Bingley History – a timeline of events
This Timeline of Bingley History is intended to capture some of the main events which have taken place in the local area from 1120 up to 2011. As such it is intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.
Content is taken from Chapters of the book Bingley and Surrounds – Forgotten Moments from History by Alan Cattell with permission from the author. First published 2011 ©Alan Cattell, 2011.
Alan Cattell has written many interesting Bingley History articles for us over the years, we worked with him to produce this useful Timeline of Bingley History as a way to search and review by dates or events. You will find some events in the Timeline link to Bingley History articles written by Alan Cattell. To see all the Bingley History articles then please see more Local History articles here.
Use the search feature for dates or events >>>>
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 1120 | Drax Priory grant Bingley Church |
| 1212 | Bingley Market Charter granted - 800 Years of Bingley Market |
| 1316 | Raids on Skipton by the Scots |
| 1500 | Bingley Church re-erected |
| 1503 | First Cottingley Hall built |
| 1518 | Bingley Church Choir erected |
| 1529 | Bingley Grammar School endowed |
| 1596 | Gawthorpe Hall, Bingley built |
| 1601 | Manor House, Micklethwaite built |
| 1616 | Harden Hall (St Ives) built |
| 1631 | Many inhabitants of Beckfoot hamlet die of the Black Plague |
| 1635 | Priestthorpe Hall (later known as the Old Vicarage) built |
| 1642 | Lord Thomas Fairfax (born in Otley) and his son rumoured to have stayed at Harden Hall during the Civil War |
| East Riddlesden Hall built | |
| 1677 | Eldwick Hall built |
| 1685 | Ireland Bridge Bingley built of stone |
| 1723 | Beckfoot Bridge Bingley built |
| 1739 | Bingley Church Tower raised |
| 1753 | Bingley Market Hall built on Main Street 800 Years of Bingley Market |
| Cottingley Toll Bar at Cottingley Bridge | |
| 1757 | John Wesley visits Bingley 13 times up to 1788 |
| 1770 | Myrtle Grove, Bingley built |
| Regular gypsy gatherings are held at Baildon from this date and over the next 200 years | |
| 1774 | Leeds and Liverpool Canal – Skipton to Bingley opened including 3 and 5 Rise locks |
| 1775 | Roman silver coin hoard found in a chest at Morton Banks by a local farmer |
| Ireland Bridge repaired and widened | |
| 1780 | Haworth Parsonage Built |
| 1792 | Hewenden Mill- Wilsden built |
| First Stagecoaches through Bingley on Leeds to Kendal route, calling at the Kings Head, Elm Tree and White Horse coaching inns | |
| 1794 | William Wickham of Cottingley acts as a British Master Spy during the French Revolution |
| 1796 | The Haworth highwayman James Sutcliffe is executed at York for highway robbery at Keighley |
| 1800 | Eldwick Beck Mill |
| 1802 | Providence Mill, Bingley |
| 1810 | Holroyd Mill, Morton Beck |
| 1812 | Prospect Mill, Bingley |
| 1814 | Building of Bingley Elementary School |
| 1815 | Old Chapel , High Eldwick |
| 1820 | Bronte family move to Haworth |
| 1823 | Shipley St John’s Church foundation stone laid |
| Toll Bar moved to Cottingley Bar | |
| 1824 | St Matthews Church, Wilsden foundation stone laid |
| 1825 | Opening of the Keighley to Bradford Turnpike Road |
| 1828 | Sunday School, Wilsden |
| 1830 | The Airedale Heifer weighing 41 stone 12 pounds and owned by Mr Slingsby of Riddlesden Hall is slaughtered |
| 1832 | Spring Mill, Wilsden |
| 1836 | Titus Salt discovers practical use for Alpaca wool |
| 1837 | Mechanics Institute, Wilsden |
| 1839 | Infants School, Wilsden |
| 1841 | Providence Mill, Wilsden |
| 1842 | Plug Drawing on water and steam at Bingley mills by the Chartists |
| 1843 | Royd Mill, Wilsden |
