ON YER BIKE!

West Yorkshire Heritage along the Tour de Yorkshire 2015

Stage Three: Wakefield to Leeds (3rd May)

As the Tour de Yorkshire winds its way through our region’s beautiful landscape we thought we would take

the opportunity to highlight some of the fascinating, yet sometimes hidden, archaeological gems of

West Yorkshire. Why not explore your historic landscape whilst cheering on the cyclists?

Find out more about West Yorkshire’s heritage by visiting our website www.wyjs.org.uk/archaeologyadvisory

or by searching our records on www.heritagegateway.org.uk.

West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service Registry of Deeds, Newstead Road,

Wakefield, WF1 2DE

ILKLEY ROMAN FORT

There is a substantial amount of Roman archaeology surviving within

the town of Ilkley. A Roman fort once stood on the site of All Saints’

church, and excavations throughout the 20th century have revealed

the remains of three successive periods of occupation (the first dating

to 80 AD and the last extending into the 4th century AD.

The site is now protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and

although only the earthwork remains of the north edge of the fort are

still visible, three Roman altars were reused in the building of

All Saints’ church and are on display in the church tower.

ROMBALDS MOOR

CARVED ROCKS

Rombald's Moor is a large area of

moorland roughly bordered by Ilkley in

the north, Silsden in the west, Keighley in

the south & Menston in the east. It is an

area known for its large concentration of

prehistoric monuments including burial

monuments, cairnfields, enclosures, stone

circles, carved rocks, and flint finds - all of

which are thought to date to the Late

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods

(c.2800-1800 BC).

The carved rocks are earthfast boulders

that have cups, rings and grooves cut into

them. While some carvings consist of

simple designs other have more complex

patterns. It is unclear what the original

meaning of these carvings were, however,

they do tend to occur in association with

burial sites, suggesting a possible funerary

connection.

ADDINGHAM

The settlement of Addingham is likely to have been established

during the Anglo-Saxon period, and is thought to have been a reli-

gious centre. It is recorded in late 10th century documents as being

part of the Archbishop of Otley’s estate.

20th century excavations, to the east of St Peter’s Church and the

rectory, have revealed the remains of a pre-Conquest cemetery,

consisting of over 50 graves dating to the 8th century AD (see

bottom left). A number of religious objects were also found on the

site, including an elaborate decorated book panel made from bone,

and an Anglo-Saxon cross fragment (far right), which is on display

within the church.

The site was then occupied by a medieval manor house, and fish-

ponds. These features are still visible as earthworks to the east and

south of the church.

NUTCLOUGH MILL, HEBDEN BRIDGE

West Yorkshire is known for its textile production and much of its landscape is still

characterised by former mill buildings, chimneys, canals, and workers’ housing.

Nutclough Mill (above) dates to the 18th and 19th centuries and originally was a

cotton spinning mill. By the 1870s it had been purchased by the Hebden Bridge

Fustian Manufacturing Society and was producing corduroy and moleskin textiles

via a co-operative of workers.

The mill provided work for many in Hebden Bridge and a number of Victorian

millworkers’ houses still survive, set into the incline behind the mill.

The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service holds and curates the West Yorkshire Historic Environment Record

(HER), which is a publicly accessible record of the region’s archaeology and built heritage. It holds records on a range of

archaeological sites, historic buildings, artefacts, and historic landscapes ranging from the Prehistoric period right through

to the 20th century.

This leaflet only highlights a select few of the thousands of historic buildings/archaeological sites that we have recorded

in the HER. To find out more about any of the sites shown, or to do any further research into the archaeology of the area,

please contact West Yorkshire HER via 01924 306797 or wyher@wyjs.org.uk. Alternatively, you can also search our

records online via Heritage Gateway (www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway), or follow what we are up to on Facebook

(www.facebook.com/WestYorkshireHER).

Please note: some of the sites featured on this leaflet may be located within private property and so may not be fully

accessible to the public. Please adhere to public rights of way and access at all times when visiting any archaeological site.

CASTLE HILL, ALMONDBURY

Castle Hill dominates the landscape to the south of

Huddersfield and consists of the remains of an Iron Age

hillfort and a later 12th-century motte and bailey castle.

The site is protected as a scheduled ancient monument and

has been partially excavated several times during the 20th

century.

The fortifications of the hillfort were modified in a number

of stages throughout its history and consisted of a mixture

of earth-built banks and ditches, with drystone revetments

and timber palisades. Archaeological excavations within

the fortifications have revealed the remains of timber

buildings, along with a well which preserved a fantastic

range of organic material dating from the medieval period,

as well as pottery and metalwork. Finds from the

excavations are on display at the Tolson Museum,

Huddersfield.

After the medieval period, Castle Hill remained unoccupied

until the 19th century when a public house was built on the

top (now demolished). In the interim it was used as a

beacon hill, with a fire being lit at the time of the Spanish

Armada (1588 AD). The stone tower at its summit was built

in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 60 year reign of

England.