HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bingley is a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...
of the
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 large area which includes the towns and v ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England, on the
River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
and the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census.
Bingley railway station Bingley railway station is a grade II listed railway station that serves the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England, and is away from Leeds and away from Bradford Forster Square on the Airedale line operated by Northern Trains. Histo ...
is in the town centre and
Leeds Bradford International Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...
is away. The B6265 connects Bingley to
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...
.
Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, Bingley appears in the ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'' of 1086 as "Bingheleia".


History


Founding

Bingley was probably founded by the
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
, by a ford on the
River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
. This crossing gave access to Harden,
Cullingworth Cullingworth is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Bradford and south of Keighley. The surrounding countryside is mainly u ...
and
Wilsden Wilsden is a village and civil parish in west Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. Wilsden is west of Bradford and is close to the Aire Valley and the nearby villages of Denholme, Cullingworth, Harden, Cottingley and Allerton. Wilsden re- ...
on the south side of the river. The origins of the name are from the Old English personal name ''Bynna'' + ''ingas'' ("descendants of") + ''lēah'' ("clearing in a forest"). This would mean altogether the "wood or clearing of the Bynningas, the people called after Bynna".


Normans

In the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, Bingley is listed as "Bingheleia":
''m In Bingheleia hb. Gospatric iiij car' tra e' ad gld. tra ad ii car' Ernegis de burun h't. & Wast' e'. T.R.E. val, iiij lib'. Silva past' ii leu' lg' & i lat'. Tot' m' e iiij leu' lg' & ii lat
which roughly translated reads:
In Bingheleia, Gospatric has a manor of four carucate of land to be taxed, land for two ploughs. Ernegis de Burun has it and it is waste. In the time of King Edward the Confessor it was valued at four pounds. Woodland pasture two leagues long and one broad. All the manor is four long and two broad.


Medieval

The ford was superseded by
Ireland Bridge Bingley's Ireland Bridge is a Grade II* listed structure and a historically significant crossing point over the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. It is now the main route between Bingley & the nearby villages of Harden, Wilsden & Cullin ...
. Bingley was a
manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
which extended several miles up and down the Aire valley, extending upstream to Marley on the outskirts of
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...
and downstream to Cottingley. Bingley became a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
with the grant of a Market Charter in 1212 by
King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...
. According to the poll tax returns of 1379, Bingley had 130 households, probably around 500 people. The nearby towns of Bradford, Leeds and Halifax had about half this population. At this time Bingley was the largest town in the area. No records tell of how Bingley fared in the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
that swept Europe in the 14th century. Approximately one third of all the people in Europe died of this plague, sometimes wiping out whole towns and villages. According to the 1379 Poll tax records, the nearby town of Boulton had no survivors worth taxing. It seems Bingley may have got off relatively lightly.


Tudors

In 1592, Bingley was shown on a map by Yorkshire map-maker
Christopher Saxton Christopher Saxton (c. 1540 – c. 1610) was an English cartographer who produced the first county maps of England and Wales. Life and family Saxton was probably born in Sowood, Ossett in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire i ...
as a single street with about 20 houses on each side. The church sits at the west end of the street opposite a single large house, possibly a
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
. Since Bingley was a market town, the market stalls would have been set up on either side of the main street. One of the oldest buildings in Bingley is a
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...
, the
Old White Horse Inn The Old White Horse Inn in Bingley, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the oldest buildings still in use in the town. It was originally constructed as a coaching inn in the mid-seventeenth century, strategically positioned with Ireland Bridge on ...
, on the flatter north bank of the River Aire by Ireland Bridge.


Industrial Revolution

Like many towns in the West Riding, Bingley prospered during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. The Bingley section of the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
was completed in 1774, linking the town with
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...
, and
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
via the
Bradford Canal The Bradford Canal was a English canal which ran from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley into the centre of Bradford. It opened in 1774, and was closed in 1866, when it was declared to be a public health hazard. Four years later it reop ...
. The canal passes through the town centre and ascends the side of the valley via the Bingley Five Rise and
Bingley Three Rise Locks Bingley Three Rise Locks is a staircase of three locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. The locks are a Grade II* listed building. The locks were designed by John Longbotham and opened in 1774. The stone lo ...
. Several woollen and worsted mills were built and people migrated from the surrounding countryside to work in them. Many came from further afield such as Ireland in the wake of the Great Famine. A railway and line goods yard were constructed bringing further trade. The villages of
Gilstead Gilstead is a village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan borough, Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated at the edge of the Moorland, moors, above the town of Bingley which is the post town. Eldwick Primary Schoo ...
and
Eldwick Eldwick is a small village near Bingley in the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire. It is split up into two main parts, Eldwick, the main populated part, and High Eldwick, the larger but less populated section, situated on Bingley Moor. ...
became conurbated with Bingley. The Bingley Building Society was also founded in this period.


