Guiseley is a small
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the
City of Leeds metropolitan boroughLeeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. As the name suggests, it covers the city of Leeds, which encompasses the townships of Wetherby and Otley, as well as a wide area of Leeds commuter belt...
in the
metropolitan countyThe metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of
West YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is generally considered to be a north western suburb of Leeds. It is situated next to
OtleyOtley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Wharfe. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town has a total resident population of 14,124.-History:...
and
MenstonMenston is a village and civil parish in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, Menston is part of Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford...
and the
A65The A65 is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, passes west of Settle, then continues through Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria....
runs straight through the town as main shopping street.
Guiseley railway stationGuiseley railway station is a railway station in Guiseley, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds City station/Bradford Forster Square, it is served by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Rail, which also manages...
offers regular, fast services into Leeds City.
The town is most famous for
Harry RamsdenHarry Ramsden's is the biggest fish and chip shop brand in the world.Based in the UK the business has 36 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Irish Republic and serves around 4 million meals annually. Harry Ramsden’s is a resilient and much loved British ‘heritage’ offering...
, who sold his
fish and chipsFish and chips is a popular take-away food which originated in the United Kingdom. It consists of deep-fried fish in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried chipped potatoes.Popular tradition associates the dish with the United Kingdom; and fish and chips remains very popular in the UK and in...
from a small shed next to the tram stop. In 1930 he opened his first fish restaurant (which is still trading) and was, for many years, "the world's biggest fish and chip shop".
Guiseley is a small
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the
City of Leeds metropolitan boroughLeeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. As the name suggests, it covers the city of Leeds, which encompasses the townships of Wetherby and Otley, as well as a wide area of Leeds commuter belt...
in the
metropolitan countyThe metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of
West YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is generally considered to be a north western suburb of Leeds. It is situated next to
OtleyOtley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Wharfe. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town has a total resident population of 14,124.-History:...
and
MenstonMenston is a village and civil parish in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, Menston is part of Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford...
and the
A65The A65 is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, passes west of Settle, then continues through Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria....
runs straight through the town as main shopping street.
Guiseley railway stationGuiseley railway station is a railway station in Guiseley, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds City station/Bradford Forster Square, it is served by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Rail, which also manages...
offers regular, fast services into Leeds City.
The town is most famous for
Harry RamsdenHarry Ramsden's is the biggest fish and chip shop brand in the world.Based in the UK the business has 36 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Irish Republic and serves around 4 million meals annually. Harry Ramsden’s is a resilient and much loved British ‘heritage’ offering...
, who sold his
fish and chipsFish and chips is a popular take-away food which originated in the United Kingdom. It consists of deep-fried fish in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried chipped potatoes.Popular tradition associates the dish with the United Kingdom; and fish and chips remains very popular in the UK and in...
from a small shed next to the tram stop. In 1930 he opened his first fish restaurant (which is still trading) and was, for many years, "the world's biggest fish and chip shop".
Harry CorbettHarry Corbett OBE was an English puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long-running 'Sooty' glove puppet character. His parents were James W...
was related to Harry Ramsden and Corbett's famous children's television glove puppet character
SootySooty is a British glove puppet and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears his name has continued in various forms since the 1950s and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the...
stage act was conceived in his parents "Springfield" fish and chip shop on Springfield Road in the same town. The restaurant featured in a BBC documentary in Spring 2008 and now boasts the slogan 'As Seen on TV' on the shopfront.
Crompton ParkinsonCrompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd.Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer founded by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton in 1878 and had designed and installed electric lighting installations at...
was a major employer in the town until its factory closed in 2004. The town was also the home of
Silver CrossSilver Cross is a British manufacturer of wheeled baby transport, and is traditionally associated with large, four-wheel baby carriages that featured wooden bodies and leaf spring suspension....
, a
pramBaby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
manufacturer, whose factory was in Guiseley from 1936 to 2002 .
Guiseley's parish church of
St OswaldOswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint. He was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
's was used by generations of the Longfellow family.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline"...
's grandfather left here for the New World in the 18th century. The rector of St Oswald's for several decades was Rev. Robert More, who died in 1642, who was father-in-law of the English explorer Capt.
Christopher LevettCapt. Christopher Levett was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine...
. Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell were married at St Oswald's and became the parents of six children, including
AnneAnne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the small parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went...
,
CharlotteCharlotte Brontë was an English novelist, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters whose novels are English literature standards...
and
Emily BrontëEmily Jane Brontë was an English novelist and poet, now best remembered for her only novel Wuthering Heights, a classic of English literature. Emily was the second eldest of the three surviving Brontë sisters, between Charlotte and Anne...
.
Victorian actress
Adelaide NeilsonLilian Adelaide Neilson , born Elizabeth Ann Brown, was an English stage actress.-Early life:...
although born in
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, passed the majority of her childhood in the village of Guiseley. Where she worked both at Green Bottom Mill and also as a nurse maid to a local family, before running away to seek her fortune in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
Guiseley also host their own semi-professional football team,
Guiseley A.F.C.Guiseley AFC are an English football club from Guiseley, West Yorkshire.-History:They joined Division Two of the Yorkshire League in 1968 and were relegated to the newly formed Third Division in 1970. Having returned to the Second Division at the first attempt, they gained promotion to the First...
at Nethermoor Park, who, as of the end of the 2007/2008 season, were playing in the Unibond Premier League, and also Guiseley's cricket team, who share the club house and play in the
Airedale-Wharfedale Senior Cricket LeagueThe Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League is an amateur cricket competition in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It is made up of 36 local teams spread over three divisions. The league runs 3 distinct competitions as well as a cup competition for each.- Organisation & Structure :36 clubs...
. Aireborough RUFC is also situated in Guiseley at Nunroyd Park.
The former
YorkshireYorkshire County Cricket Club, who represent the historic county of Yorkshire, are one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure...
and England
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
captain
Brian CloseDennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old...
lived in the town during his childhood. David Carter was also a resident during his childhood. He is now a well known landscape photographer.
Other well-known people who currently live in Guiseley include the singer
Tasmin ArcherTasmin Archer is an English pop singer. Her first album, Great Expectations, spawned the smash hit "Sleeping Satellite", a philosophical song about the moon landings, which reached number one in the United Kingdom....
, famous for her number one single 'Sleeping Satellite',
rugby leagueRugby league football is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union...
coach
Brian NobleBrian 'Nobby' D. Noble is an English former rugby league footballer, who is currently head coach of the Welsh side Celtic Crusaders. Noble is also the former coach of the Great Britain National Rugby League team...
and jazz/easy listening singer
Peter GrantPeter Grant is a British singer of easy listening and jazz music.He began singing at the age of six and played at working men's clubs from the age of 12...
.
Barney ColehanBarney Colehan was born in Calverley, Pudsey, near Leeds on 19 January 1914, and was a pioneer in radio and the early days of television.Major Bernard Colehan arrived at the BBC from the British Forces Broadcasting Service. He first came to prominence in 1946 as a BBC radio producer responsible...
lived in Guiseley until his death in 1991. He is buried in Guiseley cemetery on Chevin End Road.
At the 2001 census, Guiseley had a population of over 21,000.
Guiseley Baptist Church, built in 1883, is situated on Oxford Road near to the heart of the old town. Today it has a growing congregation of all ages and in March 2009 will 'buck the trend' found in most churches by moving from one to two services on Sunday mornings.
The Church provides activities throughout the week for children and young people right through to the elderly. There are also frequent Youth Events, regular Housegroups, Prayer meetings and Bible Studies.
External links