Place:Guiseley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia Guiseley is now a small town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Before 1974 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire situated south of Otley and Menston. It is now a northwestern suburb of Leeds. At the 2001 UK census, Guiseley with Rawdon, the name of the present-day ward of Leeds, had a population of over 21,000, increasing to 22,347 at the 2011 UK census. The A65 road, which passes through the town, is the main shopping street. Guiseley railway station has regular train services into the railway stations of Leeds, Bradford and Ilkley on the Wharfedale Line. Guiseley is also linked to the stations at Menston to the north and Baildon to the south. Guisely was an urban district from 1894 until 1937 when it was merged with other local places to become Aireborough Urban District. Historically, Guisely was an ancient and ecclesiastical parish in the Skyrack Wapentake.

History

Guiseley was an ancient parish in the West Riding of Yorkshire from the 12th century. The parish also included the townships of Carlton, Horsforth, Rawdon and Yeadon, all of which became separate civil parishes in 1866. In 1937 the new Aireborough Urban District was formed from the parishes listed above, including Guiseley. In 1974 Aireborough was itself abolished and absorbed into the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in the new administrative county of West Yorkshire.

Business

Guiseley was a largely farming community until the 18th century, when a cottage-based woollen industry arose. In Victorian times the town became industrialized, acquiring a railway connection in 1865 and a Town Hall (now the theatre) in 1867.

Crompton Parkinson, a British electrical manufacturing company, was a major employer throughout much of the 20th century. The town was also the home of Silver Cross, a "pram" or baby carriage manufacturer, whose factory was operational from 1936 to 2002.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Guiseley.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Guiseley. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
• A Vision of Britain through Time on Guiseley.
• The FamilySearch wiki on the ecclesiastical parish of Guiseley provides a list of useful resources for the local area.