Ilkley, W Yorkshire - White Wells - art postcard by Waterhouse c.1970s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  White Wells, Ilkley, [West] Yorkshire / picture by AP Waterhouse
• Publisher: none stated, the artist?
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the City of Bradford. Approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of Bradford and 17 miles (27 km) north-west of Leeds, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe in Wharfedale, one of the Yorkshire Dales.

Ilkley's spa town heritage and surrounding countryside make tourism an important local industry. The town centre is characterised by Victorian architecture, wide streets and floral displays. Ilkley Moor, to the south of the town, is the subject of a folk song, often described as the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire, "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at". The song's words are written in Yorkshire dialect, its title translated as "On Ilkley Moor without a hat."

The earliest evidence of habitation in the Ilkley area is from flint arrowheads or microliths, dating to the Mesolithic period, from about 11,000 BC onwards.[2] The area around Ilkley has been continuously settled since at least the early Bronze Age, around 1800 BC; more than 250 cup and ring marks, and a curved swastika carving dating to the period have been found on rock outcrops,[3] and archaeological remains of dwellings are found on Ilkley Moor. A druidical stone circle, the Twelve Apostles Stone Circle, was constructed 2,000 years ago.[2] Serious interest in the rock art of Ilkley began after the publication in 1879 of the "Prehistoric Rock Sculptures of Ilkley" by Romilly Allen in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association.[3]

The remains of a Roman fort occupy a site near the town centre. Some authorities believe it is Olicana,[4] dating to 79 AD, but the identification is not settled. A number of Roman altars have been discovered from the reigns of Antoninus Pius (138 to 161), and Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla (211 to 217).[5]

Three Anglo-Saxon crosses from the 8th century that stood in the churchyard of All Saints' Church have been moved inside to prevent erosion. The church site, as a centre for Christian worship, extends to 627 AD, and the present mainly Victorian-era church incorporates medieval elements.[6]

The Domesday Book, of 1086, records Ilkley (Ilecliue/Illecliue/Illiclei/Illicleia) as being in the possession of William de Percy 1st Baron Percy.[7] The land was acquired by the Middelton family of Myddelton Lodge, from about a century after the time of William the Conqueror. The family lost possession through a series of land sales and mortgage repossessions over a period of about a hundred years from the early 19th century.[8] The agents of William Middelton (1815–1885) were responsible for the design of the new town of Ilkley to replace the village which had stood there before.[9]

In the 17th and 18th centuries the town gained a reputation for the efficacy of its water. In the 19th century it became established as a fashionable spa town, with the construction of Ben Rhydding Hydro, a hydropathic establishment at Wheatley, a mile to the east, between 1843 and 1844.[10][11] Charles Darwin underwent hydropathic treatment at Wells House when his book On the Origin of Species was published on 24 November 1859, whilst staying with his family at North View House (now Hillside Court).[12] Tourists flocked to 'take the waters' and bathe in the cold-water spring. Wheatley was renamed Ben Rhydding after the Hydro, which has been demolished.

The Manor House, Ilkley

Development based on the Hydro movement, and on the establishment of convalescent homes and hospitals, was accelerated in August 1865 by the construction of the Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway, which linked to the Leeds and Bradford Railway and the North Eastern Railway.[13][14][15] The Midland Railway built a connection to Skipton via Bolton Abbey in May 1888.[14]

Other Victorian visitors to the town included Madame Tussaud.[16] The only remaining hydro building is the white cottage known as White Wells House. The cottage can be seen and visited on the edge of the moor overlooking the town.[17]