Bramhope Puritan Chapel (geograph 3579103).jpg
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Bramhope is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, north of
Holt Park Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds ur ...
and north east of
Cookridge Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of the Leeds Outer Ring Road. In 1715 Ralph Thoresby described it as a village four miles from Leeds and three from Otley, dating from 1540.Ralph Thoresby (1715) ''Duc ...
. The village is north of
Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. C ...
and it is in the LS16 Leeds postcode area. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,400. The population had increased to 3,533 at the 2011 Census. It is predominantly made up of large, privately owned houses which tend to be above the average value for properties in West Yorkshire. Bramhope sits in the
Leeds North West Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Sobel, of Labour Co-op. Boundaries 1950–1955: The County Borough of Leeds wards of Far He ...
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
and the Adel & Wharfedale ward of Leeds City Council.


Etymology

The place-name ''Bramhope'' appears first in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Brahop'' and ''Bramhop'', with later medieval spellings including ''Bramhop(a)'' and ''Bramhop(p)e''. The name seems to derive 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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
words ''brōm'' ' broom' and ''hōp'' 'a small valley, side-valley off a larger valley', here referring to a small valley off Wharfedale, probably the one through which flows Bramhope Beck.


History

The earliest known settlement in the area was a British camp established off Moor Road. The Romans built a road through the area from Adel to Ilkley, traces of which remain in a field near
Leeds Bradford 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 th ...
. In 1086, Bramhope was the manor of an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
thegn, Uchill. In 1095 the manor passed to the Percy family, and in 1165 was sold to Ralph de Bramhope. In the 13th century the monasteries owned much of the land and had granges where sheep were grazed. The monks used tracks, such as Scotland Lane and Staircase Lane, as they travelled from their outlying granges to Kirkstall Abbey. The village had a small population until the 20th century. 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 ...
of 1348-49 reduced the number of adults to 34, but this gradually increased to about 400 in 1900. Now it is approximately 3,400. Water was drawn from private wells or the town well at the foot of Northgate (now Church Hill). The town well was restored in 1991 by the Bramhope History Group, and is located opposite St Giles' Church. The plaque says that the well was exposed in 1991, so perhaps it had been lost for some time.


Churches

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
gave the land to the
Earl of Cumberland The title of Earl of Cumberland was created in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England in 1525 for the 11th Baron de Clifford.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', 2004. It became extinct in 1643. The Duke of C ...
. In the 16th century the Dyneley family moved into the area and acquired Bramhope Hall. In 1649 they built the Puritan Chapel, which was taken over by the Church of England after the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
. The chapel is one of only a few built during the Commonwealth period. It is said not to have been consecrated but nevertheless was regularly used for church services until 1881–82. The Puritan Chapel was listed Grade I in 1966. When the chapel proved too small for the growing population, St Giles' Church was built in 1881. The original Methodist chapel was built in 1837 and replaced by the much bigger church in 1896. There is a map showing the location of St Giles and the Methodist churc
here
Bramhope Cemetery, established in 1861, is in Moor Road, but there are still some historical gravestones remaining in the cemetery of the Puritan Chapel.


Road and railway

For many centuries travellers to the market towns in the vicinity used Otley Old Road. However, it was the Leeds to Otley turnpike road, with its tollhouses, opened in 1842, which routed travellers through the outskirts of Bramhope. It is along this route that motorists today travel between Leeds and the northwest. The milestones along the road were erected in 1850. The railway was excavated under the village through the
Bramhope Tunnel Bramhope Tunnel is on the Harrogate Line between Horsforth station and the Arthington Viaduct in West Yorkshire, England. Services through the railway tunnel are operated mainly by Northern. The tunnel was constructed during 1845–1849 by ...
constructed between 1845 and 1849. The tunnel has an elaborate castellated northern entrance and there are many heaps of spoil and several ventilation shafts along its length. There is a replica of the tunnel entrance in Otley churchyard, erected as a
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
to the 24 men who lost their lives during the tunnel's construction. A railway station has never been built at or near Bramhope.


Schools

A village school was built in Eastgate where the war memorial garden is situated. A plaque states "On this site in 1790 a Day School was erected by the freeholders and
copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the man ...
ers of Bramhope Township. It was also used as a
Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
and Public Meeting Place. Demolished 1961". The school became overcrowded whilst tunnelling work for the railway was going on in the late 1840s. It was replaced by a larger building in 1873 in Breary Lane, next to the shopping parade. The present school, situated on Tredgold Crescent, was opened in 1961.


Community

Bramhope has a
Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...
, which organises activities to raise money for charity. Bramhope has a cricket club which plays at the Recreation Ground on Old Lane. The club plays in the Leeds and Wetherby Cricket League and has two senior teams.


Memorial Hall

Robert Craven Memorial Hall (originally the Craven Institute, 1896) was part of the bequest of Robert Craven, a local farmer. It is now the village hall and administered as a registered charity. It has a crown bowling green, car park and tennis courts. Inside there are various rooms plus a large hall with stage, which doubles as a badminton court. On the second Saturday of every month a farmer's market is hosted at this hall. The memorial hall also hosts a yearly flower show in the autumn, and a bridge club.


Bramhope Scout Campsite

The 13-acre Bramhope Scout Campsite, to the west of the village, is owned by Central Yorkshire Scouts.


Listed buildings

* Grade I buildings: Puritan Chapel, Otley Road (north side). * Grade II buildings: Farmhouse at 1 Church Hill; Barn about 5 metres west of Old Manor Farmhouse; Old Manor Farmhouse (rear portion only); Weaver's Cottage, 4 Eastgate; Methodist Church, Eastgate, north side; Gazebo on north-east corner of garden of Belvedere, Hall Drive (south side); Manor House, Manor Close (north side); Sighting tower, south side of Moorland Road; The Hollies, Old Lane (north side); Portal to north entrance to Bramhope railway tunnel. * Grade II Mileposts: Milepost on east corner of junction with Church Hill and Ditley Road (south side); Milepost at SE 240 441, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 253 432, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 264 421, Otley Road (north side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary Lane at SE 255 430, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary lane east at SE 256 430, Otley road (north side); Milepost on south-east corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road at SE 241 440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on south-west corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road st SE 241440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on west corner of junction with Creskeld Lane at SE 258 428, Otley Road (north side). * Related Grade II listing at Otley: Memorial to victims of Bramhope tunnel disaster (''sic''), Church Lane (north side), Otley.


Notable people

* Gold medal Winner at London 2012
Alistair Brownlee Alistair Edward Brownlee MBE (born 23 April 1988) is a British triathlete. He is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time World Champion ...
and Bronze medal-winning brother Jonathan Brownlee


Gallery

File:Bramhope 015.jpg, Bell on Puritan Church, 1649 File:Bramhope 024.jpg, St Giles' Church, 1881 File:Bramhope 027.jpg, Methodist Church, 1896 File:Bramhope 036.jpg, Old smithy, 1687 File:Bramhope 025.jpg, Old manor farm house, 1691 File:Bramhope 041.jpg, Old school house 1873, now flats File:Bramhope Tunnel north portal 1b.jpg, Bramhope Tunnel north portal with castellated towers File:Bramhope 046.jpg, Sighting tower over Bramhope Tunnel route File:Bramhope 052.jpg, Ventilation shaft serving Bramhope Tunnel File:Air Shaft Bramhope.jpg, Ventilation shaft in centre of Bramhope


Location grid


See also

* Listed buildings in Bramhope


References


External links

* *
Flickr: Set of images of Bramhope Tunnel
{{authority control Places in Leeds Villages in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire