Early life:...
, published by Charles GilpinCharles Gilpin (politician)Charles Gilpin was a Quaker, orator, politician, publisher and railway director. Amongst his many causes were the movement to repeal the Corn Laws, to establish world peace through the Peace Society, abolition of the death penalty and the anti-slavery movement, enfranchisement by providing...
, 1852 - Ben Rhydding: the principles of hydropathy and the compressed air bath, by 'A graduate of the Edinburgh university', published by Hamilton Adams & Co, 1858
- Ben Rhydding described in Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland, 1861, from Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
- Ben Rhydding: the Asclepia of England, by Rev. R. Woodrow Thomson, published by John Shuttleworth, 1862.