Editing Riddlesden

{{Short description|Suburb in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = <!-- defaults to {{PAGENAME}} -->
| local_name               =
| country                  = England
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| static_image_name        = Bar Lane - Bradford Road - geograph.org.uk - 977258.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Bar Lane in Riddlesden
| os_grid_reference        = SE080424
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.880|-1.883|display=title|region:GB_scale:20000}}
| post_town                = KEIGHLEY
| postcode_area            = BD
| dial_code                = 01535
| constituency_westminster = [[Keighley (UK Parliament constituency)|Keighley]]
| civil_parish             = [[Keighley]]
| metropolitan_borough     = [[City of Bradford]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[West Yorkshire]] 
}}
'''Riddlesden''' is a suburb of [[Keighley]] (historically a separate village) in the [[county]] of [[West Yorkshire]], England and on the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Knights |first1=David |title=Boost for canal towpath between Silsden and Riddlesden |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/16113025.boost-for-canal-towpath-between-silsden-and-riddlesden/ |access-date=8 April 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=23 March 2018}}</ref>

The village lies {{convert|3|km|order=flip}} east of Keighley town centre  and is on the [[B6265 road]] between Keighley and Bingley.<ref name="OS">{{cite map|title =Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley |map =297 |year =2015 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =9780319245491 }}</ref> The part of the village by the canal is at a height of {{convert|110|m|order=flip}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite web |title=Riddlesden, Bradford - area information, map, walks and more |url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/riddlesden-bradford |website=getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref>

==History==
Riddlesden is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] as belonging to [[William the Conqueror]] and being in the [[Wapentake]] of [[Skyrack]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Riddlesden {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE0742/riddlesden/ |website=opendomesday.org |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> The name of the village appears throughout history as ''Redlesden'' and as ''Redelesden'' and it derives from the name of a wooded vale (or farm) of ''Rœd'' or ''Redwulf''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388 |page=5 |edition=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=James B |title=The Place-names of England and Wales |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028011298 |date=1915 |publisher=J Murray |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028011298/page/n432 417]|oclc=457619292}}</ref>

The village was historically in the parish of [[Bingley]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Genuki: Bingley, Yorkshire (West Riding) |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Bingley |website=www.genuki.org.uk |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> but it is currently in the civil parish of Keighley. There have been proposals in 2010 and 2012 for Riddlesden to have a separate parish which includes nearby Stockbridge and Sandbeds.<ref>{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Clive |title='We want more say in affairs' |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4867866.call-for-a-riddlesden-and-stockbridge-parish-council/ |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=24 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=People must feel their voice will be heard |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/9644524.people-must-feel-their-voice-will-be-heard/ |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=12 April 2012}}</ref> The ecclesiastical parish is known as Riddlesden St Mary, which is the name of the church in the village.<ref>{{cite web |title=Riddlesden: St Mary the Virgin - A Church Near You |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6920/more-information/ |website=www.achurchnearyou.com |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> The [[Anglican Diocese of Leeds|Diocese of Leeds]] estimates the ecclesiastical parish to have a population of 4,500.{{sfn|PPSM|2016|p=5}} The village lies in the Ward of Keighley East for the purposes of census data.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E05001356|title=Keighley East Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref>

In 1773, the Bingley to Skipton section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was opened. Riddlesden had several wharves which allowed for the exportation of coal from the nearby collieries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gill |first1=M C |title=Keighley coal : (a history of coal mining in the Keighley district) |date=2004 |publisher=Northern Mine Research Society |location=Sheffield |isbn=0-901450-57-X |page=7}}</ref> Coal was mined at Riddlesden between 1700 and the early 1920s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shand |first1=Alistair |title=Pit shaft discovered during Riddlesden roadworks |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/10168099.pit-shaft-discovered-during-riddlesden-roadworks/ |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