| Friday 13th April John Nicholson – the Airedale Poet and an employee of Titus Salt dies of exposure after falling into the River Aire near Victoria Road, Saltaire | |
| 1844 | Benjamin Disraeli -future Prime Minister opens Bingley and Cottingley Allotments |
| 1845 | Charlotte Bronte applies for a job as Governess to the Thornton family at Cottingley Old Hall but is turned down because she is not musically talented |
| 1846 | Shipley Railway Station |
| 1847 | Shipley to Keighley line opened including Bingley and Keighley stations |
| First Bingley Improvement Commissioners | |
| 1848 | Bankfield, Bingley (now a hotel) built |
| Chelsea Pensioners defend Bingley during Chartist march and arrests of the ringleaders | |
| 1850 | Opening of Fleece Inn, Eldwick – run by Dick Hudson as Landlord until 1878. Now known as Dick Hudsons |
| Bingley Co-operative Society formed | |
| 1851 | Bingley Building Society founded |
| Great Wilsden flood | |
| 1852 | Cottingley Mechanics Institute |
| New Primitive Methodist Chapel, Ryecroft | |
| 1853 | Salts Mill opened on 20th September, Titus Salt’s 50th birthday |
| Charles Dickens publishes an article in Household Words calling Titus Salt “The Great Yorkshire Llama” as a playful reference to his use of alpaca wool | |
| 1854 | Saltaire Village – first building phase completed |
| Charles Dickens visits Saltaire during the building | |
| 1856 | Saltaire railway station opened |
| 1857 | Saltaire Village – second building phase completed |
| Richard Thornton of Cottingley invited by Livingstone to accompany him on his Zambesi expedition | |
| 1858 | William Napier of Bingley awarded the Victoria Cross for valour during the Indian Mutiny |
| 1859 | Charles Darwin stayed at Ilkley from October to December. His book Origin of the Species was published in November |
| Mechanics Institute Harden | |
| 1860 | Morton Co-op opened |
| 1862 | Mechanics Institute Baildon |
| 1864 | Mechanics Institute, Bingley and Oakwood Hall, Bingley (now a hotel) built Read about the Mechanics Institute |
| Members of the Pre-Raphaelite Group undertook design of stained glass windows for churches and houses in Bradford, Bingley, Silsden and Harden | |
| 1865 | Shipley Baptist Church and Cottingley Town Hall built |
| Prince of Wales Park, Bingley opened | |
| 1866 | Albion Mill, Wilsden rebuilt and Bingley Agricultural Show instituted |
| 1867 | Haworth, Oakworth and Oxenhope railway stations opened |
| Cottingley Co-op opened | |
| 1868 | Almshouses, Salts Hospital, Saltaire Methodist Church and Elementary School built |
| New Moravian Church, Baildon built | |
| Discontinuance of Tolls on Keighley and Bradford Turnpike road | |
| Holy Trinity Church, Bingley built | |
| 1869 | Airedale Mills, Micklethwaite |
| Bingley Boiler Explosion: The boiler at Town’s bobbin mill on Park Road explodes and employees and schoolchildren at the nearby National Board School are killed or injured | |
| 1870 | Bingley Parish Church restored |
| Building of Milner Field started read: Milner Field and Titus Salt | |
| 1871 | Saltaire Institute built |
| Cullingworth and Crossflatts Co-ops opened | |
| Bowling Green Mill, Bingley | |
| Boathouse Saltaire opened | |
| 1875 | Micklethwaite Free Methodist Chapel |
| 1876 | Baildon Station built and Shipley to Guiseley railway opened |
| Wilsden and Crossflatts schools opened | |
| 1877 | Board Schools opened at Mornington Road, Bingley, Eldwick and Harden |
| Bingley Rugby founded | |
| 1878 | Harden Co-op opened |
| 1880 | Airedale Harriers founded |
| 1882 | Royal visit to Saltaire by the Prince and Princess of Wales |
| Bingley Market Rights purchased from Lord of Manor 800 Years of Bingley Market | |
| Cullingworth Viaduct opened | |
| 1884 | Hewenden Viaduct built and Cullingworth and Denholme railway stations built |