Post-industrial

Bingley Teacher Training College opened in 1911 with Helen Wodehouse as principal. The first intake of students was 102 women from in and around the then
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. Before its closure in 1979, the college produced approximately 16,000 teachers. The
Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
demolished the goods yard, although the station still has trains to Leeds, Bradford, Skipton,
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
and
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
. The textile mills have largely been closed. The
Damart Damart is a French company which specialises in clothing. Established in 1953 the brand became a household name in France and the UK. Although the brand specialises in a material called Thermolactyl, known for its insulation qualities, the labe ...
mill still stands and trades in textiles. Since 1995 the tannery, Bingley Mill & Andertons, have been converted into flats. The most cramped and outdated
terraced housing In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
was partly replaced with
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
,
Bingley Arts Centre Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...
and the headquarters of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society. Further council housing was built up the hill towards Gilstead including three
tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...
s, which were later demolished in 2020. In the wake of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
's reforms of council housing much of the council estate was sold and a substantial portion has been knocked down and rebuilt as private housing. The Bingley Permanent Building Society merged with the Bradford Equitable Building Society to form the
Bradford & Bingley Building Society Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...
in 1964. It was decided to site the
corporate headquarters Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with important tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corpor ...
in Bingley. This brought several thousand jobs to the town, but the building itself did not meet with universal acclaim and was demolished in 2015. The Bradford and Bingley collapsed in the 2008 credit crunch.


Criminal

Bingley's most infamous son is
Peter Sutcliffe Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
, the Yorkshire Ripper, who was convicted of the murders of 13 women and the attempted murder of seven others.
Mark Rowntree Mark Andrew Rowntree (born 1956) is a British serial killer who was committed to a mental hospital after he admitted killing four people at random in the town of Bingley, West Yorkshire, during late 1975 and early 1976. Due to the timing of his ...
, a
spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations ...
, started his murderous campaign in Bingley before moving on to Eastburn and
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. He was convicted in 1976 of four murders. In 1966, bookie Fred Craven was brutally murdered in his betting shop on Wellington Street, Bingley. Craven, who was well known in the area because of his short stature (he was 4 ft 7in tall), had gone into his shop to collect papers despite there being no racing that day. It is believed that he had £200 in his wallet (£3,200.00 in 2015 prices) which went missing. Mr Craven suffered extensive injuries at the hands of the killer. Because the local constabulary had a very narrow time frame for the murder, and the fact the killer must have been covered in blood, they anticipated a quick arrest. The Craven murder remains unsolved, but rumours that
Peter Sutcliffe Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
, the
Yorkshire Ripper Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
, was responsible for his murder resurfaced in 2017. ITV Calendar News asked Sutcliffe about Craven's death and also that of a taxi driver on Bingley Moor. In what was described as a "bizarre letter", Sutcliffe responded that he was not responsible for either crime to presenter
Christine Talbot Christine Talbot is a British television journalist and presenter who worked for ITV Yorkshire as a main presenter for its flagship news programme ''ITV News Calendar''. Career Christine trained at Lancashire Polytechnic's School of Journalism ...
.


Road history

The main road through Bingley has been re-sited twice in its history. In 1904, a new cut of the road heading north west out of the town created a mini-bypass between All Saints Parish Church and the Railway. The cobbled road around the front of the church became Old Main Street. A huge section of the graveyard was taken out to lay the new road and the gravestones were used as flags on the paths around the church. A small section of the graveyard still exists on the east side of the new road bounded by the old path to Treacle Cock Alley and the railway. Plans had been on the table for a trunk road through Bingley and the Aire valley since at least 1970. In 1992 preparatory work was undertaken to lengthen Park Road bridge so that the Leeds Liverpool Canal could be moved slightly to the east. This work would allow the formation of the new road to be sandwiched between the railway and the canal. In 1998, the Government, gave the go ahead for the trunk road to be constructed.


