Queensbury, West Yorkshire

Queensbury is a village in the metropolitan borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Perched on a high vantage point above Halifax, Clayton and Thornton and overlooking Bradford itself, Queensbury is one of the highest parishes in England, with fine views beyond the West Yorkshire conurbation to the hills of Brontë Country and the Yorkshire Dales to the north and north west. It had a population of 8,718 in 2001[1] which increased to 16,273 in the 2011 Census.[2]

Queensbury

Queensbury and the chimney of the former Black Dyke Mills
Queensbury
Location within West Yorkshire
Population16,273 (Ward.2011)
OS grid referenceSE105311
• London175 mi (282 km) SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRADFORD
Postcode districtBD13
Dialling code01274
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
Councillors

Queensbury is most famous as being the home of Black Dyke Mills, and the Black Dyke Band.

History

Queensbury was originally known as Queenshead. That name was derived from a local pub (still existing) which was popular with travellers on the pack horse route from Halifax to Bradford.

The village was historically divided between the township of Clayton in the parish of Bradford, and the township of Northowram in the parish of Halifax, both in the West Riding of Yorkshire.[3] It became a separate civil parish and urban district in 1894. In 1937 the civil parish was abolished, and the urban district was merged into the new Queensbury and Shelf Urban District. In 1974 the urban district was split, and Queensbury was transferred to the City of Bradford in the new county of West Yorkshire.

Governance

Queensbury Ward is a ward in Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the village of Queensbury around which it is drawn. It includes the villages of Clayton Heights and Horton Bank Top as well as several hamlets: Ambler Thorn, Calder Banks, Catherine Slack, Hazel Hirst, Hunger Hill, Little Moor, Mountain, Old Dolphin, Scarlet Heights, Shibden Head and West Scholes.

Councillors

The ward is represented on the council by husband and wife councillors, Paul and Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents), as well as Conservative Party councillor, Andrew Senior.[4]

ElectionCouncillorCouncillorCouncillor
2004 Tracey McNulty (Con) Stuart Hanson (Con) Michael Walls (Con)
2006 Paul Gregory Smith Cromie (BNP) Stuart Hanson (Con) Michael Walls (Con)
2007 Paul Cromie (BNP) Lynda Cromie (BNP) Michael Walls (Con)
2008 Paul Cromie (BNP) Lynda Cromie (BNP) Michael Walls (Con)
2010 Paul Cromie (BNP) Lynda Cromie (BNP) Michael Walls (Con)
May 2011 Paul Cromie (BNP) Lynda Cromie (BNP) Michael Walls (Con)
June 2011 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents)[5] Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents)[5] Michael Walls (Con)
2012 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Michael Walls (Con)
2014 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Michael Walls (Con)
2015 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Lisa Dawn Carmody (Con) Michael Walls (Con)
2016 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Lisa Carmody (Con) Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents)
By-election
4 May 2017		 Paul Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents) Andrew Senior (Con)[6][7] Lynda Cromie (The Queensbury Ward Independents)

     indicates seat up for re-election.      indicates councillor defection.      indicates a by-election.

2004 boundaries of Queensbury Ward

Black Dyke Mills

Black Dyke Mills was built from 1835 onwards by John Foster as a wool spinning and weaving mill specialising in worsted and mohair fabric, and by 1851 dominated the town. John Foster & Son, the owners of Black Dyke Mills, were responsible for the construction of many of the buildings in and around Queensbury, each being for the benefit of the employees, be it housing/accommodation, shops and leisure facilities. In 1891 the company erected the Victoria Hall in Queensbury for the benefit of its workers and the local community - it had a concert hall, with gallery to seat 650 people, library, billiard room and many other facilities. It also sponsored the internationally famous Black Dyke Mills Band.

The mill has now been converted into individual business units. The company now manufactures elsewhere in the area.

Music

As well as being home to the world famous Black Dyke Band, Queensbury is also noted for its strong musical heritage. Home to the world-class rehearsal studio Backfeed, notable musical residents Giles Stocks and Joe Irish of Jon Jones and the Beatnik Movement, pop-punk trio State of Error, and the bands of the Sherry family, including the nationally successful Scarlet Heights (named after the hamlet), The Bad Beat Revue and Ti Amo.

Transport

Three railway lines once converged on Queensbury, one from Halifax, Keighley and Bradford each, known as the Queensbury Lines, all belonging to the Great Northern Railway (later the London & North Eastern Railway). Where they met was located Queensbury station, which famously consisted of continuous platforms on all three sides of a triangular junction, an uncommon layout in the United Kingdom (the only other examples were Ambergate, on the Midland Railway in Derbyshire and Earlestown in Lancashire).

A short distance from the station on the Halifax line was Queensbury Tunnel, 2,501 yards (2,287 m) in length (the second longest on the Great Northern system after Ponsbourne Tunnel in Hertfordshire), while close by on the Bradford line was Clayton Tunnel at 1,057 yards (967 m). All these lines were closed to passengers in May 1955, later to freight in the 1960s, before finally closing to all traffic in 1972-74.

The main Bradford to Halifax road A647 road runs through the village as well as the A644 road. These roads intersect at the Albert Memorial. First Calderdale & Huddersfield & First Bradford bus route 576, runs through the village between Bradford and Halifax along the A647 road.

  • Black Dyke Mills
  • Sunset over Queensbury in September 2010.
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See also

References
  1. "Census 2001 : Urban Areas : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  2. "City of Bradford ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  3. Vision of Britain website: Queensbury, West Riding
  4. "Your councillors by ward". bradford.moderngov.co.uk. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  5. O'Rourke, Tanya (20 June 2011). "Paul and Lynda Cromie stand down for 'personal reasons'". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  6. "Election results for Queensbury By-Election - Thursday, 4th May, 2017". bradford.moderngov.co.uk. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  7. Mason, Vivien (4 May 2017). "Tory landslide in Queensbury by-election". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
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