IN THE SHADOW OF THE ROSSE - Shipley

INTRODUCTION
The main theme of this study is the story of a field. From the time when the field
was first created, through its subsequent history, and up to the present time.
The idea for this work into the origins of the street where I grew up, and its
surrounding area, came from a decision by the newly formed Shipley Local History Society
to encourage
members to work of some specific project concerning the history of Shipley.
The starting point of my research was the collection of Ordnance Survey maps
held in Shipley and Bradford libraries. These maps, which cover a period from the
middle of the nineteenth century up to the present time, gave me a rough breakdown
of the chronological sequences of the development of the area in question. The
earlier cartographic evidence relating to the history of this part of Shipley is limited
to a copy of the 1815 Enclosure map, catalogued in Bradford Central Library as,
‘Dixon’s Map of Shipley 1837’; and the Shipley Tithe Award Map of 1848 which is held
in the Leeds Office of the West Yorkshire Archive Service.
Much of the work on the evolution of this area has been done at the West Riding
Registry of Deeds in the Wakefield office of the West Yorkshire Archive Service. This
office holds most of the freehold land transactions for the West Riding of Yorkshire
from 1704 to 1970, and it is a very valuable source of information for anyone interested in
the ownership and development of land within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Other records which have proved useful include the records of the Shipley Local
Board of Health, and the Shipley Urban District Council records, held at the Bradford
office of the West Yorkshire Archive Service.
Ian Watson 1989
A rewriting of this study, over the last year, has allowed me to incorporate a limited
amount of new evidence. In particular, the information from the survey relating to the
1910 Finance Act, which is held at the National Archives, at Kew, London.
The story of this plot of land is not complete. Limited research time, particularly
for the period after the First World War, has left several gaps in the story. The
research is, therefore, ongoing; and I would be very interested in receiving any information
about this site and its houses, in order to add to my own information.
Ian Watson 2006
NOTES
[A] [1]: The letters and numbers in square brackets within the body of the text refer to
the plot numbers shown on the large plans of the site which are to be found on the
following pages:
WRRD - West Riding Registry of Deeds, Wakefield
SLBH - Shipley Local Board of Health
WYAS - West Yorkshire Archive Service
The plans used are taken from Ordnance Survey Maps