| 1886 | Wilsden station opened |
| 1887 | Exhibition Building Saltaire opened and Jubilee Exhibition opened by Prince Henry Of Battenberg and HRH Princess Beatrice |
| 1888 | Market Hall and Butter Cross moved from Main Street, Bingley to the quarry in Prince of Wales Park 800 Years of Bingley Market |
| Central Co-op store built on Bingley Main Street | |
| Elm Tree Hill removed for widening of Main Street, Bingley | |
| 1889 | Bingley Technical School opened |
| Post Office building Wilsden built but never used as a Post Office | |
| 1890 | Methodist Church, Wilsden built and Bingley Cottage Hospital opened |
| 1891 | Midland Hotel, Bingley built |
| Baildon Golf Club founded | |
| 1892 | Bingley Free Library opened |
| Bingley Station moves to new site | |
| 1893 | Industrial Society, Wilsden opened and Bingley Harriers founded |
| 1894 | Improvement Commissioners constituted to Bingley Urban District Council |
| 1895 | Shipley Glen Tramway opened Read about the Japanese Gardens |
| 1897 | Central Buildings, Bingley Main Street opened |
| Baildon Moor acquired by Council | |
| 1900 | Great Flood at Morton in July |
| 1901 | Fire Station built in Market Street, Bingley |
| 1902 | Frizinghall to Shipley tram service opened |
| 1903 | Nab Wood to Thackley tram service opened |
| Keighley Library (first Carnegie Library in the area) opened | |
| 1904 | Road widened at Bingley to by-pass Old Main Street and Church |
| 1906 | Death of Lilly Cove (21) whilst giving a parachute demonstration from a balloon at Haworth |
| Shipley Public Baths | |
| Opening of St Wilfreds Church, Gilstead | |
| 1907 | General Booth (Salvation Army) visited Shipley and Bingley |
| Myrtle Park School, Bingley opened | |
| 1908 | Mrs Pankhurst attends Women’s Social and Political Union rally at Shipley Glen |
| 1909 | Myrtle Park, Bingley opened |
| 1910 | Glen Tramway had 17,000 passengers at Easter |
| 1911 | Prince’s Hall Cinema, Shipley |
| Bingley Ladies Teacher Training College opened | |
| 1913 | Bingley Post Office, Main Street |
| Cottingley Toll House demolished and Cottingley Bridge widened | |
| Hippodrome Cinema, Bingley Bingley’s Lost Cinemas | |
| 1914 | First Tram into Bingley |
| 1915 | Shipley Cinema |
| 1917 | Baildon Picture House |
| Photographs of Cottingley Fairies taken by two local girls endorsed as real by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Later disproved | |
| 1918 | Tom Duxbury opens a firelighter shop on Whitley Street, Bingley which expands into joinery manufacturing and eventually becomes Magnet Joinery |
| Ryshworth and Crossflatts housing sites acquired | |
| 1919 | Betty’s Cafe, Ilkley |
| Harden housing site | |
| 1920 | Northcliffe Woods, Shipley opened |
| Cullingworth and Wilsden housing sites | |
| Saltaire Park given to Council by Sir James Roberts | |
| Happy Valley Pleasure Grounds open at Harden Read the full article here... | |
| 1921 | Bandstand, Northcliffe Woods, Shipley |
| Myrtle Cinema, Bingley (now the Myrtle Grove Pub) Bingley’s Lost Cinemas | |
| 1922 | Saltaire Cinema |
| 1927 | Opening of Princess Hall and Swimming Baths at Bingley by the Earl of Harewood and HRH Princess Mary |
| Cottingley Housing site | |
| Happy Valley Mill Building destroyed by fire read the full article here... | |
| 1928 | St Ives purchased by Council |
| 1929 | Sports Turf Research Institute at St Ives founded |
| 1931 | Harry Ramsdens, Guiseley opens |
| 1936 | German airship the Hindenberg flies over the Aire Valley in May, June and October |
| 1937 | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Saltaire |
| 1939 | Last Tram leaves Saltaire Depot |
| 1940 | Baildon gypsy gatherings stopped at the start of the Second World War and were never revived |
| 1942 | Warship Week Plaque awarded to Bingley for raising money to adopt HMS Electra. Never presented as the ship was unfortunately sunk in battle |
| 1946 | Have a Go, a radio quiz show which regularly attracted 20 million listeners was first broadcast from Bingley in early 1946 by Halifax born actor and broadcaster Wilfred Pickles. The idea for the quiz was suggested by BBC Programme Director John Salt, the great grandson of Titus Salt. The programme ran from 1946 to 1967 |
| 1947 | Bingley Little Theatre founded |
| 1950 | Bingley Council proposes By-Pass |
| 1951 | Bridge across River Aire at Myrtle Park |
| 1953 | Baildon Station closed |
| 1955 | Nab Wood Crematorium opened |
| Cullingworth, Denholme and Wilsden Stations closed for passenger traffic | |
| 1956 | Memorial Hall, Eldwick opened |
| 1957 | Saltaire Cinema closed |
| 1960 | Baildon Picture House closed |
| Arndale Shopping Centre, Shipley opened | |
| 1962 | Bingley Building Society Head Office |
| New Market Hall, Shipley opened | |
| 1963 | Salts Grammar School |
| 1964 | Bradford and Bingley formed from the merger of the Bradford Equitable and Bingley |
| Permanent Building Societies | |
| 1965 | Damart Factory at Bingley |
| Saltaire station closes | |
| 1970 | Airedale General Hospital |
| Major redevelopment of Central Area of Bingley comprising Myrtle Grove, Chapel Lane, Main Street and 7 Dials areas of Bingley (continued through to 1974). Building of Myrtle Walk Shopping Centre | |
| 1972 | Shipley Baths |
| 1973 | Bingley Library and small Market opens in new Myrtle Walk Shopping Precinct |
| Baildon Station reopened | |
| 1974 | Bingley UDC dissolved – Becomes Bingley Ward of Bradford Council |
| Demolition of Holy Trinity Church, Bingley | |
| Bingley Little Theatre moves to new Bingley Arts Centre | |
| 1976 | Victoria Hall, Bingley demolished |
| Wilsden Village Hall | |
| 1977 | Jubilee Gardens, Bingley |
| Princess Anne visits Saltaire | |
| 1979 | Bingley College closed |
| Salts Hospital closed | |
| 1982 | Crossflatts Station |
| Yorkshire Clinic | |
| 1984 | Market Hall and Butter Cross moved from Prince of Wales Park to current position in Jubilee Gardens 800 Years of Bingley Market |
| 1985 | Saltaire station reopens |
| English Heritage list Saltaire | |
| 1986 | Salts Mill closed |
| 1989 | Pace move to Salts Mill |
| Visit by Princess Diana to Manorlands Hospice, Oxenhope | |
| 1991 | Visit by Princess Diana to Shipley |
| 1996 | Visit by Prince Charles and Princess Diana to Saltaire |
| 2000 | Mornington Road Methodist Church, Bingley demolished |
| 2001 | Saltaire becomes a World Heritage site |
| 2003 | Bingley Relief Road opened |
| 2008 | Bradford and Bingley retail branches transferred to Abbey |
| Partial demolition of Myrtle Walk Shopping Centre, Bingley Market moves to newly revamped Town Square 800 Years of Bingley Market | |
| (Jubilee Gardens) | |
| 2009 | Opening of new 5Rise Shopping Centre at Bingley |
| 2010 | Bradford and Bingley savings accounts rebranded to Santander. Office building in Bingley closed and put up for sale |
| Opening of new Canalside Medical Centre in Bingley |
First published 2011 © Alan Cattell, 2011
The right of Alan Cattell, to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Bingley History, a timeline of events.
All rights reserved. No part of this book/content may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by an electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. It has not been possible to trace all the original photographers but acknowledgement has been made where known. If any copyright has been infringed it was done unintentionally and sincere apologies are offered. If advised future prints can be amended.