The Lawn, Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale
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The Lawn & its owners, (mainly from census returns & electoral rolls).
The first Ordnance Survey map of 1851 (surveyed in 1848/9) shows a building on the site of The Lawn. Information from Raymond Gill (BLH&AG member) suggests that Thomas and William Gill were farmers living in a large house on this site at the time of the first detailed census in 1851. The farm buildings may have been the ones in the centre of the site.
The Methodist Chapel, at the eastern end of the plot, was the original one from 1816 & is now the site of Cliffe House Day Nursery.
In 1860 The Lawn was put up for auction by the executors of the estate of Thomas Gill. In 1861 the house was occupied by Mary Holdsworth (aged 74), a relative of the Gills. The house was extended & the grounds remodelled in 1865. An advert in the Bradford Observer of January 1865 asks for tenders for the work.
A section of the grounds at the eastern end of the plot was either gifted or sold to the Methodists. Their new church/chapel was dedicated in 1867.
An 1870 Estate plan shows The Lawn after the extensions of 1865 & the farm buildings replaced with the T-shaped structure to the east of the main building.
1870 The Lawn estate plan. Image courtesy of Burley Archive
In 1871, William Brayshaw, a stuff merchant, was living in the house.
Subsequently in the 1881 census the house was occupied by Edward Gordon Williams, a retired stuff merchant.
1889 John Ambler died at The Lawn, Burley in Wharfedale. He was the head of Thomas Ambler & Sons, Atlas Works, Bradford. In the 1891 census it was occupied by Charles Garnett, a worsted spinner. In 1901 by a Christopher Kirk, a 26 year old of independent means.
1905 - 1915 - Fred Denby Moore (1863-1951) Wool Merchant. Moved to Cathedine, Burley in Wharfedale in 1915.
1918 - 1922 - Jessie Jackson & Walter Jackson
1923 - 1929 - Jessie Jackson, Walter Jackson & McAlpine Jackson
1930 - Edith Margaret Long, Jessie Jackson, Walter Jackson & McAlpine Jackson 1931 - 1946 - McAlpine Jackson & Walter Jackson (1871-1946) Walter Jackson (1871-1946) was Principal at Samuel Jackson & Son Architects & Surveyors, Shipley. He was also a director of Bentley's Yorkshire Brewery & a Surveyor to the Halifax Building Society for 50 years. He died in 1946 aged 75.
Its possible that the following people & dates are residents of the lodge & cottages, rather than occupiers of The Lawn.
1945 - 1946 - George William Stork & Rose Eva Stork 1947 - 1948 - George William Stork, Rose Eva Stork & William Henry Stork 1949 - 1950 - George William Stork, Rose Eva Stork & Maud Mary Jackson 1951 - Maud Mary Jackson 1952 - empty Between 1952 & 1956 the house is believed to have been empty, but the lodge & cottages in the grounds may have been occupied. |
The Lawn, Burley in Wharfedale - OS1851 Map. Image courtesy of NL Scotland
Bradford Observer advert 26 Jan 1865 - The Lawn. Image courtesy of Sally Gunton
The Lawn Burley in Wharfedale OS1895. Image courtesy of NL Scotland
c1920s The Lawn Burley in Wharfedale. Image courtesy of John Breare
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Ilkley Urban District Council
On the 20th June 1956, Ilkley Urban District Council bought The Lawn, its lodge, two cottages & its 2 acres of grounds, for £4500. They had the intention of converting the building into accommodation for people of all ages as well as the elderly, Although it was expected that older people would be the main tenants. A warden would live on the premises. And in the grounds a number of semi-detached council houses would also be built.
In 2004 Louie Piotrowski (born Sarah Louise Duffy) donated x3 sets of black & white images taken by her husband Ted Piotrowski between 1956 and 1959.
The first set from 1956 shows various external & internal images of The Lawn & its grounds before any work was carried out by Ilkley UDC.
The second set shows the conversion phase of the main buildings into 23 flats with shared bathrooms & the wardens accommodation.
The third set of black & white images by Ted Petrowski, show the construction of the council houses later called Lawn Walk. These were built around 1957 to 1958 as by 1959 residents were listed on the electoral roll.
In 2004 Louie Piotrowski (born Sarah Louise Duffy) donated x3 sets of black & white images taken by her husband Ted Piotrowski between 1956 and 1959.
The first set from 1956 shows various external & internal images of The Lawn & its grounds before any work was carried out by Ilkley UDC.
The second set shows the conversion phase of the main buildings into 23 flats with shared bathrooms & the wardens accommodation.
The third set of black & white images by Ted Petrowski, show the construction of the council houses later called Lawn Walk. These were built around 1957 to 1958 as by 1959 residents were listed on the electoral roll.
Between 1957 and 1958 Ilkley UDC built 10 semi-detached council houses in the grounds called Lawn Walk. This allowed public access from Main Street to Back Lane for the first time. Previously the whole site had been surrounded by a 10 foot high wall.
A remnant of the high wall that surrounded the whole of The Lawn gardens & land, can still be found in the Methodists Chapel garden.
1958 newscutting image The Lawn wall. Image courtesy of Sally Gunton.jpg
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1959 January newscutting follow up image to 1958 one. Image courtesy of Sally Gunton
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Remnant of The Lawn wall. Image courtesy of Peter Grinham
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In 1974 ownership of The Lawn sheltered housing complex was transferred from Ilkley UDC to Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC) during local government re-organisation.
In 2003 BMDC transferred ownership to Aire Wharfe Community Housing Trust (part of Bradford Community Housing Trust (now Incommunities)) following the stock transfer of council homes.
2008-09 - Incommunities completed the conversion of The Lawn & added a new block to create 29 homes.
14 one and two bedroom flats within the existing property, for sale on a shared ownership basis. A sandstone development of 15 affordable homes, exclusively for residents aged over 55, was built on a former garage and stable block beside the building. Of those five, one bedroom flats are shared ownership with the other ten, two bedroom properties being offered for rent.
14 one and two bedroom flats within the existing property, for sale on a shared ownership basis. A sandstone development of 15 affordable homes, exclusively for residents aged over 55, was built on a former garage and stable block beside the building. Of those five, one bedroom flats are shared ownership with the other ten, two bedroom properties being offered for rent.
2008-09 The Lawn - new block. Image courtesy of Google
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2008-09 - The Lawn - new block Back Lane. Image courtesy of Google
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Lawn Cloth
There is a possibility that "The Lawn" property was named after the material "Lawn" cloth. A plain weave textile, originally of linen but now mainly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high-thread-count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel. The fabric is made using either combed or carded yarns.
(1804 William Mitchell (& Ann Mitchell wife) - linen weaver of Burley [16D84/2/62 - Records of Wm Fison & Co of Burley in Wharfedale - Bradford Archives]).
There is a possibility that "The Lawn" property was named after the material "Lawn" cloth. A plain weave textile, originally of linen but now mainly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high-thread-count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel. The fabric is made using either combed or carded yarns.
(1804 William Mitchell (& Ann Mitchell wife) - linen weaver of Burley [16D84/2/62 - Records of Wm Fison & Co of Burley in Wharfedale - Bradford Archives]).