Editing Otley (section)

===Saxon and Medieval=== 
The majority of the early development of the town dates from [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Saxon times]] and was part of an extensive manor granted by King [[Æthelstan]] to the [[see of York]]. The [[Archbishops of York]] had a residence and were [[lords of the manor]]. Their palace was located on the site occupied by the Manor House.<ref name=tde/> Otley is close to [[Leeds]] and may have formed part of the kingdom of [[Elmet]]. Remains of the Archbishop's Palace were found during the construction of St Joseph's Primary School.

As in other areas of the north, the [[Norman Conquest]] largely laid waste this area.<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Paul |date=1999 |title=A Guide to the Landscape of Otley |location=Otley |publisher=Christine Dean & Paul Wood |isbn=0951583611 }}</ref> The Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one, but this contains much Saxon sculpture.<ref name=Wood/> Thus in the 11th and 12th century Otley would have been a loose congregation of buildings around the two focal points of the manor house by the bridge and the church.<ref name=Wood/> An important reason for the town's location was a water supply, the Calhead Beck (now covered over) which ran down from Otley Chevin over Whitley Croft, a little East of the church and then to the river near the bridge.<ref name=Wood/>

The town grew in the first half of the 13th century when the archbishops laid out [[burgage]] (freehold) plots to attract merchants and tradespeople. The burgage plots were on Boroughgate, Walkergate and Kirkgate. This began to create the layout of today,<ref name=Wood/> based on a triangle of these plots forming the streets.<ref name=conserve>{{cite web |url=http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/otley%20a4%20new_lores.pdf |title=Otley Conservation Area Appraisal |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=www.leeds.gov.uk |access-date=9 August 2017 }}</ref> Bondgate was for the workers: bondsmen and tenants.<ref name=OldOtley>{{cite book |last=Brumfitt |first=Elise |date=1986 |title=Old Otley |location=Leeds |publisher=M. T. D. Rigg Publications |isbn=0950919136 }}</ref> A leper hospital was founded on the road to [[Harewood, West Yorkshire|Harewood]] beyond Cross Green.<ref name=Wood/><ref name =conserve/>

As well as farming and use of woodland, important local activities were quarrying stone, and the manufacture of [[potash]] from [[bracken]], used to make a soap which therefore supported a community carrying out [[fulling]], the cleansing and finishing of woollen cloth on Watergate.<ref name=Wood/> The Chevin provided stone for building (and millstones) as well as bracken, wood and common grazing, while the river provided reeds for [[thatching]] houses.<ref name=Wood/>