The manor of Riddlesden, incorporating both houses (East and West Riddlesden Halls<ref>{{NHLE|desc =West Riddlesden Hall|num=1313939|grade=I|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref>), was the breeding place of the Airedale Heifer, a legendary heavy cow similar in stature to the [[Craven Heifer]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Speight |first1=Harry |title=Through Airedale from Goole to Malham |date=1891 |publisher=E Stock |location=London |page=178|oclc=5824116}}</ref> A pub called the ''Airedale Heifer'' is located in nearby Sandbeds, just to the east.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Airedale Heifer Public House and Attached Barn|num=1199346|grade=II|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shand |first1=Alistair |title=Pub opens its doors after major refurbishment |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/13508261.pub-opens-its-doors-after-major-refurbishment/ |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=30 July 2015}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
[[File:East Riddlesden Hall, North Yorkshire-geograph.org.uk-3500268.jpg|thumb|East Riddlesden Hall]]
[[East Riddlesden Hall]] is in the care of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]].  It was built in 1642 by a wealthy [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]] clothier, James Murgatroyd.  There is a [[medieval]] [[tithebarn]] in the grounds.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Winn |first1=Christopher |title=I never knew that about Yorkshire |date=2010 |publisher=Ebury |location=London |isbn=978-0-09-193313-5 |pages=123–124}}</ref>

East Riddlesden Hall was featured on an episode of the paranormal themed reality television programme ''[[Most Haunted]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Haunted - S8 - Episode 9: East Riddlesden Hall |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/h6pw/most-haunted--s8-e9-east-riddlesden-hall/ |website=radiotimes.com |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>

A lot of walkers and campers and various clubs, e.g. [[Scouting|Scouts]], are attracted to the village because of its sights, such as the peculiarly shaped cliff known as "turtle rock" to locals.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Loweth |first1=Jenny |title=Schoolgirl rape: Twelfth man to sexually abuse teenager had raped another victim in the same park |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14257832.schoolgirl-rape-twelfth-man-to-sexually-abuse-keighley-teenager-had-raped-another-victim-in-the-same-park/ |access-date=8 April 2019 |work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=5 February 2016}}</ref>

==Amenities==

The school for Riddlesden is St. Mary's [[Church of England]] [[Primary School]] and [[Nursery school|Nursery]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shand |first1=Alistair |title=Science honour for Riddlesden school |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/15309261.science-honour-for-riddlesden-school/ |access-date=8 April 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=25 May 2017}}</ref> The village has a large grocery shop and two pubs.{{sfn|PPSM|2016|p=6}} Walks in the area are centred on the towpath of the canal, which is also designated as [[National Cycle Route 69]].<ref name="OS"/><ref>{{cite web |title=A Walk from the Towpath |url=https://www.bradford.gov.uk/media/2022/awalkfromthetowpath.pdf |website=www.bradford.gov.uk |access-date=13 October 2019 |format=PDF}}</ref>

Between 1927 and 2017, Riddlesden had a golf course to the west of the village overlooking the canal. The site closed due to dwindling numbers and has been converted into a scout activity centre.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shand |first1=Alistair |title=Former golf club to be transformed into activity centre for young people |url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/15528000.former-golf-club-at-riddlesden-to-be-transformed-into-activity-centre-for-young-people/ |access-date=13 October 2019 |work=Keighley News |date=11 September 2017}}</ref> Just past the former golf course is Low Wood Nature Reserve, which is run by the [[Yorkshire Wildlife Trust]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Low Wood {{!}} YWT |url=https://www.ywt.org.uk/nature-reserves/low-wood-nature-reserve |website=www.ywt.org.uk |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Denis Healey]] - Labour MP, later ''Baron Healey, of Riddlesden in the County of West Yorkshire'', was brought up in the village from the age of eight.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first=Giles|last=Radice|title=Healey, Denis Winston, Baron Healey|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.109840}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Keighley]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite report|title=The Parish Profile of the United Benefice of St Luke's Morton & St Mary's Riddlesden|publisher=The Diocese of Leeds| date=2016|url=https://www.leeds.anglican.org/sites/default/files/vacancies/Morton%20and%20Riddlesden%20Brochure.pdf|format=PDF|website=leeds.anglican.org|access-date=13 October 2019|ref={{harvid|PPSM|2016}} }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Riddlesden}}
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{{Bradford}}

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[[Category:Villages in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of the City of Bradford]]