In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Idle like this:
IDLE, a village, a township, a chapelry, and a subdistrict, in Bradford district, W. R. Yorkshire. The Village stands on a declivity on the S side of Airedale, adjacent to the Leeds and Liverpool canal and to the river Aire, 3 miles N by E of Bradford; is large and irregularly built; carries on a very considerable woollen cloth manufacture; and has a post office‡ under Leeds, and two annual cattle fairs. ...
A railway from it to Bradford was authorised in 1866; and another from that line to Shipley, 2½ miles, in 1867.- The township contains also the village of Windhill, and the hamlets of Thackley, Thorpe-Green, Parkhill, Cross-Keys, Buckmill, and Wrose; and is in Calverley parish. Acres, 2, 420. Real property, £21, 003; of which £124 are in mines, and £2, 480 in quarries. Pop. in 1851, 7, 118; in 1861, 9, 155. Houses, 2, 056. The increase of pop. arose from the extension of the woollen cloth manufacture. The manor belongs to W. R.Stansfield, Esq.—The chapelry is conterminate with the township. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Ripon. Value, £300.* Patron, the Vicar of Calverley. The church was built in 1830; is in the later English style; and has a pinnacled tower. There are two chapels for Independents, three for Wesleyans, and one each for Churchmen, Baptists, Primitive Methodists, and Unitarians. There are likewise a mechanics, institute, a young men's church institute, two national schools, and two British schools. There was an Independent theological academy, but it was removed to Bradford.—The sub-district contains also another township of Calverley, and one of Bradford. Acres, 4, 226. Pop., 14, 574. Houses, 3, 310.
Idle through time
Idle is now part of Bradford district. Click here for graphs and data of how Bradford has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Idle itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Idle, in Bradford and West Riding | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1228
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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