Our Story - Silsden, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The board stands in the memorial gardens at the edge of Bolton Road next to a sculpture of a nail, a commemoration of the towns history, and has the following information.

SILSDEN - our story

Walking in and around Silsden is a delight. enclosed by gentle kills, our small town is surrounded by countryside of considerable colour and charm.

Sign-posted footpaths cross our green pastures and our moorland of heather and bilberry. Country lanes and tracks, shaded by ancient hedgerows or old dry-stone walls, have been travelled for centuries, even back to medieval times.

Pockets of ancient woodland remain. They are filled in spring-time with the intoxicating sight and 5 me II Of bluebells and ransoms.

Along river and canal, herons and kingfishers have their home and from our hills come the call of curlew an lapwing, snipe and skylark. Streams, becks and ghylls, crossed by centuries-old bridges, tumble across the landscape. Rich in flora and fauna, our wonderful surroundings offer an uplifting experience to the observant walker in all seasons of the year.

Silsden owes its name to an Anglo- Saxon farmer called Sighle, who lived around 500AD and is the first resident known to us by name. But long before Sighle, Neolithic Man and Roman invaders spent time here.

Others Followed in his footsteps and by 1086 the Domesday book recorded Siglesdene as the most important village in Craven, ruled by five knights. Later, ownership of the land passed to the lords of Skipton Castle, right until 1947.

A flowing Beck, and nearby river, provided the water needed by these early farmers. Their medieval strips of land were ploughed by oxen.

Later, on the west side of the Beck (now Kirkgate, where you are standing) 17th and 18th century thatched farmsteads were established, forming the nucleus of Silsden as we recognise it today.

But there were other settlements too: Siisden Moor, known for its superstitions and unique dialect, and the ancient manors of Brunthwaite, Crossmoor, Ghyll Grange and Holden.

Oats, corn and flax were grown widely. But it was the wool of sheep which gave most families their livelihoods. Virtually every home hummed to the sound of hand-loom weaving and spinning.

Change came in the 1760s when a West Midlands man, William West, brought the skill of nail-making. Soon the noise and heat of hammer and anvil were ever where. At its height there were two hundred forges at work.

The nail makers spoke up for education, the right to vote, the importance of church, chapel and community. Their influence remains today.

Homely crafts waned with the arrival of the industrial Revolution. In their place came 'dark satanic mills' which dominated our landscape and provided a vibrant textile industry. for over a century. Becks Mill (now demolished) was the first in 1837. By the turn of the 20th century, Silsden was one of the busiest places in the West Riding. There was scarcely a family without some link to mill life.

Today the mills are gone. Most employment is found beyond our boundaries. Our population is diverse. But a beating heart remains in this town and there is a growing re-dedication to the cause of community, which gives renewed hope For the future.

Type of Historic Marker: Stand alone wooden information board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   07/17/2021 Hitman9956 visited it