Details of the content and context of The OLHB. All entries are based on extensive private research files of the contributors.
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The Newall bones part III
The final part of our 'bones diary' ends with an invitation to further, public, scientifc investigation of the Newall material, and a warning for the East of Otley project.
The Newall Bones part II
Further scratchings at Newall in 1990 revealed a potentially nationally important site, but also aggravated the situation. Part II of our Newall bones diary continues the story.
The Newall Bones
The Newall bones are some of the most important items to ever enter the Museum collection. The story behind their discovery is an archaeological nightmare.
Concealed Shoes
Shoes hidden in buildings are a well known Otley phenomenon. This article reveals how important these Otley shoes have been to the social and archaeological study of domestic space.
The Model Lodging House
Isaac Litt's lodgings on Gay Lane provided model accomodation for a multitude of travellers, beggars, cadgers, packmen, mashers, swells and incoming Irish migrants.
Irish Migration and the Lodging House
At the end of the hard road from Ireland lay the dubious comfort of Otley's lodging houses. This article details the influx of migrant workers and families during the mid nineteenth century.
Dob Park Lodge (2)
This note outlines the current position regarding the development of Dob Park lodge (March 2019) and offers a short, reasoned interpretation of the history on the ground.
The Bramhope belvedere – tunnel vision.
The Bramhope tunnel and associated memorial in Otley churchyard are not unique outliers but follow a familiar architectural and social pattern recognisable nationwide.
Otley: tanning and the language of leather
A partially lost 'language of leather' lingers in Otley's streets - this article details the complex history of the tanning and leather industries over 300 years.
The Courthouse – which one?
The physical foundations of Otley's Courthouse seem set in stone, but a historical sequence of 8 previous courthouses clearly reveal the shifting sands of local legal administration.
Joshua Hart, Vicar of Otley 1837-65
Joshua Hart was the reverend father of Elizabeth Garnett. His experiences with the navvy casualties of the Bramhope Tunnel were a foreshadowing of his daughter's own navvy trials at Lindley a generation later.
Chevin: Hopping Mad
If our bulletin entries suggest we take ourselves too seriously, we ask how anyone would sort out the truth from fiction in this Otley tale of 1834.
The Failed Otley Filling Factory
Had the ambitious scheme for an enormous shell Filling Factory at Midgley Farm gone ahead, Otley would have been a centre of munitions production during the First World War.
Maj. G.J.S. Scovell – an appeal
A volume of material relating to Northern Command by Major George Julian Selwyn Scovell was recently sold at auction. In the interests of further research, the authors would be most pleased to hear from anyone who knows where it ended up.
Spheres of influence
Where do 'the Romans' fit in the historic jigsaw puzzle of urban Otley? This short note provides a conjectural chronology.
The Romans in Otley
There are very few Roman finds from Otley. Recent excavations for Sainsbury's supermarket brought the first archaeological evidence of Roman occupation to light - but in a quantity too small to suggest anything other than the most basic interpretation.
Quern rough out, Dob Park
A rough out for a prehistoric grindng stone was recently discovered in Dob Park. This note outlines the discovery of this unfinished quern.
Elizabeth Garnett, 1839-1921
Elizabeth Garnett ministered to itinerant navvies in the Washburn valley during reservoir construction. She was a remarkable woman deserving of the title 'Otley's most famous daughter'.
The Failed Otley Rifle Corps
In contrast to their brothers in Burley, the town of Otley failed to form a corps of volunteer riflemen - 'animosity and towering ambition' causing it to collapse in January 1860.
Mercury Row
Formerly known as Ratten Row, Otley's rat infested lane received a Victorian re-brand as Mercury Row.
