Bingley

West Yorkshire

Bingley is a market town in the Bradford metropolitan district of West Yorkshire.

Bingley is in the Aire Valley, 5 miles north-west of Bradford and around 4 miles south-east of Keighley.

Although its origins are probably as an Anglo-Saxon crossing point of the River Aire, Bingley became a market town which received a market charter more than 800 years ago in 1212 from King John.

An open market is still held in the Town Square on Fridays and Saturdays, selling fresh produce, flowers and plants, shoes and more.

The town's old open market hall probably dates from soon after 1693 when a second market charter was obtained from monarchs William and Mary for a Monday market. It was extended in 1753. Originally standing in Bingley's main street, the market hall, butter cross and stocks were moved to their present Town Square site around 1984 after spending 96 years in-between in Prince of Wales Park.

Bingley has a large number of historic and listed buildings, particularly around its Old Main Street, near to the town's Church of All Saints, which was built in the late 15th century with additions and alterations during restoration in the 1870s.

The town is on the River Aire and on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at a point where the canal ascends through the steep flights of Bingley's Three Rise and Five Rise Locks.

Bingley prospered from the textile trade during the industrial revolution and the trade continues today, but that is largely due to a French company, Damart, choosing a mill in Bingley when it established its man-made thermal textiles business in the UK in 1967 - a time when the French government was vetoing early applications by the UK to join the EU.

Bingley also became well-known in the 1960s after the merger of two building societies formed in 1851 produced the Bradford and Bingley. The brand was known in towns across the country and had its headquartes in Main Street in Bingley. The building society became a bank in 2000, but had got into difficulties by 2008, leading to its branch network being taken over by the Santander Group and remaining assets, existing mortgages and liabilities being taken into public ownership by the Government and closed to new business. Bradford and Bingley headquarters are now at Crossflatts, about a mile from Bingley.

Town features

The town is near to the River Aire.

Bingley is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The town has a range of shops and supermarkets.

Bingley holds a traditional outdoor market(Fri,Sat)

The town has a Post Office.

Bingley has a bank.

The town has pharmacies.

The town has pubs and social clubs.

Bistro and cafe dining can be found in Bingley.

Takeaway food outlets in the town include fish and chips, chicken, chinese, curries, pizzas, burgers, kebabs, sandwiches.

The town has a library.

Bingley has a theatre - Bingley Little Theatre.

The town has a swimming pool.

Bingley has schools.

Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed.

Travel

Bingley station

Station managed by: NORTHERN. Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station info

External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).

Bus travel

The town has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Bingley can be reached via the A650 B6265 B6429

Places to visit

Salt's Mill, Sailtaire

Saltaire

Near Shipley
About 4 miles north-north-west of Bradford, Saltaire village on the River Aire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The huge Salt's Mill, a former textile mill, is at the centre of a late 19th century village of stone houses which were built for the mill workers by architects employed by mill owner Sir Titus Salt. More information on our page about Saltaire.

East Riddlesden Hall

East Riddlesden HallBradford Road, Riddlesden
The attractive 17th century home of a cloth merchant includes an array of needlework from the era. The house is set in colourful and peaceful gardens with an outdoor discovery garden and children's play area. The property, around 1.5 miles to the north-east of Keighley, has a car park, accessed through its narrow entrance. The property is managed by The National Trust.
Find out more at the

National Trust - East Riddlesden Hall web pages.
Locate on map:

East Riddlesden Hall

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

Keighley Station and stations along the Worth Valley
The earliest of Yorkshire's heritage railways was made famous by the film The Railway Children in 1970, but that was just the first of many TV and film appearances, now going full circle with the 2022 film The Railway Children Return. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway has a collection of more than 30 locomotives, many of them steam locomotives, and operates the five-mile branch between Keighley, Ingrow (West), Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and Oxenhope. Passengers can change to and from the rail network's Airedale Line trains at Keighley. Add-on tickets for the K&WVR can be bought with rail tickets from any station on the rail network while the railway's station ticket offices offer a full range of tickets. The line was among the country's first preserved railways, reopening as a preservation line six years after the closure of the branch by British Railways in 1962.

Find out more at the

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway website.

Haworth

Haworth, around 4 miles south of Keighley, is an attractive village popular with tourists. It was the one-time home of the literary Brontë sisters, their home having now become the Bronte Parsonage Museum. The village has attractive shops and cafes on its steep cobbled Main Street. Haworth also has a station on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway from which there is an uphill walk through Central Park to the village centre. The village can also be reached by bus from Keighley or Hebden Bridge. More on our page on Haworth.

Emergency services

West Yorkshire Police

West Yorkshire Police website.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish council

Bingley Town Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Bingley Town Council

Metropolitan district council

City of Bradford

The City of Bradford authority covers an area extending many miles beyond the city itself, including areas of moorland of The Pennines and Ilkley Moor, parts of Wharfedale and Airedale and the Worth Valley.

The area includes many separate small towns and villages, among them Addingham, Baildon, Bingley, Burley in Wharfedale, Haworth, Idle, Ilkley, Keighley, Saltaire, Shipley and Silsden.

Councillors are elected across 30 wards with three councillors per ward.

One councillor per ward is elected for a four-year term on each of three years out of four.

Political composition after May 2024 election:

49 131310 5
90 members

Link to City of Bradford MDC website.

See our Yorkshire.guide Gazetteer for more about the

Bradford metropolitan district and places within it.

County strategic authority

West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Covers some combined services of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield — which were at one time provided by a West Yorkshire metropolitan county council, with the addition of the non-contiguous unitary authority area of the City of York council as well as the unelected Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. Since 2021 it has operated with an elected mayor as chairman and decision-maker for some responsibilities. These include transport, housing and planning and finance powers. The responsibilities also include those of Police and Crime Commissioner, a role substantially delegated to an appointee deputy mayor.

Elected mayor: ❚ Tracy Brabin Labour & Cooperative

West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Police and Crime Commissioner

The Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire
This role has become one of the many responsibilities of the West Yorkshire elected mayor since May 2021.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Fire Authority

West Yorkshire Fire Authority
The fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.

West Yorkshire Fire Authority web pages.

Parliamentary constituency

Shipley
Elected MP: ❚ Anna Dixon Labour

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

West Yorkshire

Historic

-1974 Within the West Riding of Yorkshire.

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