Town of Ilkley, UK - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

Ilkley was a spa town that grew in popularity in the Victorian era when the railway arrived in 1865.

The town hall is situated very close to the railway station and the land was originally bought in 1897. The original buildings on the site were demolished ready for work to start, but the council did not have enough money to start the work. Then Andrew Carnegie an American ironmonger and philanthropist offered £3000 for the provision of a free library. The council announced a competition for the design of the buildings in November 1903 and over 60 entries were submitted before the drawings, of Mr William Bakewell, of Park Square in Leeds was approved.

Although Ilkley is still a town in its own right, it is now part of the much larger Bradford Metropolitan Borough and is currently administered by them. Since the world wide credit crunch all councils are looking to save money. Bradford is trying to set up an Ilkley Charitable Trust to look after the Town Hall and other public buildings such as the library.

Ilkley itself no longer has any spas left open but it remains a popular tourist destination. It was originally founded by the Romans as a fort named Olicana.

It stands below Ilkley moor, a popular walking location. It is also the start of the Dales Way an 80 mile hiking route that mainly follows rivers to the town of Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District.

Name: Ilkley Town Hall Address: Station Road Ilkley, West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS29 8HB Date of Construction: 1908 Architect: Mr William Bakewell Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link] Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post at least one original photo of the building that is a different view from the one on the page and describe your visit, including the date. Add any additional information that you may have about this building. A GPSr photo is NOT required

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.