Addingham
Image Credit: Addingham Info
Addingham is part of the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire. Originally, the village was part of the historical West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 Census, Addingham has a population of 3,730.
Addingham Gala
Since 1960, Addingham has held a gala every July. This involves a parade through the village, rides and stalls. Each year, the Addingham gala has a different theme. The village residents re-introduced the fell race in 2010 after 20 years since it was last held.
In 1998, the village couldn’t host the gala. They had no organiser and were unable to find a replacement. A years later, the former chairman of Addingham Civic Society, Don Barret, led a team of 15 and together organised the gala.
Three years later, in 2001, the gala had to be cancelled again. This time, it was because of an outbreak of foot and mouth. Not wanting to miss the village event, they instead decided on a ‘Keep it local’ day to support local businesses. It involved a treasure hunt, Morris dancing, and an award to the person who spent the most.
Addingham Pantomime
The village held its first local pantomime in 1905 with a performance of Bluebeard. Friends of Addingham Primary School funded, organised, and ran it until 2013. By this point, they were unable to commit the time to organising the pantomime and had to pass the responsibility on to the newly formed Addingham Pantomime Group.
In 2009, the Addingham Pantomime entered the Wharfedale Festival of Theatre. They won seven awards and the Pantomime Cup for Best Pantomime.
Shopping in Addingham
The economy in Addingham relies on its local independent businesses. These include a butchers, carpentry and a driving school.
In 2009, Mark Preston re-opened the Addingham Newsagents. Mark wanted to continue his family tradition of shop keeping within the community. In the 19th century, his great grandad opened a general store in the village, which is now Dixon’s Butchers.
Pubs in Addingham
Addingham has five pubs within the village all on Main Street including a social club. These were: The Craven Heifer, The Crown, The Fleece, The Sailor, and The Swan.
In 2011, both The Crave Heifer and The Fleece closed. Local entrepreneur Craig Minto re-opened The Fleece on the 1st of December in 2011.
The Craven Heifer re-opened briefly as a Chinese restaurant, but this closed again in 2012. After the second closure, The Craven Heifer re-opened soon after and under the same ownership of The Fleece.
In 2012, The Sailor closed in June. 10 years later, the long awaited pub re-opened as The Lord Addingham on the 17th of June in 2022.
Sport in Addingham
Addingham is home to a variety of sports, one of which is football. The Addingham Football Club played in the Harrogate and District League. However, because of location, they transferred to the Crave and District League for the 2010 to 2011 season as it was closer to the West Yorkshire village.
Another type of sport in Addingham is cricket. The Addingham Cricket Club has two senior teams and one junior team. They welcome people of all ages and abilities to play the much loved sport. The cricket club plays in the Aire-Wharfe Senior Cricket League.
Addingham is also suitable for more extreme sports such as mountain biking and skateboarding. People who enjoy these sports use the facilities within the village, including the surrounding hills.
Education in Addingham
In 1669, Anthony Ward built the Old School, which was a single storey cottage with two rooms. Another storey was added in 1805 and the school moved into the upper room. By 1845, the Church of England School replaced the Old School.
Wesleyans built a day school in 1874, which was converted into a National School in 1891. This remained as Addingham’s infant and junior school until the 1960s, when First School and Middle School were built.
When two tier education was introduced to the village in 2001, First School was close. A year later, in 2001, the building was demolished.
Middle School remained and was later renamed Addingham Primary School after First School closed. It currently has around 240 pupils.
Travelling In & Out of Addingham
Addingham had its own railway station until it closed in 1965. Now, the nearest station is in Ilkley, which has regular services to Leeds and Bradford.
The village also has a few bus services taking residents to close by towns and cities. There is a half hourly service which runs to Ilkley and Keighley, an hourly service to Leeds and Skipton, and an infrequent service running between Ilkley and Grassington. There are night time and Sunday services, but these are restricted to hourly and run between Ilkley and Keighley.
History of Addingham
The name Addingham means ‘homestead’ and has been associated with a man called ‘Adda’. In other words, it’s ‘Adda’s homestead’. In the 1086 Domesday book, the village is called ‘Ediham’, referring to the Lord of Addingham Earl Edwin of Bolton Abbey.
Remains of early man have been found in the shape of flint tools on Rombald’s Moor. Addingham dates back to the Bronze Age at the very least, with evidence of cup and ring carved stones found on Addingham Moor.
The first settlements of Addingham were in the Iron Age on Addingham Low Moor, which is now Round Dikes. Tree clearing evidence has also been found dating back to 700 BC, along with the discovery of beehive querns, which are stones shaped like small straw beehives.
There is little evidence of Romans in Addingham. However, there is a Roman road leading towards Skipton, now Moor Lane, which was a primary route until the 1800s.
Anglo-Saxons settled in the area around 612 AD after the defeat of a local Celtic tribe. It’s believed that Addingham was one of the earlier Anglo-Saxon settlements because the name of the village ends in ‘ingham’, or as it would have been ‘inghaem’.
The weir of the medieval corn mill dates back to 1315 and is one of the oldest medieval structures in the village. Around the 1370s, the main occupation in Addingham was agriculture, iron smelting and blacksmithing.
Our Lady and of the English Martyrs Church was built in 1927 in dedication of Richard Kirkman and fellow persecuted Catholics. Richard Kirkman remained a Catholic during the reformation of Henry VIII and, as a result, was arrested and executed alongside William Lacy in York. This church closed on the 30th June 2019 because of a lack of priests.
It’s believed that Addingham was a royalist village during the English Civil War in 1642. Evidence has been found that its residents helped to defend Skipton Castle from parliamentarians.
At the starts of the 19th century, the textile industry thrived within the village. The previously used corn mills were converted for cotton, linen, silk spinning and worsted. After a while, the industry declined, leading to mills closing and residents leaving to find work elsewhere. By 1861, hand-loom weavers had almost disappeared.
In 1875, Lord of the Manor, Richard Smith of London, built 20 streets with 40 to 50 houses. Also included were small shops such as butchers to help increase the quality of life and provide jobs.
By the end of the 19th century, Addingham was thriving once again. There were five operating mills in the village, three of which were owned by the Lister family from Halifax.
The village was hit again with the arrival of the first world war. The textile industry never recovered after the war with the last mill, called Low Mill, closing in 1976. As a result, houses were built in their place.
Now, the village of Addingham is a retirement and commuter community with easy access to Skipton, Ilkley, Leeds and Bradford. It’s a tight knit West Yorkshire village that gives the time and effort to join everyone together.