Post-relief road Bingley

In 2004, the Bingley Relief Road opened. The £47.9 million road stretches from
Crossflatts Crossflatts is a ribbon development in Airedale along the old route of the A650 road between Bingley and Keighley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The opening of the Aire Valley Trunk road in 2004 has seen a r ...
to Cottingley, threading through Bingley between the railway and the canal. One of the most expensive parts of the construction was moving a stretch of the canal. The construction involved the removal of Treacle Cock Alley pedestrian tunnel and the Tin Bridge, which have been replaced by the Three Rise Bridge, and the Britannia Bridge In 2004, the average home price in Bingley rose 30% to £196,850 – the second fastest appreciating area in the UK (after the nearby
Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...
). The road was a target of road protest camp where protesters occupied tree houses for nearly two years.


Governance

Bingley was part of the
Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...
of
Skyrack Skyrack was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the parishes of Aberford, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Thorne ...
, which was in turn part of the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. The ancient parish of Bingley included the
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...
of
Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...
and several other hamlets, including
Cullingworth Cullingworth is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Bradford and south of Keighley. The surrounding countryside is mainly u ...
. In 1866, the parish was divided into the new civil parishes of Bingley and Morton. In 1898, Bingley
Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
was formed; by 1926, all council administration had been transferred to
Myrtle Grove Myrtle Grove can refer to: * Myrtle Grove, Bingley, United Kingdom * Myrtle Grove, Youghal, Republic of Ireland * Myrtle Grove, Florida, U.S. * Myrtle Grove (Easton, Maryland), home on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places * Myrtle Grove, No ...
which became the town hall. In 1974 the urban district and civil parish were abolished and absorbed into the City of Bradford Metropolitan District in the new county of West Yorkshire. Bingley became a
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
in the Bradford metropolitan district. A civil parish called Bingley Town Council was established on 1 April 2016 following a petition to Bradford Council in October 2015. This followed a two-year campaign by the Bingley Community Council Group. Elections were held in May 2016 for the first councillors for the new Bingley Town Council. It has 16 councillors representing eight wards: Bingley Central, Crossflatts, Lady Lane and Oakwood, Eldwick, Gilstead, Priestthorpe, Crownest and Cottingley. ;Councillors Bingley ward is represented on
Bradford Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, ...
by three councillors; David Heseltine (Conservative), Marcus Dearden (Labour), and Geoff Winnard (Conservative). indicates seat up for re-election. indicates seat won in by-election.


Transport

The A650 trunk road passes through Bingley. Through traffic has been diverted onto the new
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
avoiding the town centre. The road passes north-west to
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...
and south-east to Shipley and Bradford. Bingley is served by a number of bus services including the 680 between Bradford and Bingley, the 616 / 619 services between Bradford and Eldwick and the 622 service between Bingley and Bradford operated by
First West Yorkshire First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...
, the 662 between Bradford and Keighley, the 60 between Leeds and Keighley and the K17 / K19 services between Keighley and Cullingworth operated by
Keighley Bus Company The Keighley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. ...
. The Airedale Line, part of the
West Yorkshire Metro Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yor ...
railway network passes through Bingley. It is operated by
Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
.
Bingley railway station Bingley railway station is a grade II listed railway station that serves the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England, and is away from Leeds and away from Bradford Forster Square on the Airedale line operated by Northern Trains. Histo ...
still has many historical features. The
Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...
passes through Bingley. There are several flights of locks in the Bingley section, the famous Five Rise Locks, the smaller Three Rise and a further two lock flight at Dowley Gap. The canal climbs steeply up the side of the Aire valley through this section.


Climate

As with all of the United Kingdom, Bingley experiences a
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
( Cfb), characterised cool to mild weather, with often cloudy and damp conditions. This is amplified by Bingley's hilly northern situation. The nearest official met office weather station for which data is available is 'Bingley No. 2", actually located a couple of miles south of the town centre and at a relatively high 262 metres above sea level – More elevated than all of the urbanised area of Bingley. It is therefore likely that temperatures in central Bingley, at as little as 80 metres above sea level, tend to be 1 to 1.5 °C milder year round – though on cold clear nights this may be reversed as a temperature inversion takes hold. The highest temperature recorded since 1980 at Bingley was 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) during August 1990. More recently the temperature fell to −10.8 °C (12.6 °F) on 20 December 2010. Data from the
Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
for the same weather station, but using more recent averages, showing changes to the climate in Bingley.


