East Morton is a small village which lies north of Bingley and east 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 ...

, in the county of

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. The small hamlet of West Morton lies to the north west. The village has a population of 1,169 according to the 2011 census.

History

The place name Morton historically indicated a ''marsh or moor settlement''. East and West Morton, together with Riddlesden and a large area of

Rombalds Moor Rombalds Moor is an area of moorland in West Yorkshire, England, between the Airedale and Wharfedale valleys. The towns of Ilkley and Keighley lie to its northern and southern edges, respectively. The moor is sometimes referred to as Ilkley Moo ...

, formed the chapelry of Morton in the ancient parish of Bingley in 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 chapelry became the parish of Morton by an act of Parliament in 1846, and in 1866 became 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 ...

. The civil parish was abolished in 1938 and absorbed into the civil parish and

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, itself abolished in 1974 and absorbed into 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 ...

Metropolitan District in the new county of West Yorkshire. The civil parish of Keighley, including East and West Morton, was reconstituted in 2002 with a town council.

Geography

East Morton is situated on the northern side of the

Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire. The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on ...

valley. The village is bounded to the north by

, and to the east by woodland around Morton Beck, a tributary to 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 ...

, some to the south.

Landmarks

East Morton has a Public House called the Busfeild Arms named after the local Busfeild family who lived in the area in the 19th Century, hence the apparent misspelling of the name. There is also a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Primary School and St. Luke's church dating back to 1851, when it was consecrated for worship. East Morton has grown substantially in recent years, with several new housing developments, including Waterside Fold which adjoins 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 ...

at the southern end of the village. The village also incorporates the Fardew golf course and a recreational playground.

Transport

The village is approximately from Crossflatts railway station. Bus services K17 and K19 link the village with Keighley and Bingley Monday to Saturday, with financial assistance from

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 ...

. The A650 relief road provides a nearby road link to the rest of the Aire valley.

References

External links