Otley: little town, large history…
The Otley Ghost Tour doesn’t only cover ghosts - there’s a lot of history included as well! It’s an off-putting educational treat for the brain.
Local history is often overlooked; it can be shrouded by Kings and Queens, great and terrible rulers, and that kind of history often goes hand in hand with big cities like London and York. That’s all fascinating, but sometimes it’s more exciting to come across a nugget of history that isn’t widely known - the history of little towns are surprisingly vast, intriguing, and often very disturbing…
The town of Otley goes way back - the first ever humans to settle across the Chevin’s wooded slopes did so throughout the Iron age - we’re on BC territory there! The town of Otley itself allegedly got its name from Otto - a Saxon Chieftain who owned all the lands between the rivers Humber and Tyne from about 620 AD - this makes it a borough older than both Leeds and Bradford.
Otley then gets a mention in William the Conquerer’s 1086 DomesDay book, where it was referred to as Othelai. Somewhere along the line, the name was condensed to Otley, some people like to put this down to there being otters swimming around in the river (which there are sometimes, although you’re lucky to see one).
Otley was really up and coming back in the day, the Archbishops of York lived here together and granted Otley with burgage plots (street blueprints) when the town began to thrive as a borough.
It’s seen historical celebrities through with Thomas Chippendale (the “Shakespere of english furniture makers”, apparently) having been born and raised here, before making his fame down in London (typical!) for his beautiful furniture which is now sold in perfect condition for millions of pounds apiece.
Our Thomas was born in what is now the lovely Chippendales Tea Rooms, and is believed to haunt the premises. He was actually convinced by his father, John Chippendale, to attend the local secondary school (against his will - all he wanted to do was build cabinets and things).
Chippendale did finally agree to go, and went to the original Prince Henry’s Grammar School when it had only 20 pupils and was located in a building on Clapgate - see if you can find Thomas himself outside the building… you’ll probably struggle to miss him.
The Black Bull is Otley’s oldest pub, with it being said that Oliver Cromwell’s troops “drunk it dry” on the eve of the Battle of Marston in 1644.
Catholic Martyr Margaret Clitheroe was involved with the hiding away of Catholic Priests in Otley’s very own Our Lady and All Saints Catholic Church. They were hidden in priestholes and tunnels underneath the building.
Guy Fawkes is another big Otley name, with the Fawkes family household being visible from miles away! The guy himself lived in what is now York’s Guy Fawkes Inn, although that big house on the hill belonged to his family, and he often visited for holidays. Poor guy was hanged, drawn and quartered (not burnt - contrary to popular belief) at Westminster in London.
Possibly one of Otley’s most interesting landmarks is The Navvies Memorial, a replica of the Bramhope Tunnel, which was built between the years 1845 and 1849. This tunnel is still standing - it’s 2 and a bit miles long and passes under the village of Bramhope, which will then take you to the Horsforth train station, then to Harrogate and beyond…
The Navvies memorial celebrates the workers throughout the country who put their lives at risk for a pittance every day to create our railway systems. That memorial is the only one dedicated to them in the entire country. And if that’s not fascinating local history for you… I don’t know what is!
If you are a history buff, The Otley Ghost Tour will regale you with tales about Otley’s rich, often gruesome history. Witness the past up close and get to know your town’s elder lingerers and eccentrics. Be the one to impress your mates while you’re out charity shopping or pub hopping - book onto The Otley Ghost tour. I hope to see you there…
Spindleshanks McScrew x
