BUI - Buildings & Properties

Burley Grange or The Grange

Situated on the corner of Main Street & Station Road, Burley in Wharfedale

Burley Grange was built in 1840-41 by John Peele Clapham (1801-1876) (formerly of Burley Hall) as a private residence called "The Grange". Its possible that there were previous buildings on the site such as a monastic farm or grange with barns etc, but the evidence for this is pretty sketchy.

In 1849, The Grange was sold by John P Clapham to J. Hamer Stansfeld (1797-1865)(Lord Mayor of Leeds 1843) & between 1860 to 1885 it was owned by Thomas Emsley (1816-1885), who'd also lived at Burley House.

During Thomas Emsley's ownership, major changes were made to both the property & the surrounding lands. In 1862 he had the Mechanics Institution building located at the bottom of Station Road (that also contained the Burley Township school) demolished & rebuilt on his own land at Hill Top farm. The reason appears to be that it overlooked his house. A 9ft high wall was built all the way round the house & gardens. A section of this wall still exists on Station Road between the old post office & the parish centre. 
Thomas Emsley died unmarried & without issue in 1885.

OS 1851 Map of Burley Grange, Burley in Wharfedale. Image courtesy of National Library of Scotland

​1886 - The executors of Thomas Emsley's will sold The Grange buildings & its lands within Burley in Wharfedale for £5,100.00, to James Hodson.
​(Horner Ashe & Jane, his wife, were installed in The Grange Lodge on Main Street, as the gardener).

​James Hodson (1828-1895) was an export stuff merchant at 32 Hall Ings, Bradford who had interests in trading with the USA. After James' death in 1895, his wife Marianne Eliza Hodson nee MacDougall (b1835) continued to live in The Grange, up to her own death in 1900. Interests in The Grange & its estate passed to the James Hodson Trust.

​In 1904 Burley Urban District Council (BUDC) began negotiations with the James Hodson Trust  to purchase The Grange buildings for £1660. The transaction was completed in 1905. This purchase didn't involve any of the gardens (Grange Park) nor land - now Hodson Park - on the other side of the track that became Grange Road.

The Grange watercolour c1850. Unknown artist. Image courtesy of Burley Archive

OS 1909 Map - The Grange, Burley in Wharfedale. Image courtesy of National Library of Scotland

The Grange buildings were converted to Council offices in 1905 by the Burley Woodhead architect Harry Sutton Chorley. The rear of the building was leased to a new gentleman's club called "The Grange Club" (1905-1992).

​In 1910 Burley UDC attempted to purchase a portion of the gardens to create a park in commemoration of the coronation of George V and his wife Queen Mary. The negotiations with the James Hodson Trust failed. 

​In 1914 the Burley UDC successfully negotiated the buying of The Grange gardens from the James Hodson Trust. The high wall that surrounded them was reduced in height & the local residents gained access. The gardens were turned into Grange Park.

In 1923 the Burley District War Memorial was unveiled & dedicated at the front of the building. The design was by Harry Sutton Chorley.

1923 Dedication of War Memorial at Burley Grange. Image courtesy of Burley Archive

Burley District War Memorial by Harry S Chorley. Image courtesy of Burley Archive

In 1924/25 Burley in Wharfedale Sports Club (which included Burley in Wharfedale cricket club) bought a part of Hodson's Park (an area of land south of Grange Road), from the trustees of the James Hodson estate.

In 1926 public baths were opened at Burley Grange, in a building which stood on the present car park. These were not for swimming but for personal cleanliness and laundry. The charge for a “slipper” bath was 6 pence. Males and females were allocated separate times in the week.

In 1937 Ilkley Urban District Council took over the building with the demise of Burley UDC under local government re-organisation. It became the site of Burley Public Library as well as council offices.

​​1962 Demolition of Burley Lodge also known as the Gardener's House or Cottage in the grounds, next to The Grange entrance on Main Street. And around the same time the Grange stables & ancillary buildings on Station Road, were also demolished to create a car park.

1962 Burley Lodge - Gardeners House demolished. Image courtesy of Burley Archive

Grange Stables, Station Road, Burley in Wharfedale. Image courtesy of Ilkley Gazette

​In 1974 Ilkley Urban District Council were abolished & ownership of the building passed to Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC). They in turn made it available to Ilkley College as an adult education centre.
​Burley Public Library was moved to a new building on Grange Road, within Grange Park, in the same year.

​1986 ownership passed to Bradford College and until 2006 it was the Wharfedale Centre for Further Education.
​In 2006 Bradford College stopped using it & put the building up for sale.

Keith Dale (Chair Burley Parish Council)(Ilkley Gazette 2010):
​"In spite of fierce opposition from the residents of Burley-in-Wharfedale, and of an offer to purchase The Grange that would have allowed some portion to be retained on behalf of the village, Bradford College was permitted to sell The Grange and ownership of this fine building became lost to the successors of those who had originally bought it. Burley Urban District Council bought The Grange for the people of Burley and no doubt regarded itself as merely the guardian of a facility for the village. No money either in purchase or in compensation was exchanged or ever made its way back to the people of Burley." 

​In 2008 it was bought by Alan Hayes, chairman & chief executive of Business Support & Development Ltd (BSD), a not-for-profit enterprise agency. The building would be used as a business learning centre. The upper floors would be converted to accommodation for his family & others.

Alan Hayes 2008 purchaser of Burley Grange. Image courtesy of Wharfedale Newspapers

Ilkley College Burley Grange Annexe, Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale. Image courtesy of Burley Archive

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​Businesses based at The Grange / Burley Grange:
As of 2026
​Cock Pit Farm Tea Rooms moved from its base at Weston, near Otley, to Burley Grange at Burley-in-Wharfedale. Re-opened November 2020.
Song Thai Spa - Thai massage salon, treatments available ​Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Saturdays.
LFW Podiatry / Chiropody & Wellness Clinic. HCPC Registered.
Black Bright Tattoo
Lexa Hair Salon - ​Lower Ground Floor, The Grange, Burley in Wharfedale. 01943 865043.