On Saturday 30th May a Blue Plaque was unveiled at Wells House, sponsored by the management committee of Wells House and Ilkley Civic Society. The Ilkley Civic Society’s Blue Plaque Scheme, celebrates the history of Ilkley and of buildings that have shaped the town.
It is 170 years since the opening of Wells House, on 28th May 1856. A group of Bradford businessmen chaired by Benjamin Briggs Popplewell formed the Wells House Hydropathic Establishment and Hotel Company to build the hydro. In 1853 they agreed to buy 9 acres of land on Wells Road, opposite the old Ilkley Wells (White Wells) for £4,000 from the lord of the manor, Peter Middelton. They advertised for designs and chose the Italianate palazzo style by Cuthbert Brodrick, who had recently started work on Leeds Town Hall. The contractors were Pickard and Ogden of Bradford.
By the time the building and furnishings were completed, it was said to have cost in all £30,000. It featured a central open courtyard and an internal corridor, which could be used for exercise in inclement weather. The main large entrance faced south. The spacious dining room with an adjoining drawing room was able to accommodate about 150 guests at the opening meal. Upstairs there were 87 bedrooms with six large bathrooms for treatments. At the four corners there were towers, with the billiard room and the smoking room located at the top of two of them.
Henry Strachan was the well-respected manager, and the first doctor was Dr Rischanek of Vienna. Both had worked at the Ben Rhydding Hydro. The second doctor was Dr Edmund Smith, who treated Charles Darwin in 1859. When Dr Smith died in 1864 his grateful patients installed a stained-glass window of St Luke in All Saints Parish Church.
The next Civic Society walk is on Saturday June 20 at 2pm from the Canker Well. For more information contact
We will celebrate our 60th Anniversary at the Canker Well garden. We are re-planting the bath from Ben Rhydding Hydro and making a heritage notice board for the small park. The celebration will be on Thursday 18 June at 2pm, followed by refreshments in The Arcade at Outside the Box. We look forward to seeing you there.
Work has begun today on a nature-based wetland in Ilkley, marking the next step of a £60 million investment to improve water treatment and the water quality of the river Wharfe.
For more information look here
Press Release 10th November 2025
Ilkley Civic Society is pleased to announce the results of its Design & Conservation Awards for 2025.
We have moved to an Autumn presentation to allow judging to take place over the summer, so it is 18 months since our last live event. On Thursday 23rd October Ilkley Town Council Mayor Cllr Jane Gibson presented certificates to local businesses, organisations & individuals. Cllr Gibson commented “I was honoured to be invited to present these awards. It was an interesting evening, celebrating creativity in our wonderful town. I particularly enjoyed those projects which supported sustainability and sympathetic adaptations within our conservation areas. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of awards."
The evening began with a review of the last 18 months, to demonstrate the type of events and planning issues Ilkley Civic Society is involved with, including: -
-the approval of major Yorkshire Water works on Denton Rd to create a wetland,
-the failure of big organisations to obtain the necessary planning approval (Starbucks)
-supporting residents’ concerns regarding poor quality shopfronts
- monitoring with concern the deteriorating condition of some buildings and reporting the issues to BMDC (Hollycroft)
We moved onto this year’s presentations, which included several Commendations and Two Awards to a variety of projects all of which succeeded in making a valuable contribution to improving the townscape of Ilkley or its surrounding landscape. Projects, selected from a long list of 15 projects from the last 1.5 years included a variety of commercial buildings, some private residences and an urban realm project.
Certificates presented to the following projects: -
Conservation; Commendation (for work on historic buildings or structures)
- Mortons shopfront: the former shopfront has been returned to a more Victorian feel, revealing the original corner cast iron columns with ornate capitals, adding glazing bars to the windows, and recreating the former column and stall riser finishes. Design and installation by the new occupiers Design Emporium, a local architecture and interior design company.
- Langbar House: the former offices above Dacres have been converted to apartments. The considerable work to the exterior includes relaying the roof slates, repairs to chimneys, and complete re-rendering of the exterior to ensure the building envelope is fit for a long future. Developer Yorplace, architect Halliday Clark and contractor Dobsons of Ilkley.
Conservation: Award (for work on historic buildings or structures)
- Whitton Lodge: this former detached villa previously divided into flats has been returned to a family home by the removal of a bulky 2-storey rear extension and its replacement with full height staircase window and a much smaller single storey living kitchen extension. All PVCu windows have been replaced with wooden sash windows and 2 new roof dormers added. Environmentally a ground source heat pump has been added with full internal insulation to walls. Private client, architects Niche Architecture.
Special mention-
- Railway Terrace: an extension to stone-built end terrace re-using stone from the original gable wall. Featuring the latest design of roof solar panels that are inset into the roof and much less obtrusive than earlier solar panels.
New Design: Commendations -for new projects
- Kings Road- two new houses filling a gap in the streetscape with crisp contemporary design that includes traditional slate rooves and stone walls. Developer, Burley developments and Halliday Clark architects.
- Wharfe View Road-Two new rear extensions designed by different architects working together to complement each other. Architects Niche and Roost.
New Design: Awards. - for an Urban Realm project
- Re-establishment of a working fountain for Ilkley inspired by sphagnum moss, which is so important to water and carbon retention on our moor. The fountain is gravity fed and requires no pumping. Sculpture design by Juliet and Jamie Gutch, local artists and fabricated by James Wilkinson for Improving Ilkley, constructed by Dakin.
To round off the evening we looked at some potential future entries for the Ilkley Civic Society Awards which will take place in 12 or 24 months depending on the number of entries. A future live presentation will enable local residents, their architects and builders to gather to celebrate new build and heritage projects that add to the history of the town as well those that improve the environment. Any suggestions please to
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Contacts for more information
David Blackburn (603479) or Kate Brown (604521) Executive Committee members or Alex Cockshott (Chair) (601561)
Ilkley Civic Society
10th November 2025
John Shuttleworth (1833-1909), printer and publisher of The Ilkley Gazette, and his son Ernest, a prominent local photographer, left a unique archive of images relating to the district of Ilkley. Bradford MDC has made a selection of the most interesting pieces from the collection held at Ilkley Library, with the aim of extending access to these irreplaceable items.
