LOWER WYKE CONSERVATION AREA
Historical Development
Lower Wyke, c. 3 miles south of Bradford, stands upon the Lower Coal Measures of the Upper Carboniferous Period, and is situated on a hill slope to the east of Wyke Beck, where the land rises from c. 100m O.D. to c.140m O.D. The village was formerly within the Wapentake of Morley, the Honour of Pontefract, and the Parish of Birstall.
There is no known evidence of Prehistoric or Roman activity within the vicinity, apart from a Neolithic stone axe found at Wyke, north of Lower Wyke, in 1964. A quernstone, probably dating to the Iron Age/Roman period, was also found at Wyke. Elsewhere, near Low Moor c. 1 mile to the north of Wyke, a labourer reportedly found a Roman coin hoard in 1828 (Parker 1902, 92).
Wyke, or Wiche, is recorded in Domesday (1086) suggesting an area of pre-Conquest settlement somewhere in the township. The place-name probably derived from the Old English term wic meaning a dwelling, building or dairy farm. After the Conquest Wyke became part of the manor of Bradford and was held by Ilbert de Lacy. These holdings, including the manor, were subsequently held the Earls of Lancaster, the Crown, and the City of London. The Empsall family rebuilt their timber-framed manor house at Lower Wyke in stone during the late-16th and early 17th centuries. It eventually passed to the Mayer family, of Northowram Hall, and, through marriage to Thomas Carvick.
The first settlement in the area was probably influenced by the route foci at Wyke, the meeting point of six routes that ran from Bradford, Bailiff Bridge, Coley, Oakenshaw, High Farnley and Scholes (Jefferys 1775). Lower Wyke Lane, the main street of Lower Wyke, was part of the Brighouse to Bradford to route. A milepost dated 1733, which for many years stood in the grounds of Bolling Hall, stood at the junction of Wyke Lane and Towngate. The directions to three towns are inscribed on the stone, recorded in the following fashion: -
"Bradford Road
4 miles
Halifax Road
4 miles
Leeds Road
9 miles
John Hanson, Wm. Rushworth,
Ouersears of the Highways, 1733"
The milepost was restored back to Wyke and placed in the precinct of the parish church in the year 2000 as a millennium project by the local historical society.
Industries near Lower Wyke include a tannery. A field documented as Tan House Ing, to the east of Lower Fold Farm, probably relates to a tannery site, worked prior to 1848 (Wyke Tithe plan/award, PRN 6130). Coal was extensively mined in the area, the majority of pits having a short life-span. A coal pit is recorded to the west of the manor house at Lower Wyke in 1849 (Wyke Township plan, 1849). The Low Moor Company, who had obtained the mineral rights for this area, worked a mine known as Drake Pit, at Lower Wyke, between 1900 and 1911. Elsewhere, industries within the larger area of Wyke included chemical works, brickworks, worsted mills and dyeworks.
The growth of industrial activity necessitated the improvement of transport. These improvements included the construction of two turnpike routes, the present Huddersfield Road and Whitehall Road, both completed by 1837. In 1850 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company opened the line between Low Moor and Halifax, via Wyke, with a joint line linking Bradford to London in 1873.
Despite the industrial activity within the area, the present settlement pattern at Lower Wyke is similar to that recorded on Jefferys' map of 1775 and has retained its rural setting. Larger scale residential development was mainly confined to the north of Whitehall Road, and to the west of the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
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