Buttershaw
Encyclopedia
Buttershaw is a residential area of Bradford
, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is bounded by Horton Bank Top to the north, Wibsey
to the east, Woodside to the South and Shelf
to the west.
Buttershaw consists mostly of 1940s council housing with the building starting in 1947 and continuing until the 1960s. These parts of Buttershaw gained fame in 1986 when they were featured as the setting for most of the scenes in the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too
, which was based on plays by local resident Andrea Dunbar
. The estate gained something of a cult status thanks to the film, although at first there was much discontent among local people who complained that it further tarnished the estate's already undesirable reputation. Since the 1980s, many of the older homes around Buttershaw (including some of the blocks of flats that appeared in several of the film's scenes) have been demolished to be replaced by new homes.
). The settlement moved west in the 19th Century with the building of Bottomley's mill on Halifax Road and the construction of workers cottages (such as Bottomley St) adjacent to the existing settlement of Beck Hill.
The construction of the council estate finally moved the centre of the district northward on to what was then farm land but prior to the twentieth century had been extensively mined (see the OS map of 1852 for the density of mines across the area and the one for 1910 for the conversion to farm land).
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...
, 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 bounded by Horton Bank Top to the north, Wibsey
Wibsey
Wibsey is a ward in the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Wibsey is named after Wibsey village which makes up the main part of the ward...
to the east, Woodside to the South and Shelf
Shelf, West Yorkshire
Shelf is a village in West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated halfway between Bradford and Halifax. It has a population of 4,496.In the Domesday Book it is called Scelf....
to the west.
Buttershaw consists mostly of 1940s council housing with the building starting in 1947 and continuing until the 1960s. These parts of Buttershaw gained fame in 1986 when they were featured as the setting for most of the scenes in the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a 1986 British film directed by Alan Clarke about two West Yorkshire teenaged schoolgirls who have a sexual fling with a married man. It was adapted by Andrea Dunbar, based on two of her stage plays; Rita Sue and Bob Too and The Arbor...
, which was based on plays by local resident Andrea Dunbar
Andrea Dunbar
Andrea Dunbar was a British playwright best known for Rita, Sue and Bob Too, an autobiographical drama about the sexual adventures of teenage girls living in a run-down part of Bradford, Yorkshire...
. The estate gained something of a cult status thanks to the film, although at first there was much discontent among local people who complained that it further tarnished the estate's already undesirable reputation. Since the 1980s, many of the older homes around Buttershaw (including some of the blocks of flats that appeared in several of the film's scenes) have been demolished to be replaced by new homes.
History
The original settlement of Buttershaw was about a mile to the east (which is why the church of Buttershaw St Pauls is actually in WibseyWibsey
Wibsey is a ward in the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Wibsey is named after Wibsey village which makes up the main part of the ward...
). The settlement moved west in the 19th Century with the building of Bottomley's mill on Halifax Road and the construction of workers cottages (such as Bottomley St) adjacent to the existing settlement of Beck Hill.
The construction of the council estate finally moved the centre of the district northward on to what was then farm land but prior to the twentieth century had been extensively mined (see the OS map of 1852 for the density of mines across the area and the one for 1910 for the conversion to farm land).