Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census. It is in two parts: south of the river is the historic town of Otley and to the north is Newall, which was formerly a separate township. The town is in lower Wharfedale on the A660 road which connects it to Leeds.
The town is in the Otley and Yeadon ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds North West parliamentary constituency.
The Wharfedale Valley was sculpted by the melting of Ice Age glaciers, which left behind the dramatic landscapes that surround the city today - and these landscapes hold the key to Otley's true age.
In the town itself, the parish church displays remnants of its Saxon heritage with a selection of stone crosses from the early Christians who arrived here - in the 7th century Otley was part of a vast manor house between the rivers Humber and Tyne.
Cattle markets began in the town in 1222, defining its future for nearly 800 years, and in 1644 the Market Place hosted Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian army on the eve of the Battle of Marston Moor. It is said that they drank the pubs dry before their famous victory!
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the woolen industry kicked off, and the 18th and 19th centuries saw considerable progress, at a time when Otley helped shape British history itself. The Otley Courthouse was built during this period and housed the police and fire station as well as the courthouse. In one wing of the building lived the chief of police.
The courthouse now houses a thriving Arts Center that regularly hosts music, comedy and film performances. Tours of the building are possible by appointment, and one of the old prison cells is still in its original condition.
The Wharfedale printing press, developed by David Payne in the 1850s, was the first true achievement in printing since the famous Gutenberg Bible was printed on a wooden press in 1654. The Wharfedale press allowed continuous printing of sheets without having to stop after each sheet. There are several plaques around Otley recording various production sites, and the names Payne, Dawson, Elliot are associated with the press and its development. The Wharfedale press is one of the many artifacts at the Otley Museum.
Other industries that flourished in Otley during the Victorian era included the paper, candle and leather industries, all of which are long gone.
Stone quarried from Chevin was used in the construction of the Houses of Parliament and the famous carpenter Thomas Chippendale was born in Otley in 1718. He was educated at Prince Henry's Grammar School and his 1754 publication The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director is generally regarded as the first interior design book.
As Otley's fame grew, it began to attract the great and the good, and the romantic painter JMW Turner spent much of his time at nearby Farnley Hall. The dramatic landscapes around Wharfedale have been used as the backdrop for some of his most famous paintings. The then lord of the manor, Walter Ramsden Fawkes, was closely related to the not-so-great and infamous Guy.
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15 сен 2024
