Riddlesden

Riddlesden is mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to William the Conqueror and being in the Wapentake of Skyrack.{{cite web |title=Riddlesden {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE0742/riddlesden/ |website=opendomesday.org |access-date=13 October 2019}} 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.{{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}}{{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}}

The village was historically in the parish of Bingley,{{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}} 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.{{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}}{{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}} The ecclesiastical parish is known as Riddlesden St Mary, which is the name of the church in the village.{{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}} The 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.{{NOMIS2011|id=E05001356|title=Keighley East Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=13 October 2019}}

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.{{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}} Coal was mined at Riddlesden between 1700 and the early 1920s.{{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}}

The manor of Riddlesden, incorporating both houses (East and West Riddlesden Halls{{NHLE|desc =West Riddlesden Hall|num=1313939|grade=I|access-date=13 October 2019}}), was the breeding place of the Airedale Heifer, a legendary heavy cow similar in stature to the Craven Heifer.{{cite book |last1=Speight |first1=Harry |title=Through Airedale from Goole to Malham |date=1891 |publisher=E Stock |location=London |page=178|oclc=5824116}} A pub called the Airedale Heifer is located in nearby Sandbeds, just to the east.{{NHLE|desc=Airedale Heifer Public House and Attached Barn|num=1199346|grade=II|access-date=13 October 2019}}{{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}}

File:East Riddlesden Hall, North Yorkshire-geograph.org.uk-3500268.jpg

East Riddlesden Hall is in the care of the National Trust. It was built in 1642 by a wealthy Halifax clothier, James Murgatroyd. There is a medieval tithebarn in the grounds.{{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}}

East Riddlesden Hall was featured on an episode of the paranormal themed reality television programme Most Haunted.{{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}}

A lot of walkers and campers and various clubs, e.g. Scouts, are attracted to the village because of its sights, such as the peculiarly shaped cliff known as "turtle rock" to locals.{{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}}

The school for Riddlesden is St. Mary's Church of England Primary School and Nursery.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}} Just past the former golf course is Low Wood Nature Reserve, which is run by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.{{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}}

• 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.{{Cite ODNB|first=Giles|last=Radice|title=Healey, Denis Winston, Baron Healey|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.109840}}

• Listed buildings in Keighley

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• {{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}} }}

{{Commons category|Riddlesden}}

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Category:Villages in West Yorkshire

Category:Geography of the City of Bradford