Visit Eccleshill, Bradford Places

Welcome to Visit Eccleshill, Bradford Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Eccleshill, Bradford

  

Eccleshill, Bradford Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Eccleshill, Bradford

---

Eccleshill, Bradford history

---

In Roman times the Eccleshill area was crossed by two lanes. One lane was along what is now Norman Lane and the other to Apperley Bridge down the road now known as Bank. After the Norman Conquest the lands were given to William, Earl of Warren. In the Middle Ages it was shunned by church authorities after a supposed incident.

Eccleshill Hall

Eccleshill Hall was built for Dr Stanhope in 1713. It was located to the east of Stony Lane on what is now Victoria Road. The hall was demolished in 1878 and all that remains are parts of stone gateposts.

Church history

Before 1775 the only place of worship in Eccleshill was The Quaker Meeting House on Tunwell Lane. In 1775 Prospect Chapel also known as Bank Top Chapel a Wesleyan Chapel was constructed on Lands Lane off Norman Lane. On the opposite side of Norman Lane is Prospect Chapel burial ground, created in 1823.

Industrial, commercial and transport history

The quarrying, pottery, spinning and weaving industries have been located in the area for some time but only quarrying remains today. Eccleshill has a number of mills. The Old Mill on Victoria Road was a woollen mill built in 1800 but was destroyed by fire in 1816. The present building on the site is dated 1863 although parts of it date back to the early 1800s. On the other side of Victoria Road from the Old Mill is a row of houses and street once known as Dobby Row – a dobby being a type of cloth, a type of loom or part of an early form of weaving loom taking its name from a corruption of the words ‘draw boy’ – a weaving assistant. In around 1816 Union Mill on Harrogate Road was constructed for the manufacture of woollens. From 1892 to 1983 John Pilley and Sons owned and operated the mills A further three storey mill building known as Pilley’s Mill was added to the south of the site. Union Mills had a serious fire in 1905. In 2019 both mills were demolished and the site cleared to make way for a retail complex. In the 1838 White’s Directory Eccleshill is described as engaged in the manufacture of white woollen cloth. In 1872 Tunwell Mill was built by Messrs Smith and Hutton as a woollen mill near Tun Well (Town Well) directly south of Stony Lane—although today’s Tunwell Mills are not the original mill building. At the north end of Stone Hall Road is a mill variously known as Stone Hall Shed and Whiteley’s Mill where worsted was manufactured. Halfway down Stone Hall Road off to the west stood Victoria Mill, a worsted mill. This mill has been demolished and domestic properties now stand on the site. Moorside Mills was built on Moorside Road in 1875 by John Moore for worsted spinning. In 1919 two floors were added and a clock tower as a war memorial to those who had died in the First World War. Ownership of the mill changed hands many times and in 1970 the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council bought the property from Messrs. W. & J. Whitehead to create the Bradford Industrial Museum. In 1837, the Manor Pottery was established by Jeremiah Rawson, lord of the manor on a site east of the Undercliffe Road-Pullan Avenue junction using beds of shale, fireclay and coal at a deep quarry near Bolton Junction at a site now partly occupied by Kents Fitness Gym. There was a rail tunnel under Leeds Road, then known as Pottery Lane, with waggons carrying clay and minerals from the quarry to the pottery on the other side of the road. Manor Pottery produced a salt glazed brown stoneware, household utensils, brown and cream crockery, ornaments, garden vases, busts, and statuettes although these did not bear any distinguishing marks. Although the product stood comparison with other local wares, the local market for pottery was eventually supplied by better and cheaper stoneware from Staffordshire, and by 1867 the pottery had been sold to William Woodhead and production switched over to house bricks, firebricks and sewer pipes. The kilns were shut down in the early 20th century, and in 1921 the chimney was demolished, however the manor house still remains. There were numerous coal pits in what is now the Thorpe Edge and Ravenscliffe areas of the Eccleshill ward. This coal was required for steam powered machinery and the pottery. Unfortunately the digging of the coal pits caused many local water wells to run dry. Eccleshill Mechanics’ Institute on Stone Hall Road was built in 1868. Charles Bottomley converted the upper floor of the Eccleshill Mechanics’ Institute into a 359-seat picture hall which he named Eccleshill Picture House and then opened in 1911. Shortly after this the cinema was renamed ‘Picture Palace’ but closed in 1931 never running any ‘talkies’. Before construction of the building the institute used to meet in the now demolished school buildings at the western end of Chapel Street on a site now occupied by Eccleshill Victoria Conservative Club. For the last two hundred years the shopping centre for Eccleshill has been Stony Lane and it was here that Henry Sparks, founder of Sparks Bakeries, had his first shop. The last butchers in the village formerly the William Hudson & Son has now been converted into a micro pub called the Greedy Pig. In 1804 the Dudley Hill to Killinghall turnpike was constructed. Parts of this are now Killinghall Road and Harrogate Road. In 1889 Mill Lane, Town Lane and Town Street were renamed Victoria Road to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria that year. The tram service came from central Bradford up Bolton Road then Stone Hall Road to a terminus in front of the Eccleshill Mechanics Institute. The tram service also went along Harrogate road to Greengates but because of the low rail bridge at Eccleshill Station only single decker trams could get under. In 1874 the Great Northern Railway opened its Laisterdyke – Shipley branch (the Shipley and Windhill line), a six-mile double track branch line from Quarry Gap junction in Thornbury to Shipley and Windhill railway station, passing Eccleshill, Idle and Thackley railway stations. Eccleshill railway station opened in 1875 with its sidings and coal yard. This was located just north of the rail bridge crossing over Harrogate Road. Only the embankment and abutment of one side of the rail bridge remain. The former Station Hotel on Harrogate Road took its name from its proximity to the railway station. The railway station closed to passengers in 1931 although goods traffic continued on the line until 1964. Subsequently, the line was taken up and the bridge demolished. In 1928 Ralph Dickinson created the purpose-built 1,000 seat Palladium Cinema on Norman Lane, opened in 1929. Later the cinema changed ownership and in 1931 the new owner John Lambert altered the name to Regal. In 1958 the cinema closed for refurbishment and updating, and reopened later that year, but closed finally in 1966. Later with the construction of an extra internal floor the building was used as a bingo hall, a snooker hall and then a fitness centre.