Education

Bingley provides a range of primary and secondary schools. The secondary schools are
Beckfoot School Beckfoot School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, in Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. The school has previously gained Technology College status, specialist school status in the Arts, Artsmark Gold and ...
,
Bingley Grammar School Bingley Grammar School (BGS) is a Voluntary aided school for students from the ages of 11–18 and is located on the outskirts of Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Bingley Grammar School was a specialist school for Business & Enterprise from ...
and
Samuel Lister Academy Dixons Cottingley Academy (formerly Samuel Lister Academy, Aire Valley School, Nab Wood School and originally Nab Wood Grammar School) is a mixed secondary school located in Cottingley, West Yorkshire, England. Originally opened as Nab Wood ...
. Bingley Grammar School was founded in the 16th century and is one of the oldest schools in the country. Heather Bank School was a private preparatory school which closed in the 1970s. Beckfoot Grammar School moved into new, purpose-built, premises in June 2011 and the old buildings were demolished in 2012.


Culture

Bradford City Council organises an annual music festival,
Bingley Music Live Bingley Music Live was an annual music festival held in Myrtle Park, Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. The festival featured a range of musical genres including rock, alternative rock, indie rock and pop music. Organised by City of Bradford Coun ...
in Myrtle Park. The
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
evolved from Music At Myrtle and features a range of musical genres including
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
,
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
and
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
. It is held at the end of August. First held in 2007, it was shortlisted in the ‘Best New Festival’ category of the Virtual Festival Awards. The ethos of the event is to present high quality music at an affordable price and give a platform for local bands from across West Yorkshire to a large audience. Artists such as The Charlatans,
Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...
,
Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voc ...
,
The Automatic The Automatic (also known as The Automatic Automatic in the U.S.) was a Welsh rock band. The band's last-known lineup was composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesisers, James Frost on guitar, synthesisers, backing vocals and occas ...
, Echo & The Bunnymen,
Doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
,
The Zutons The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne and saxophonist Abi Harding. They released their debut album, '' Who Ki ...
,
Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
, Desert Eskimo,
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
,
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
, The Enemy,
Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold (né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> fo ...
and
Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...
have performed at Bingley Music Live since 2007. Each year Bingley Show is held in Myrtle Park and is one of the largest one day shows in Europe. Its focus is on the horticultural and agricultural nature that reflects Bingley and its environs. The Bingley show has been held every year since 1867 apart from in 2012 when the event was cancelled due to flooding.
Bingley Little Theatre
is both a venue and a major amateur group, with eight productions a year as well as studio pieces. The first
Airedale Terrier The Airedale Terrier (often shortened to "Airedale"), also called Bingley Terrier and Waterside Terrier, is a dog breed of the terrier type that originated in the valley (''dale'') of the River Aire, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It ...
was bred in Bingley. Since January 2015, Bingley is part of the
Walkers are Welcome The Walkers are Welcome scheme is a community-led initiative operating in England, Scotland and Wales. The scheme promotes towns and communities as 'walker-friendly', based on a number of criteria, aiming to benefit local economies by attractin ...
town network making Yorkshire the friendliest place for walkers
Bingley Walkers are Welcome
now works with the local community and businesses to increase footfall into the area and boosting the local economy.


