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The Shuttleworth Collection
About The Collection
“Valuable Photographs of Ilkley in Olden Times”
The Collection
In c.1894 John Shuttleworth published a series of 30 postcard views of
Ilkley using photographs dating mainly from the 1860’s entitled,
rather grandly, ‘Valuable Photographs of Ilkley in Olden Times’.
Shuttleworth realised the historical importance of these views as they
illustrated Ilkley’s rapid expansion in the second half of the 19th
Century from an agricultural village to a thriving spa town and fashionable
resort. In 1861 the population of Ilkley had struggled to reach 1,000.
By 1900 it was 7,500. Shuttleworth’s claim that the views were of
‘places entirely demolished and where new buildings are now erected’
may have been somewhat extravagant, but certainly by the end of the Victorian
period none of the rough cottages remained and many of the more substantial
houses had been virtually rebuilt.
Identification of the images
The collection has been reassembled for the first time to correspond with
Shuttleworth’s list. In most of these cases it has been a relatively
straightforward task to identify the corresponding image from Shuttleworth’s
list. In some cases however, there are inconsistencies, particularly in
respect of the dates. It is possible that some of the dates were estimated
by Shuttleworth himself, or that some of the images are not now available
today. The images we have selected for this project are those available
views that form the closest match to those on the list; in the spirit
of Shuttleworth’s purpose – to show progress.
Viewing the images
Key things to look out for:
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1850s – Cottage industries such as handloom weaving and wool
combing were dying out. Many of the cottages were used as shops as
well as houses and had become dilapidated. In many of the pictures
the occupants had come out to have their pictures taken.
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1855 – Brook Terrace, the first purpose-built group of shops
with living space above was built on Brook Street. The shops were
not at street level but accessed via steps from the pavement.
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1860s – Thatched cottages started to disappear in the wake
of the building boom. The cottages were usually of one storey. The
stone mullioned windows were a feature of the weavers’ cottages.
Where the older windows slid open horizontally the more modernised
windows had become vertical sash windows. The roofing thatches that
had used plants such as heather and ling from the moor were replaced
by stone tiles.
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1860s – The Crescent Hotel was built.
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1865 – The opening of the railway.
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1866 – The streets were first lit by gas.
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1867 – The first extensive land sales followed the release
of land by the Lord of the Manor, William Middleton, for building
purposes. Look out for ‘Sale of Land’ posters.
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1869 – Gothic House, John Shuttleworth’s shop, was built
on Brook Street
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1870 – The Wells Road Wesleyan Church opened. The spire was
added in 1876.
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1873 – The first post box was erected at the bottom of Brook
Street in 1873.
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1888 – The railway bridge was built to extend the line to
Skipton.
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1890s – Signs of municipal progress are visible. The road
surfaces of the main streets are smoother; kerbstones have been laid.
Many of the shops have new gutters and drainpipes. The first bicycles
appeared.
A note on digitisation
The library collections were trawled to find the best quality
originals available. The physical condition of many of the photographs
was such that the original image was not seen in its best light. Scratches
and stains were therefore digitally removed to enhance as much of the
original image as possible.
read Mr Middlebrook's lecture on 'Old Ilkley'
view Shuttleworth's list
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