Bramhope is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

metropolitan borough,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, north of Holt Park and north east of

Cookridge Cookridge is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, north of the Leeds Outer Ring Road. In 1715 Ralph Thoresby described it as a village four miles from Leeds and three from Otley, dating from 1540.Ralph Thoresby (1715) ''D ...

. The village is north of

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. A ...

and it is in the LS16 Leeds postcode area. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,400. The population had increased to 3,533 at the 2011 Census. It is predominantly made up of large, privately owned houses which tend to be above the average value for properties in West Yorkshire. Bramhope sits in the

Leeds North West Leeds North West is a constituency in the City of Leeds which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Katie White, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created in 1950, as Leeds North-We ...

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

and the Adel & Wharfedale ward of

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

Etymology

The place-name ''Bramhope'' appears first in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Brahop'' and ''Bramhop'', with later medieval spellings including ''Bramhop(a)'' and ''Bramhop(p)e''. The name seems to derive from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words ''brōm'' '

broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

' and ''hōp'' 'a small valley, side-valley off a larger valley', here referring to a small valley off

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

, probably the one through which flows Bramhope Beck.

History

The earliest known settlement in the area was a British camp established off Moor Road. The Romans built a road through the area from Adel to

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

, traces of which remain in a field near

Leeds Bradford Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, West Yorkshire, Yeadon, in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. ...

. In 1086, Bramhope was the manor of an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

, Uchill. In 1095 the manor passed to the Percy family, and in 1165 was sold to Ralph de Bramhope. In the 13th century the monasteries owned much of the land and had granges where sheep were grazed. The monks used tracks, such as Scotland Lane and Staircase Lane, as they travelled from their outlying granges to

Kirkstall Abbey Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded . It was disestablished during the Dissol ...

. The village had a small population until the 20th century. The

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

of 1348-49 reduced the number of adults to 34, but this gradually increased to about 400 in 1900. Now it is approximately 3,400. Water was drawn from private wells or the town

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

at the foot of Northgate (now Church Hill). The town well was restored in 1991 by the Bramhope History Group, and is located opposite St Giles' Church. The plaque says that the well was exposed in 1991, so perhaps it had been lost for some time.

Churches

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

gave the land to the Earl of Cumberland. In the 16th century the Dyneley family moved into the area and acquired Bramhope Hall. In 1649 they built the Puritan Chapel, which was taken over by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

after the Restoration. The chapel is one of only a few built during the Commonwealth period. It is said not to have been consecrated but nevertheless was regularly used for church services until 1881–82. The Puritan Chapel was listed Grade I in 1966. When the chapel proved too small for the growing population, St Giles' Church was built in 1881. The original Methodist chapel was built in 1837 and replaced by the much bigger church in 1896. There is a map showing the location of St Giles and the Methodist churc
here
Bramhope Cemetery, established in 1861, is in Moor Road, but there are still some historical gravestones remaining in the cemetery of the Puritan Chapel.

Road and railway

For many centuries travellers to the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

s in the vicinity used Otley Old Road. However, it was the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

turnpike road, with its tollhouses, opened in 1842, which routed travellers through the outskirts of Bramhope. It is along this route that motorists today travel between Leeds and the northwest. The

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

s along the road were erected in 1850. The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was excavated under the village through the Bramhope Tunnel constructed between 1845 and 1849. The tunnel has an elaborate castellated northern entrance and there are many heaps of spoil and several

ventilation shaft In subterranean civil engineering, ventilation shafts, also known as airshafts or vent shafts, are vertical passages used in mines and tunnels to move fresh air underground, and to remove stale air. In architecture, an airshaft, also known ...

s along its length. There is a replica of the tunnel entrance in

churchyard, erected as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

to the 24 men who lost their lives during the tunnel's construction. A railway station has never been built at or near Bramhope.

Schools

A village school was built in Eastgate where the

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

garden is situated. A plaque states "On this site in 1790 a Day School was erected by the freeholders and

copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the ...

ers of Bramhope Township. It was also used as a

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

and Public Meeting Place. Demolished 1961". The school became overcrowded whilst tunnelling work for the railway was going on in the late 1840s. It was replaced by a larger building in 1873 in Breary Lane, next to the shopping parade. The present school, situated on Tredgold Crescent, was opened in 1961.

Community

Bramhope has a Round Table movement, Round Table, which organises activities to raise money for

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

. Bramhope has a cricket club which plays at the Recreation Ground on Old Lane. The club plays in the Leeds and Wetherby Cricket League and has two senior teams.

Memorial Hall

Robert Craven Memorial Hall (originally the Craven Institute, 1896) was part of the bequest of Robert Craven, a local farmer. It is now the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

and administered as a registered

. It has a crown

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

green, car park and tennis courts. Inside there are various rooms plus a large hall with stage, which doubles as a

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

court. On the second Saturday of every month a farmer's market is hosted at this hall. The memorial hall also hosts a yearly flower show in the autumn, and a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

club.

Bramhope Scout Campsite

The 13-acre Bramhope Scout Campsite, to the west of the village, is owned by Central Yorkshire Scouts.

Listed buildings

* Grade I buildings: Puritan Chapel, Otley Road (north side). * Grade II buildings: Farmhouse at 1 Church Hill; Barn about 5 metres west of Old Manor Farmhouse; Old Manor Farmhouse (rear portion only); Weaver's Cottage, 4 Eastgate; Methodist Church, Eastgate, north side; Gazebo on north-east corner of garden of Belvedere, Hall Drive (south side); Manor House, Manor Close (north side); Sighting tower, south side of Moorland Road; The Hollies, Old Lane (north side); Portal to north entrance to Bramhope railway tunnel. * Grade II Mileposts: Milepost on east corner of junction with Church Hill and Ditley Road (south side); Milepost at SE 240 441, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 253 432, Otley Road (north side); Milepost at SE 264 421, Otley Road (north side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary Lane at SE 255 430, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on east corner of junction with Breary lane east at SE 256 430, Otley road (north side); Milepost on south-east corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road at SE 241 440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on south-west corner of junction with Pool Bank New Road st SE 241440, Otley Road (south side); Milepost on west corner of junction with Creskeld Lane at SE 258 428, Otley Road (north side). * Related Grade II listing at Otley: Memorial to victims of Bramhope tunnel disaster (''sic''), Church Lane (north side), Otley.

Notable people

* Gold medal Winner at London 2012

Alistair Brownlee Alistair Edward Brownlee (born 23 April 1988) is an English former triathlete. He is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time ...

and Bronze medal-winning brother Jonathan Brownlee

Gallery

File:Bramhope 015.jpg, Bell on

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

Church, 1649 File:Bramhope 024.jpg, St Giles'

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, 1881 File:Bramhope 027.jpg,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Church, 1896 File:Bramhope 036.jpg, Old smithy, 1687 File:Bramhope 025.jpg, Old manor farm house, 1691 File:Bramhope 041.jpg, Old school house 1873, now flats File:Bramhope Tunnel north portal 1b.jpg, Bramhope Tunnel north portal with castellated towers File:Bramhope 046.jpg, Sighting tower over Bramhope Tunnel route File:Bramhope 052.jpg, Ventilation shaft serving Bramhope Tunnel File:Air Shaft Bramhope.jpg, Ventilation shaft in centre of Bramhope

Location grid

References

External links

* *
Flickr: Set of images of Bramhope Tunnel
{{authority control City of Leeds Villages in West Yorkshire Civil parishes in West Yorkshire