1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ilkley

ILKLEY, an urban district in the Otley parliamentary division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, 16 m. N.W. from Leeds, on the Midland and the North-Eastern railways. Pop. of urban district (1901) 7455. It is beautifully situated in the upper part of the valley of the Wharfe, and owing to the fine scenery of the neighbourhood, and to the bracing air of the high moorlands above the valley, has become a favourite health resort. Here and at Ben Rhydding, 1 m. E., are several hydropathic establishments. The church of All Saints is in the main Decorated, largely restored in 1860. Three ancient sculptured crosses are preserved in the churchyard. The institutions include a museum of local antiquities, a grammar school, the Siemens Convalescent Home and the Ilkley Bath Charitable Institution. The fine remains of Bolton Abbey lie in the Wharfe valley, 5 m. above Ilkley. Ilkley has been identified with the Olicana of Ptolemy, one of the towns of the British tribe of the Brigantes. There was a Roman fort near the present church of All Saints, and the site has yielded inscriptions and other small remains. Numerous relics are preserved in the museum.