Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a

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 authorit ...

in 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 vi ...

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. It is situated in the

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It i ...

valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from

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 popula ...

, north from Bradford, from

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

and from

Otley 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 20 ...

. The hamlet of Burley Woodhead at the foot of Burley Moor is to the south-west.

Etymology

The name of Burley in Wharfedale is first attested in an eleventh-century copy of a charter issued in 972, as ''Burhleg''. It 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 manus ...

in the spellings ''Burgelei'', ''Burgelay'', ''Burghelai'', and ''Burghelay''. The comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

words ''burg'' ('fortification') and ''lēah'' ('open land in a wood'), and thus meant 'open land in a wood, characterised by a fortification'. The specification 'in Wharfedale', deployed to avoid ambiguity with the various other English places of the same name, is first attested during the reign of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

, in the forms ''Burghlay in Querfildale'' and ''Burghlay in Quervesdale''.

History

Burley in Wharfedale was originally a small agricultural community with likely

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and Anglo-Saxon roots. Burley developed in the late 18th and 19th centuries into an industrial village with many residents employed at Greenholme Mills,

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

s powered from a

goit A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Other ...

fed from the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

. The cotton mill no longer operates and has recently been converted to flats, but the goit is now utilised to provide hydro electric power, and a weir remains. The development of industrial and commercial centres in the nearby cities of

and Bradford, combined with rail and bus links, caused major changes to the village in the early 20th century. Council housing was built in the 1920s and 1950s, as the village became a dormitory settlement for the two cities. With developments in the second half of the 20th century, Burley became a prosperous but socially diverse village. The village has a high percentage of elderly and retired people, and young families attracted by job opportunities, local

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

s and new housing developments. In 2006, following a petition to the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

and permission from the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, Burley gained its own Parish Council.

Community

Burley population is 7,041. With Menston, Burley is part of Wharfedale ward in the metropolitan borough of the

. The village contains a range of local businesses. Burley public buildings include the Queens' Hall, originally built as a

lecture hall A lecture hall (or lecture theatre) is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity normally between one and fifty, the capacity of lecture halls is usually measured i ...

for mill workers. Recent work by community groups has resulted in developments including a new

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, and the village green which contains a central water feature. The village has two state

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, Burley and Woodhead Primary School, Burley Oaks Primary School, and Ghyll Royd School & Pre-School, a private primary and

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

for girls and boys aged 2–11. The school was established in 1889 by Augustus Wooldridge Godby. Formerly an all boys school, it became a co-educational school in 1999 when it moved location to Greystone Manor. St Mary's, Burley in Wharfedale 1 (2685595033)

St Mary's, Burley in Wharfedale 1 (2685595033)

Burley churches are those of

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...

, Calvinists,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

s, and Catholics. The Anglican Parish Church is dedicated to St Mary. Burley has a range of housing types and age, and terrace houses and cottages at the centre.

Scalebor Park Hospital Scalebor Park Hospital was a mental health facility at Burley in Wharfedale in West Yorkshire, England. History The hospital, which was designed by J. Vickers Edwards using a compact arrow layout, opened as the West Riding Private Asylum in 1902. ...

has been converted into private

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

and flats. Burley has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the Wharfedale Line, with direct trains to

, Bradford and

, and links to other local urban areas. The Grange, Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale - geograph

Notable people

Burley Woodhead was home to the television presenter

Richard Whiteley John Richard Whiteley (28 December 1943 – 26 June 2005) was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show ''Countdown''. ''Countdown'' was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:4 ...

until his death in 2005. It may have been the birthplace of Walter of Burley (1274-1344), a medieval English logician and theologian. William Forster, reforming 19th-century politician was part owner of a mill in the village and is buried there. Mark James, Ryder Cup captain in 1999, lives in the village. British cyclist Scott Thwaites is from Burley; in 2012, he became the Men's Elite Road Race Champion in the

National road cycling championships National road cycling championships are held annually by host nations in each cycle racing discipline. The annual events can take place at any time of the year. European nations usually holds their annual events in June, during a designed break ...

held at Otley.

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

and treasurer to the County Courts of Yorkshire John Peele Clapham commissioned Burley Grange and the Salem Church on Main Street. Tom Sumner was awarded an MBE in 2000 for ''"For services to the community in Burley-in-Wharfdale, West Yorkshire."''

Location grid

References

External links

Burley Parish Council WebsiteBurley-in-Wharfedale bridge campaignBurley in Wharfedale Community Web Site
*
Burley Oaks Primary School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burley In Wharfedale Villages in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire Wharfedale Geography of the City of Bradford