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Alison Armstrong, a geologist and former curator of the Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley, was our speaker on Bradleys Both (SE003 494, SE005 483), part of the five townships forming the parish of Kildwick. Alison’s interest in the area developed when she was living there and was able to study it in detail, together with Arnold Pacey, she has also written a book called High Bradley : Architecture and History. Her talk covered the widest possible range of subjects and was extremely well illustrated by photographs.
History : Although called ‘Bradleys Both’ since the 13th century, this township really consisted of three areas, High Bradley, Low Bradley and Hamblethorpe. Typically for this part of Airedale, it stretched up from the alluvial floor of the valley to the high moor, with the main village developing on the better drained land between the river and the moor with its scattered farmhouses along its edge.
The name Bradley means broad clearing which indicates that the area must been cleared of trees for a long time however it is possible to see where some of the earlier woodland was with old trees surviving in Cawder Wood to the north.
The Cliffords of Skipton Castle had the Lordship and later it passed to the Duke of Devonshire. There are few maps before the 1840’s lst Edition of the Ordnance Survey, but the canal is shown on a 1773 map and by 1780 the route of the current A629 is marked (the earlier main road had run between both the Bradleys above the valley floor).
Bradley is mentioned in the Domesday Book (King’s land) and evidence of early occupation of the landscape can be seen in the ridge and furrow of Low Bradley Moor (which showed up superbly in the snow in Alison’s photographs) as well as the boundary ditches.
The boundary ditch between Silsden and Bradley can be followed easily for quite a distance, as well as a straight piece up to Black Hill (‘black’ frequently being associated with old boundaries*). Even earlier than this phase, prehistoric evidence of use can be seen by the Low Bradley Long Barrow, a cairn with cup and ring marked rocks with more cup and ring stones visible near the road over Clayhill to Bradley. A piece of a quern has been found in a field named ‘Borrins’ (i.e. old earthworks*).
Three gills flow down-hill to converge near to the mill in Low Bradley, with a syncline in the rocks guiding their course. It is possible that the big Eller Beck may have formed an early boundary between the two Bradleys.
The Cliffords had bought the manor of Bradley in the early 15th century and had a manor house there, however they administered the manor from Skipton Castle. Much, if not all, of the demesne has been identified with a small field probably being a former garden/orchard (near to High Bradley Old Hall). The house and lands were leased by the Malham family until the middle 17th century when the Luptons began their occupation; they in turn were followed by the Radcliffes. During this time there were several stages of rebuilding.
Enclosure : By 1604, Bradley had open fields with ridge and furrow with the road showing a typical backward ‘S’ shape and some hedges (instead of walls), however High Bradley Moor and Low Bradley Moor were enclosed under the 1791 act when many of the old holloways (used from Medieval times to move the cattle up on to the moor) were included in the enclosure and ceased to be public right of ways. Evidence remains of former field patterns which includes ridge and furrow.
Following the enclosure of the heather moors, and drainage of the ings, the landscape must have changed its appearance considerably. There are some botanical survivors showing prior use, such as the heather which can be seen near the Scheduled Monument to the south on Low Bradley Moor, and other remnants which can most often be found near to the enclosure walls; more bi-diversity can be seen in the semi-improved fields mainly with different grasses and some red clover in the pasture.
1604 leases describe the ‘ing’ as ‘a great common meadow’, now this meadow is divided into several fields all having the word ‘ing’ as part of their name, for instance Baldings, Hard Ings, Blind Well Ing, Slubbings, (name means cleared woodlands). These fields are still green and leafy but in the past they would have had more willow trees; they are now used as the flood plain.
The Head dyke goes in a big circle round Bradleys Both and there is quite a substantial bank marking the moor next to a field. The moor goes right down to a settlement which in 1504 was called North Side Nook and which represents an intake of land from the moor. Bradley Coal outcrops near here on the edge of the gritstone.
An early document refers to a tenement and land taken from the moor at New House and by 1570 they had increased the holding, this may be the first settlement on the high ground and people were living here before 1550.
Old Hall : In the demesne of the former Manor House, near the Old Hall, in the fields you can see what looks like lynchets in addition to some earthworks, which Steve Moorhouse was unable to positively identify. They may, or may not, be prehistoric or part of the garden of the manor… There is also a field with the old name of ‘pighills’. In 1505 there is reference to ‘Old Field’ in Bradley which had been bought by the Shepherd Lord’s son and which may go back to Domesday. Between Eller Gill and North Gill there is a stone revetted ditch which may have been a boundary.
Stone Walls : In more recent times sinuous stone walls were built to provide shelter for animals, together with other features, including ‘sheep-creeps’ and ‘hen-holes’ in the walls (with lips to prevent the eggs from falling out!). Various styles of gate-stoops, several of which may have been re-set and even moved sideways after first being repositioned at the breaks in walls. Some of the stone walls between the woodland and the ings had orthostats at their bases, perhaps these could be the remains of Iron Age walls?… There are also old springs surrounded by structures which could have been used for a long period of time.
Hamblethorpe (the third settlement) : From the fourteenth century there are lots of earthworks at Hamblethorpe (possibly even of pre-Norman buildings), with a field called ‘royd’ which suggests that they were clearing fields at this time. It is recorded that this was a farm of the Knights’ Hospitalers which disappeared towards the end of the seventeenth century. Hamblethorpe Park has a nice wall round it which may have been built when the field boundaries became permanent. After the 1800s the hedges (sometimes on lynchets) were replaced by stone walls.
Woodland : The main wood was called Cawder and there are still some huge trees in the Wood Pasture. There is an early reference to Bolton Priory taking wood (as well as pannage for pigs) from Cawder.
Corn Mill : The Low Mill was the Medieval corn mill in the thirteenth century. By 1604 it was called the New Corn Mill (with a goit) but one corner of it may be all that is left of the earlier one.
Roads : Lidget was the gated road through the enclosed fields and the old main road between London and Kendal, via Doncaster. Bolton Priory in 1304 built the first bridge over the River Aire at Kildwick and the main road changed. Lidget still is a holloway for part of its length.
Photographs of a walled lane out of Bradley show it turning into a hollow way up to Moorgate, Dales Lane, again a holloway between fields, which crosses the Doncaster/Kendal 1308 road; the new Dales Lane which now runs down to Low Bradley is not the medieval route that can clearly be seen in the field at its side.
Flag Stones : The geology includes millstone grit with flag stone on top, most of the flag stone outcrops having already been worked. There are some caverns on High Bradley Moor which may have been where flagstones were mined by the Cliffords when they financed work at Bolton Priory. (Bradley Flags are the only roofing stones in this area).
Coal : Early in the sixteen century, the Luptons extracted coal from bell pits and some pit props have been dated to the early seventeenth century.
Iron : Snowden (a little farm) has a field called ‘Iron Pits’ and one called ‘Bloomer’ where slag has been found, both names indicate iron working – perhaps by the Cliffords again.
Lime : The Bradleys only lime kiln is near to the canal, and was most likely used at the time the canal was being constructed.
Vernacular buildings : [Most, if not all of those highlighted by Alison have been fully recorded by her and Arnold Pacey in their book]. She covered several buildings including :
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