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Otley
The River Wharfe at Otley.
Otley  Otley shown within West Yorkshire
Population	14,124 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SE205455
Parish	Otley
Metropolitan borough	City of Leeds
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OTLEY
Postcode district	LS21
Dialling code	01943
Police	West Yorkshire
Fire	West Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Leeds North West
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Otley

The town dates from before Roman times, and belonged to the Archbishopric of York. Otley is close to Leeds and thus may have formed part of the kingdom of Elmet. The southern flank of the Wharfe valley which lies above Otley is known as The Chevin a term that has close parallels to the welsh term "Cefn", meaning ridge and may be a survival of the ancient cumbric language. Reference is made to Ottanlege and Scefinc in c.972. The suffix -ley comes from the Anglo-Saxon -leah which means clearing and was first documented in relation to Otley in 1086. In the same year, reference is made to the woodland to the south of the settlement. Remains of the old Archbishop's Manor House were found during the construction of St Joseph's RC Primary School near the River Wharfe. The town formed an important crossing point of the River Wharfe and was an administrative centre in the wapentake of Skyrack in the early medieval period, and this importance continued with its being the seat of the Mid-Wharfedale Urban District council up until the local council reorganisation of 1974.

The first church was built there in the early 7th century. In All Saints Parish Church there are the remains of two Early Anglo-Saxon crosses, one of which has been reproduced for the town's war memorial. Buried there is an ancestor of the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the grandparents of Thomas Fairfax who commanded Parliament's forces at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. In the graveyard of the parish church stands a replica of an entrance to the Bramhope Tunnel, a monument to those killed during its construction.

Otley is a market town and has held a regular market for more than a thousand years. Market days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and there is also a Farmers' Market on the last Sunday of every month. Documented history for the market begins in 1222 when King Henry III granted the first Royal Charter. Cattle markets are still held at the Wharfedale Farmers' Auction Mart on East Chevin Road although the Bridge End Auction Mart closed a number of years ago and has now been demolished.

The Thomas Chippendale Workshop

Thomas Chippendale, the famous furniture maker, was born at Farnley near Otley, and his statue stands in the town next to the old Prince Henry's Grammar School in Manor Square that he once attended. The current site of Prince Henry's Grammar School is in Farnley Lane.

J.M.W. Turner, the famed painter, visited Otley in 1797, aged 22, when commissioned to paint watercolours of the area. He was so attracted to Otley and the surrounding area that he returned time and time again. His friendship with Walter Ramsden Fawkes made him a regular visitor to Farnley Hall, two miles from Otley. The stormy backdrop of Hannibal Crossing The Alps is reputed to have been inspired by a storm over Otley's Chevin while Turner was staying at Farnley Hall.

The Wharfedale Printing Machine was developed in Otley by William Dawson and William Payne. An early example can be seen in Otley Museum.

Famous Methodist preacher John Wesley was a frequent visitor to the town in the 18th century. Allegedly his horse died in the town and is buried in the grounds of the parish church. Its grave is marked by an unusual toblerone-shaped stone, also known locally as the "Donkey Stone". In his Journal for 1761 we read, "6 July Monday; In the evening I preached at Otley and afterwards talked with many of the Society. There is reason to believe that ten or twelve of these are filled with the love of God." One of the main streets in Otley (Wesley Street) is still named after him.

The town lies in Wharfedale, and is divided in two by the River Wharfe. It is surrounded mostly by arable farmland.

The south side of the valley is dominated by a large gritstone escarpment overlooking Otley called The Chevin. In 1944, Major Le G.G.W. Horton Fawkes of Farnley Hall donated 263 acres (1.1 km²) of land on the Chevin to the people of Otley. This has now been expanded to 700 acres (2.8 km²) and is known as Chevin Forest Park. It was from the quarry on The Chevin that the foundation stones for the Houses of Parliament were hewn.

To the east and west of Otley there are flooded gravel pits, where sand and gravel have been extracted in the 20th century. The gravel pits to the east are known as Knotford Nook, and are a noted birdwatching site. Those to the west are devoted to angling and sailing.

To the West are the nearby villages of Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston. To the East is the smaller village of Pool-in-Wharfedale.

Otley lies in the Leeds North West constituency of the UK Parliament and is represented by MP Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrats). It is part of the Otley & Yeadon ward on Leeds City Council and is represented by three Liberal Democrat Councillors Ryk Downes, Colin Campbell & Graham Kirkland. It is twinned with the French town of Montereau-Fault-Yonne, south of Paris.

Otley and Wharfedale ward has a population of 24,000, and Otley itself has a population of 14,348, according to Census 2001.

The town hosts Wharfedale General Hospital which serves the surrounding area, and also Prince Henry's Grammar School, which holds Language college status.

Wharfedale Wayzgoose (Border)

The Buttercross Belles (Ladies Northwest)

Flash Company (Border, Molly, Appalachian & Clog)

Hellz Bellz (Contemporary)

Kitchen Taps (Appalachian Step)

Otley features as the town of "Hotton" in the ITV television soap opera Emmerdale, and is also a regular filming spot for ITV's Heartbeat crew. In fact the old Police Station shown in Heartbeat is actually the Otley Courthouse - now an arts centre. See above.

