Bramhope
Encyclopedia
Bramhope is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds
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,...

 metropolitan borough, 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...

, north of Holt Park
Holt Park
Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...

 and north east of Cookridge
Cookridge
Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a mixture of suburban, twentieth-century private housing and a very small amount of council housing bordering Tinshill. It is in the Adel and Wharfedale ward of City of Leeds metropolitan district, and the Leeds North West...

.

The village is 9 miles (14.4 km) north of Leeds city centre
Leeds City Centre
Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999...

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,400 and it is in the LS16 Leeds postcode area
LS postcode area
The LS postcode area, also known as the Leeds postcode area, is a group of postcode districts around Leeds, Wetherby, Tadcaster, Pudsey, Otley and Ilkley in England...

. It is predominantly made up of large, privately-owned houses which tend to be above the average value for properties in West Yorkshire.

History

The earliest known settlement in the area was a British camp established off Moor Road. The Romans built a road through the area from Adel
Adel, Leeds
Adel is a suburb in North Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Cookridge, Holt Park, Weetwood and Alwoodley. To the north are the villages of Arthington and Bramhope and the market town of Otley...

 to 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...

, traces of which remain in a field near Leeds Bradford Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, northwest of Leeds city centre itself...

.

Bramhope is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday 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...

 as the manor of an Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

 thane
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...

, Uchill. In 1095 the manor passed to Percy
House of Percy
The House of Percy were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages, having descended from William de Percy who crossed from Normandy to England with William I in early December 1067 and was rebuilding York Castle in 1070...

 family, and in 1165 was sold to Ralph de Bramhope. In the 13th century the monasteries owned much of the land and had granges where sheep were grazed. The monks used tracks, such as Scotland Lane and Staircase Lane, as they travelled from their outlying granges to Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded c.1152. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry...

.

The village had a small population until the 20th century. The Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 of 1348-9 reduced the number of adults to 34, but this gradually increased to about 400 in 1900. Now it is in the region of 4,500. Water was drawn from private wells or the town well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

 at the foot of Northgate (now Church Hill). The town well was restored in 1991 by the Bramhope History Group, and is located opposite St Giles Church. The plaque says that the well was exposed in 1991, so perhaps it had been lost for some time.

Churches

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 gave the land to the Earl of Cumberland
Earl of Cumberland
The title of Earl of Cumberland was created in the Peerage of England in 1525 for the 11th Baron de Clifford. It became extinct in 1643. See also Duke of Cumberland.The subsidiary title of the first three earls was Baron de Clifford...

. In the 16th century the Dyneley family moved into the area and acquired Bramhope Hall. In 1649 they built the Puritan Chapel, which was taken over by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 after the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

. The chapel is one of only a few built during the Commonwealth period. It is said not to have been consecrated but nevertheless was regularly used for church services until 1881-82. The Puritan Chapel was listed grade I in 1966.

When the chapel proved too small for the growing population, St Giles' Church was built in 1881. The original Methodist chapel was built in 1837 and replaced by the much bigger church in 1896. There is a map showing the location of St Giles and the Methodist church here. Bramhope Cemetery, established in 1861, is in Moor Road, but there are still some historical gravestones
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...

 remaining in the cemetery of the Puritan Chapel.

Road and railway

For many centuries travellers to the market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

s in the vicinity used Otley Old Road. However, it was the 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...

 to 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...

 turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...

 road, with its tollhouses, opened in 1842, which routed travellers through the outskirts of Bramhope. It is along this route that motorists today travel between Leeds and the northwest. The milestone
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...

s along the road were erected in 1850.

The railway
Harrogate Line
The Harrogate Line is the name given to a passenger rail service through parts of North Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England connecting Leeds to York by way of Harrogate and Knaresborough. The service is operated by Northern Rail, with a few additional workings by East...

 was excavated under the village through the Bramhope Tunnel
Bramhope Tunnel
The Bramhope Tunnel is a railway tunnel long, owned by Network Rail on a route currently operated mainly by Northern Rail. It was constructed during 1845–1849 on the Harrogate Line, carrying rural and commuter passengers between Horsforth and Weeton in West Yorkshire, England...

 constructed between 1845 and 1849. The tunnel has an elaborate castellated northern entrance and there are many heaps of spoil and several ventilation shaft
Ventilation shaft
In subterranean civil engineering, ventilation shafts, also known as airshafts or vent shafts, are vertical passages used in mines and tunnels to move fresh air underground, and to remove stale air....

s along its length. There is a replica of the tunnel entrance in 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...

 churchyard, erected as a memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....

 to those who lost their lives during the tunnel's construction. There is no Bramhope railway station. Bus services are listed here.

Schools

A village school was built in Eastgate where the war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...

 garden is located. A plaque states "On this site in 1790 a Day School was erected by the freeholders and copyholders of Bramhope Township. It was also used as a Sunday School and Public Meeting Place. Demolished 1961". The school became overcrowded whilst tunnelling work for the railway was going on in the late 1840s. It was replaced by a larger building in 1873 in Breary Lane, next to the shopping parade. The present school, situated on Tredgold Crescent, was opened in 1961.

Community

Bramhope has a Round Table, which organises activities to raise money for charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

. However this area suffers its share of crime like everywhere else. Bramhope has a cricket club. Chevin Music Centre is based at Bramhope Primary School in the village.

Memorial hall

The large, red-roofed Robert Craven Memorial Hall, (originally the Craven Institute) 1896, was part of the bequest of Robert Craven, a local farmer. It is now the village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...

 and administered as a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

. It has a crown bowling
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...

 green, car park and tennis courts. Inside there are various rooms plus a large hall with stage, which doubles as a badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 court. On the second Saturday of every month a farmer's market is hosted at this hall. The memorial hall also hosts a yearly flower show in the autumn, and a bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 club.

Listed buildings in Bramhope

  • Grade I buildings: Puritan Chapel, Otley Road (north side).

  • Grade II buildings: Farmhouse at 1 Church Hill; Barn about 5 metres west of Old Manor Farmhouse; Old Manor Farmhouse (rear portion only); Weaver's Cottage, 4 Eastgate; Methodist Church, Eastgate, north side; Gazebo on northwest corner of garden of Westwood, Hall Drive (south side); Manor House, Manor Close (north side); Sighting tower, south side of Moorland Road; The Hollies, Old Lane (north side); Portal to north entrance to Bramhope railway tunnel.

  • Grade II Mileposts: Milepost on east corner of junction with Church Hill and Ditley Road (south side); Milepost at SE 240 441, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 253 432, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 264 421, Otley Road (north side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary Lane at SE 255 430, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary lane east at SE 256 430, Otley road (north side); Milepost on south-east corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road at SE 241 440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on south-west corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road st SE 241440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on west corner of junction with Creskeld Lane at SE 258 428, Otley Road (north side).

  • Related grade II listing at Otley: Memorial to victims of Bramhope tunnel disaster (sic), Church Lane (north side), Otley.

Location grid


External links

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