England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Otley All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Otley lies in western Yorkshire roughly 10 miles northwest of the city of Leeds and a similar distance north of Bradford. Otley sits on the banks of the River Wharfe and on the A660 road which connects it with Leeds, the A659 similarly connects Otley with Wetherby. Otley is a market town of some local importance, founded by Archbishop de Grey in 1248. Otley was also for some time in the early medieval period an archiepiscopal seat. Whilst its premier role as market continued it was the industrial revolution powered by the Wharfe that lead to growth in the town as woollen mills as well as tanning, paper-making and manufacture of printing machinery employed a fast growing population, the population almost doubling between 1811 and 1851. The extensive wider parish, which includes the chapelries of Pool in Wharfedale, Burley in Wharfedale and Baildon (the latter licensed for marriages will have its own page within this project), was largely farmed by pastoral methods, the rich pastures of the Wharfe's flood-plain providing the fatted calves for which its livestock market was renowned. Modern developments have come in the form of railways, whilst the branch line connecting Otley with the Leeds-Harrogate line has been closed Burley in Wharfedale is served by the line from Leeds to Ilkley and Baildon sits on the Leeds to Skipton version. Otley is drained eastwards by the Wharfe which heads out across the Vale of York meeting with the other Dales' rivers to flow into the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Otley is sited on a sloping site rising from 50 metres at the Wharfe's bridge to 80 metres on its southern edges, the wider parish, however, includes much upland as well as the Wharfe's valley rising to 267 metres on its share of nearby Ilkley Moor. The parish including all of its chapelries covers an extent of over 23,000 acres making it a very substantial area of the West Riding, the population comprises close to 11,000 but that figure will double-count the population of Baildon, roughly 4,500 were based in the town of Otley itself. In Domesday times Otley was recovering from the "harrowing of the North", King William's response to rebellion, held by the Archbishop of York Otley has recovered sufficiently to record 13 ploughs as well as substantial meadows and especially woodland.

The Church

All Saints church sits about 200 metres south of the bridge over the Wharfe at the junction of Kirkgate with Burras Lane and Station Road, the latter memorialising the lost railway line. Whilst the church has ancient origins it has been extensively renovated in Victorian times losing some of its character on the way. The 12th century is the earliest fabric present and a substantial presence in the form of the chancel and the northern doorway both in Norman Romanesque styling with round headed windows to north and south faces. It has been speculated that the nave is even earlier with Pevsner pointing to quoins at the northwestern corner which may well be 11th century and pre-Conquest. The 13th century and Early English Gothic in style relates to the transepts which were added at that time whilst the short and blocky western tower is in the Decorated style of the early 14th century. Matters rested then until the 18th century when a southern porch was added but major change came in Victorian times with two substantial phases of restoration in 1851, which reordered much of the roof-line as well as the clerestory, and in 1867 which according to Pevsner "inaccurately restored" the arcades. Like most town churches the area around All Saints is best explored after finding a town car park. Sadly for the photographer the churchyard is substantially filled with trees leaving very few clear views to adequately record this complex church.