Schools history

The school on Fagley Lane was built in 1845. The school in Chapel Street (1875) was declared unsuitable in 1884. Central Board School was built on Victoria Road in 1887 on the site of the old Eccleshill Hall. The building was demolished in 2016 to make way for housing.

Eccleshill, Bradford landmarks

Eccleshill has four post offices, one on Harrogate Road, one in Fagley and others in Ravenscliffe and Thorpe Edge. North of Stony Lane is the former Stoney Lane Quarry now a recreation ground known as The Delph, a grassed area with a fenced children’s play ground and triangulation pillar. There are many historic wells, e.g. Moor Well, and Tun Well.

Bradford Industrial Museum

Bradford Industrial Museum in what was Moorside Mills houses machinery from local textile and printing industries. It used to house the popular Horses at Work exhibition but this has now closed.

Churches

Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church is the only listed church building in Eccleshill. Tucked behind this church is a former Wesleyan Sunday School of 1885, now residential accommodation.

Eccleshill, Bradford geography / climate

Eccleshill is bounded in the east by Pudsey and Fagley Beck— flowing a short distance directly north under the name Carr Beck to meet the River Aire. To the north is the village of Idle and to the north east is Greengates and Calverley.

Fagley

Fagley is an area to the south-east of Eccleshill ward. The local economy includes a sandstone quarry, and a riding school.

Ravenscliffe

Ravenscliffe is a housing estate in the north-east of Eccleshill. The Gateway Community and Children’s Centre and the Eccles Hill Adventure Playground are located in Ravenscliffe. Ravenscliffe has a sub post office and a sub-post office.

You can visit Eccleshill, Bradford places with Walkfo Eccleshill, Bradford to hear history at Eccleshill, Bradford’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Eccleshill, Bradford has 101 places to visit in our interactive Eccleshill, Bradford map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Eccleshill, Bradford, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Eccleshill, Bradford places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Eccleshill, Bradford & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 101 audio facts unique to Eccleshill, Bradford places in an interactive Eccleshill, Bradford map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Eccleshill, Bradford Places Map
101 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Eccleshill, Bradford historic spots	Eccleshill, Bradford tourist destinations	Eccleshill, Bradford plaques	Eccleshill, Bradford geographic features
Walkfo Eccleshill, Bradford tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Eccleshill, Bradford

  

Best Eccleshill, Bradford places to visit

---

Eccleshill, Bradford has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Eccleshill, Bradford’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Eccleshill, Bradford’s information audio spots:

Iraq Economic Development Group The Iraq Economic Development Group (also frequently abbreviated to IEDG) is an apolitical private limited company established in United Kingdom that facilitates financial services in Britain. Its official abbreviated form is IEDg_UK Ltd and its abbreviated word is commonly used.

Bradford Alhambra The Alhambra Theatre was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for theatre impresario Francis Laidler. In 1964, Bradford City Council bought the theatre for £78,900 and in 1974 it was designated a Grade II listed building.

Bradford City Park Bradford City Park is a public space in the centre of Bradford, West Yorkshire. It is centred on the Grade I listed Bradford City Hall. It comprises three main areas (each side of the triangular City Hall site.) To the east of the City Hall is the Norfolk Gardens area.

The 1 in 12 Club The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members’ club and the building in which it is based. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles. In the 1980s it was one of the main locations for the UK crust and anarcho-punk scene.

Wool Exchange, Bradford The Wool Exchange Building in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was built as a wool-trading centre in the 19th century. The Gothic Revival architecture is symbolic of the wealth and importance wool brought to Bradford. Today it is a Waterstones bookshop as well as a cafe.

St Patrick’s Church, Bradford St Patrick’s Church is a Roman Catholic church in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It was built from 1852 to 1853 and designed by George Goldie. It is situated on the corner of Sedgfield Terrace and Westgate in the city centre.

Drummond Mill Drummond Mill was a complex of industrial buildings on Lumb Lane, Manningham, Bradford, West Yorkshire. It contained originally a spinning mill, a warehouse, a spinning shed, and an engine house with chimney. It was destroyed in a fire on 28 January 2016.

Campion A.F.C. Campion Association Football Club is based in Manningham area of Bradford, West Yorkshire. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Division One North and play at Scotchman Road.

Heaton Woods The Heaton Woods Trust is both the name for the charity and the woodland it cares for located mainly in Heaton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The Trust is funded by charitable donations from the community, paid annual memberships and fundraising activities.

Bradford Moor Barracks Bradford Moor Barracks was a military installation at Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It was the first military installation in the area to be built in the 1960s.

Visit Eccleshill, Bradford plaques