"Shipley is a town and commuter-suburb in the Metropolitan District of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford. The population of the Shipley ward on Bradford City Council taken at the 2011 Census was 15,483.
Before 1974 Shipley was an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The town forms a continuous urban area with Bradford. It has a population of approximately 28,162.
The name 'Shipley' derives from the Old English scip ('sheep', a Northumbrian dialect form, contrasting with the Anglian dialect form scep which underlies modern English sheep) and leah ('open ground, such as meadow, pasture, or arable land'). Thus it means 'sheep-clearing' or 'sheep-pasture'.
Shipley was shaped largely by the Industrial Revolution and, in particular, the growth of the textile industry. Textile manufacture dates from pre-industrial times. As the place name indicates, Shipley had a history as sheep grazing land, so wool was plentiful, and the River Aire was a ready source of water for powering water mills and cleaning processes. There was a fulling mill in Shipley by 1500 and two more by 1559. Another mill was built by the Dixon family on the banks of the Aire in 1635. New Mill on the far side of Hirst Wood was built in the 1740s and by the late 18th century between 9,000 and 10,000 pieces of broadcloth were being fulled annually at Shipley's mills. Much work was undertaken in workers' cottages which had 'loomshops' for spinning yarn. Home workshops were once a common site along the River Aire and often had external flights of steps. Examples can be seen in the cottages at Jane Hills along the canal in Saltaire.
The industrial era ended cottage industry. Providence Mill, one of the first steam-driven mills was built for Denby Bros. in 1796.[14] Other spinning mills followed, including Ashley Mill, Prospect Mill, Red Beck Mill on Heaton Beck (c. 1815), Well Croft Mill (c. 1840s) and Whiting Mill on Briggate.
The smaller mills gave way to larger premises which could combine all the processes of worsted production on one site. The first was Joseph Hargreaves' Airedale Mills (demolished 1970s), Salts Mill (built 1853 and now a gallery and restaurant complex), an enlarged Well Croft Mill (demolished 1950s) and Victoria Mills near the canal...[16] Hargreaves employed 1,250, Salt initially 2,500 and by 1876 total employment in the mills was 6,900.
Shipley was historically a township and chapelry in the large ancient parish of Bradford. Shipley Local Board was formed in 1853. Originally the board met at the Sun Hotel near the market. In 1880, it moved to the old Manor House, until it was demolished in 1915. Shipley became a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1894, Shipley Urban District Council was constituted with 15 councillors, and Shipley incorporated the Windhill district, formerly part of Idle. An attempt was made to gain borough status in 1898, but failed.
Shipley Town Hall was built in 1932, as part of a scheme to relieve high unemployment during the Great Depression and was opened by the Earl of Harewood. It became the seat of Shipley's administration for the next four decades.
For many years, Shipley opposed joining Bradford for local government purposes whenever it was proposed. A large protest march marked the third attempt in 1937. In 1974 after local government reorganisation, merger into Bradford seemed inevitable, and no resistance was offered. The town is represented by three councillors on Bradford Council and no longer needs to use the town hall building."
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"These days the town hall building provides much of the rehabilitation work for Bradford offenders through effective partnerships. The building houses probation staff, police teams and ARCH Initiatives (Drug Intervention Programme providers).
There are two probation teams based at Shipley Town Hall:
The Integrated Offender Manager team working in partnership to reduce the reoffending of prolific and priority offenders - the offenders most likely to commit multiple crimes and to reoffend.
The Drug Rehabilitation Requirement team who, with partners, treat and manage offenders with drug issues that lead to offending."
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The building is on the side of a slope and the frontage is very symmetrical with a central entrance. There is a balcony above the entrance with ornate metal railings. The style is unusual in Yorkshire and has a slight feel of a French town hall rather than English.