Notable people

*
Frank W. Walbank Frank William Walbank (; 10 December 1909 – 23 October 2008) was a scholar of ancient history, particularly the history of Polybius. He was born in Bingley, Yorkshire, and died in Cambridge. Walbank attended Bradford Grammar School an ...
(1909-2008), professor of Ancient History and world-renowned expert on
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
. Born in Bingley. * Prof
William Stuart Mcrae Craig Prof William Stuart Mcrae Craig FRSE FRCP FRCPE (19 July 1903 – 1975) was an English physician and medical author. He was a pioneer in the field of community and preventive paediatrics. He was author of the book ''Care of the Newly Born Infant ...
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(1903–1975), medical author * Ian Hutchinson, fifteen times Isle of Man TT winner, 2013 Macau Grand Prix winner and winner of the North West 200 road race. Born 12 August 1979 * The Ickeringill family, which included the noted Chartists Isaac Ickeringill (b. 1803) and his brother George (b. 1810) and Ira Ickringill (spelling accurate) (b. 1836), the Bradford mill founder, inventor and Mayor of Keighley, were born, raised and lived in Bingley. *
Percy Vear Hermann "Percy" Vear (12 July 1911 – 16 March 1983), born in Crossflatts, Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was a British professional boxer during the 1920s and 1930s. Brought up in Crossflatts during the First World War, Vear ...
, professional boxer, born in Crossflatts, Bingley, 12 July 1911 *
Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...
, astronomer, born in Bingley, 24 June 1915 *
John Braine John Gerard Braine (13 April 1922 – 28 October 1986) was an English novelist. Braine is usually listed among the angry young men, a loosely defined group of English writers who emerged on the literary scene in the 1950s. Biography John Brain ...
, author of Room at the Top. Worked in Bingley Library until 1942. *
Peter Sutcliffe Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
(1946–2020), serial killer, born Bingley 2 June 1946 *
Rodney Bewes Rodney Bewes (27 November 1937 – 21 November 2017) was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom ''The Likely Lads'' (1964–66) and its colour sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' ...
, actor, most famous role Bob Ferris in
The Likely Lads ''The Likely Lads'' is a British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966. However, only te ...
. Born in Bingley 27 November 1938. *
Muriel Aked Muriel Aked (9 November 1883 – 21 March 1955) was an English film actress. Early life, family and education Aked was born in Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England to George Henry Aked and his wife Emma (née Bairstow). She was a student ...
, actress, born 9 November 1887 in Bingley, died 21 March 1955 in
Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...
. * Pat Kirkwood,
Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
actress, lived in Bingley in her later years. *
William Twiss General William Twiss, (1745 – 14 March 1827), was a British Army Royal Engineer, responsible for the design of many military defences. Probably born in Kent in 1744 or 1745, Twiss worked in the ordnance office at the Tower of London from ...
, (1745–1827),
Royal Engineer The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
and designer of the
Martello Tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...
, lived in Bingley on retirement and is buried in
All Saints Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania *All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Aust ...
, Bingley. *
Marmozets Marmozets are an English rock band from Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Formed in 2007, the band consists of Rebecca "Becca" Macintyre (vocals), Jack Bottomley (guitar), Sam Macintyre (guitar/vocals), Will Bottomley (bass/vocals) and Josh Ma ...
, rock band formed in Bingley who have released two albums (both UK top 30) on Roadrunner Records in 2014 and 2018. *
Bernard Markham Bernard Markham was an Anglican bishop in the 20th century. Born on 26 February 1905 and educated at Bingley Grammar School and Leeds University, he was ordained in 1931. After curacies at Lidget Green and Stoke-on-Trent he held incumbencies at ...
, Bishop of Nassau and former pupil of Bingley Grammar School. * Timothy Taylor, brewer of Fine Yorkshire Ales. Born in 1826, opened his first brewery, the
Timothy Taylor Brewery Timothy Taylor's is a family-owned regional brewery founded in 1858 by Timothy Taylor. Originally based in Cook Lane, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. Timothy Taylor's moved to larger premises in 1863 at Knowle Spring in Keighley, where they re ...
, in 1858 – ales such as Landord, Ram Tam & Bolt Maker have won countless awards. *
Jessica Knappett Jessica Amy Knappett (born 28 November 1984) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known as the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom '' Drifters'', as well as her role as Lisa in ''The Inbetweeners M ...
, comedian, writer and actor, plays Lisa in
The Inbetweeners Movie ''The Inbetweeners Movie'', known simply as ''The Inbetweeners'' in North America, is a 2011 British coming-of-age teen adventure comedy film based on the E4 sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'', written by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris ...
and is the creator, writer and acting lead in the E4 sitcom
Drifters (TV series) ''Drifters'' is a British sitcom created by Jessica Knappett. It stars Knappett, Lydia Rose Bewley, and Lauren O'Rourke. ''Drifters'' follows the lives of cousins Meg and Bunny (Knappett and Bewley) and their friend Laura (O’Rourke) who live ...
. Born in 1984.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Bingley Bingley is a civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 102 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, th ...


References


External links


Bingley-Online
Bingley Online Community Website

A short history of Bingley
Ancient Bingley
(PDF) transcription of an 1897 book by Joseph Horsfall Turner

Historical Development of Bingley
Bingley Town Centre
(PDF) The Masterplan for the revitalisation of Bingley *
Bingley and District Local History Society
Bingley and District Local History Society website
Bingley Methodist Church
Bingley Methodist church website including history of former Mornington Road Methodist Church * {{Authority control Market towns in West Yorkshire Geography of the City of Bradford Towns in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire