Shipley

West Yorkshire

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

Market Street ShipleyShipley Town HallShipley Baptist ChurchShipley is 2½ miles north of Bradford city centre, 2½ miles east-south-east of Bingley and about one mile south-south-west of the centre of Baildon, at the opposite side of the River Aire.

Shipley adjoins the UNESCO World Heritage site village of Saltaire a little way up the river and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Shipley has a long history as a village at an important crossroads where the road from Bradford — heading north in the direction of Otley along the valley of the Bradford Beck — meets the valley of the river Aire and its route between Skipton and Leeds.

Its major growth as a town came through the industrial revolution with the establishment of textile mills and industry associated with the woollen trade in Bradford.

As practical and cost-conscious transport routes were generally built along valleys by the investors of the late-Georgian and Victorian period, Shipley also became an important junction linking Bradford via the short Bradford Canal to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal running along the Aire Valley. Similarly when the valley route was chosen for construction of the Leeds and Bradford Railway in the mid-1840s, Shipley became an important triangular railway junction as the railway was soon extended up the valley towards Keighley and Skipton.

A Shipley Local Board became Shipley Urban District Council from 1895 until it was absorbed into the large Bradford metropolitan district in 1974. The Urban District Council was granted addition powers in 1912 in relation to water, gas and electricity supply in the Shipley area. In its later years, the council was based at the impressive Shipley Town Hall, built in 1932. While Shipley was served only by the large Bradford metropolitan authority from 1974, interest in more-local government has recently been renewed with the formation in 2020 of a Shipley Town Council, albeit now having only the very limited responsibilities allowed of a civil parish council.

While the 1930s Town Hall provided a building with Georgian-style overtones, a major clearance of many of Shipley's central older buildings in the middle of the 20th century led to the creation of a town centre of post-war-modern architecture around an enlarged market place and provided the unusual landmark of the tower over the entrance of its underground indoor market.

Outdoor market days continue to be an attraction with a range of goods including fresh produce on Fridays and Saturdays and second-hand items on Mondays.

Town features

The town is on the River Aire.

Shipley is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The town has a range of shops and supermarkets.

Shipley has an indoor and an outdoor market - (Mon Fri Sat).

Shipley has pubs.

The town has Post Offices.

The town has pharmacies.

Shipley has bank and building society branches.

A choice of cafes can be found in Shipley.

Shipley has a selection of places to eat.

Shipley has takeaway food outlets.

Places to stay in Shipley include hotel accommodation.

The town has a library - at Well Croft.

Shipley has a community hall.

The town has a leisure centre with swimming pool.

Shipley has schools.

Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, United Reformed, Islamic, other.

Travel

Shipley Station

Shipley station Station Approach

The station has platforms at each side of a triangle offering interchange between services operating to and via Skipton and to and from Leeds, Bradford Forster Square and Ilkley.

13 Towards Leeds
Leeds 14
Apperley Bridge 5 - Kirkstall Forge 10 - Leeds 19 ⇆3
Leeds 14 ⇆ (dep) 22 - Wakefield Westgate 36 - Doncaster 58 - Newark 1hr 20min - Grantham 1hr 29min - Peterborough 1hr 48min - Stevenage 2hr 14min - London Kings Cross 2hr 41min25 Towards Skipton
Saltaire 4 - Bingley 8 - Crossflatts 10 - Keighley 14 - Steeton and Silsden 19 - Cononley 24 - Skipton 32
Bingley 4 - Keighley 10 - Skipton 22 Gargrave 30 - Hellifield 38 -Long Preston 41 - Settle 48 - Horton-in-Ribblesdale 56 - Ribblehead 1hr 4min - Dent 1hr 14min - Garsdale 1hr 19min - Kirkby Stephen 1hr 32min - Appleby 1hr 45min - Langwathby 1hr 59min - Lazonby & Kirkoswald 2hr 5min - Armathwaite 2hr 13min - Carllisle 2hr 28min
Bingley 4 - Keighley 10 - Skipton 22 Gargrave 30 - Hellifield 38 - Long Preston 41 - Giggleswick 49 - Clapham 57 - Bentham 1hr 3min - Wennington 1hr 9min - Carnforth 1hr 25min - Lancaster 1hr 36min - Bare Lane 1hr 46min - Morecambe 1hr 50min3 Towards Ilkley
Baildon 3 - Guiseley 9 - Menston 12 - Burley in Wharfedale 15 - Ben Rhydding 19 - Ilkley 2545 Towards Bradford
Frizinghall 3 - Bradford Forster Square 9 ⊗2
Bradford Forster Square 112hr 28min - typical fastest journey times in minutes.
Red - stations in West Yorkshire ticket area.
⇆ 3 - Three trains per day - reverses at Leeds.
⊗ - Train stops only to let passengers alight.
LNER London to Skipton train does not stop at Shipley.
(May-Dec 2022 timetable)

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

NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station info

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

Shipley Market Square bus stops

Bus travel

Buses operate to and from stops in Market Square. These are around 4 minutes walk from Shipley station.

Destinations include Saltaire 5, Baildon 11, Bingley 13, Cottingley 14, Guiseley 16, Bradford Interchange 20, Esholt 26, Keighley 27, Leeds Bradford Airport 32, Otley 52, Leeds 5555 - typical fastest bus journey times in minutes. Journeys on some routes may take longer.
Red - places in West Yorkshire ticket area.

Metro - Shipley Market Square

Link to Metro - external web page with details of services and buses at Shipley Market Square.

Road travel

Shipley can be reached via the A650 A657 A6037 A6038

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

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

Shipley 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.

Also in Yorkshire.guide

New Places to visit Gazetteer