ON YER BIKE! West Yorkshire Heritage along the Yorkshire Grand Depart 2014

Stage One: Leeds to Addingham

As the Tour de France winds its way through Yorkshire’s beautiful landscape this summer we thought we

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

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

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

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

West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service

Registry of Deeds, Newstead Road,

Wakefield, WF1 2DE

A: LEEDS TOWN HALL

This grand Classical building was built during the

1850s & designed by the renowned Victorian

architect Cuthbert Brodrick.

The interior is richly decorated & retains many of the

original fixtures and fittings. The roof features an

innovative use of laminated wood beams and was

inspired by the designs of the Crystal Palace and

Kings Cross station, London.

B: HAREWOOD HOUSE & CASTLE

Although the beautiful Georgian façade of Harewood

House (bottom left) dominates the area today, did you

know that the surrounding parkland (which was

extensively redesigned during the construction of

Harewood House in the 18th century) contains some

older, medieval, survivals?

All Saints’ church, for example, was constructed in the

15th century and houses a number of late-medieval

alabaster funeral monuments (middle left). The church

was built for the occupants of Harewood Castle, which

now survives as a picturesque ruin in the north-east

section of Harewood park (top left).

The current Harewood House was a replacement for

an earlier house known as Gawthorpe Hall.

Archaeologists from the University of York have

undertaken excavations to undercover traces of the

earlier hall, which is located to the south of the

current house, near the main fishpond.

C: ILKLEY ROMAN FORT

A Roman fort once stood on the site of All Saints’ church, Ilkley, and

excavations throughout the 20th century have revealed the remains of

three successive periods of occupation (the first dating to 80 AD & the

last extending into the 4th century AD.

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

still visible, a selection of the excavated finds are on display at the

adjacent Manor House Museum. Three Roman altars were also reused in

the building of All Saints’ church, & are on display in the church tower.

D: 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.

E: ADDINGHAM

The settlement of Addingham is likely to have been established during

the Anglo-Saxon period, and is thought to have been a religious 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 fishponds.

These features are still visible as earthworks to the east and south of

the church.

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 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.