More recently, the town has been the setting for the drama series "The Chase" and much filming for the ITV dramatisation of the "The Bad Mother's Handbook" was carried out in the town and surrounding area.

Otley Market was once mentioned in passing in an episode of the BBC television comedy programme, The League of Gentlemen. The creators studied at the relatively nearby University of Leeds. It was also briefly mentioned in the BBC sitcom Porridge by the character 'Blanco' Webb, played by David Jason.

Otley once vied with a select handful of towns in England for the distinction of having the most pubs per head of population. Indeed it was mentioned in a BBC Radio 4 More or Less programme broadcast in April 2008. The story also featured on the BBC website [1].

There are currently 17 pubs (on the assumption that the Black Horse will re-open), although the Spite (properly known as the Roebuck), the Chevin and the Royalty are all on the outskirts of the town, with the Spite actually located in North Yorkshire. The Black Horse Hotel situated in the centre of town is historically both the largest pub and largest hotel, though as of June 2009 it was closed and faced an uncertain future. The Black Bull in the town's Market Place, was allegedly drunk dry by Cromwell's troops on the night before the battle of Marston Moor during the English Civil War. The Junction Inn, just a minute walk from the bus station has won numerous awards for its beer including a CAMRA award for best pub. It has seven different real ales on at any one time and has live bands playing weekly. There is also a working men's club located on Weston Lane on the Weston Estate in the north west of the town.

X84: Leeds - Bramhope - Otley - Ilkley - Skipton

33A: Leeds - Kirkstall - Horsforth - Yeadon - Guiseley - Otley

757: Leeds - Leeds Bradford International Airport - Pool - Otley

X52: Ilkley - Otley - Pool - Harrogate

X53: Guisley- Otley - Pool-in-Wharfedale - Harrogate

Otley has a number of primary schools and a secondary school.

Ashfield Primary School

Otley All Saints Primary School

The Whartons Primary School

Westgate Primary School

St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Askwith community primary

Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley

Park Lane College Leeds, Otley Centre

Thomas Chippendale Primary School (was previously Weston Lane Middle School)

All Saints CE Junior School

Ashfield Infant School

Newhall Primary School

Otley secondary modern school

Otley National School

The Whartons Middle School

Otley has a good range of sports teams. Otley R.U.F.C. play their home matches at Cross Green, which was the venue for the Italy v USA fixture in the 1991 Rugby world Cup. In 1979 Cross Green was the site of a famous victory by the North of England against the mighty All Blacks.^[3] The Wallabies suffered the same fate in October, 1988. Otley R.U.F.C. finished 5th in National Division One in both the 2003-4 and 2004-5 seasons but suffered relegation to National Division Two at the end of the 2006-7 season. However, Otley were National Division Two champions in 2007-8 and secured a return to National Division One for the 2008-9 season. The social rugby arm of this club is the 4th team, better known as Otley Viscounts. Captained by Jamie Chappell, this team specializes in the social and enjoyment side of the game, this year will be the 27th year of touring. The former England captain Nigel Melville began his career at Otley. The Bath, Gloucester and England rugby footballer Mike Tindall was born in Otley. There is also the Old Otliensians RUFC club, the first team playing in Yorkshire League 4.

Otley AC also trains at Cross Green on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.15pm. All abilities are welcome.

Otley also has Otley Town Football Club which runs a men's football team and several Junior Teams. They are known for their hard competitive spirit which makes them a hard team to play against. The former Republic of Ireland defender Alan Kernaghan was also born in Otley. The town also has a Sunday League team, Otley Wharfeside AFC whose most capped player is injury prone Richard Lees who is currently serving his benefit year in 2008.[2], who have played in the Wharfedale Triangle Football League since 2000.

The town also has Otley Cricket Club[3] who play in the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League. They have won the league title 12 times (starting in 1937) and shared it in 1966. Their players include young all-rounder James Davies, wicket-keeper Chomas Mashton and Vinny Jackson whose former teams include Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, MCC England. The club has three senior teams captained by James Davies, Matthew O' Grady and Chris "The Rudder" Keddle.^{[citation needed]}

Otley Angling Club was first formed in 1897 by a group of local land owners. It controls the fishing on the River Wharfe through Otley and a coarse fishing pond on the outskirts of the town. They run regular fishing matches on the River Wharfe and junior fishing matches on the club pond.

Otley Parish Scout Troop

Second Otley Scout Troop

Methodist

Bridge Street

Otley in Bloom

Otley Courthouse Arts and Resource Centre which is largely staffed by volunteers

Lieutenant General J N R (Nick) Houghton KCB, CBE Colonel of the Yorkshire Regiment.

Mike Tindall, member of the England national rugby union team.

Julian Sands, British actor who is famous for his portrayal of a warlock in Warlock, Franz Liszt in Impromptu, and Vladirmir Bierko in the 24 series.