Отли: Уаф өзені жағасындағы тарихы мол қала

Market town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, England
the town in West Yorkshire

Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census. The name Chevin has close parallels to the early Brythonic Welsh term Cefn meaning ridge and may be a survival of the ancient Cumbric language.

There are pre historic settlement finds alongside both sides of the River Wharfe and it is believed the valley has been settled at this site since the Bronze Age. There are Bronze Age carvings on rocks situated on top of The Chevin: one such example is the Knotties Stone. West Yorkshire Geology Trust has reference to Otley Chevin and Caley Crags having a rich history of human settlement stretching back into Palaeolithic times. Flint tools, Bronze Age rock carvings and Iron Age earthworks have been found. In medieval times the forest park was used as common pasture land, as a source of wood and sandstones for buildings and walls.

The majority of the early development of the town dates from Saxon times and was part of an extensive manor granted by King Athelstan to the see of York. The Archbishops of York had a residence and were lords of the manor. Their palace was located on the site occupied by the Manor House. The Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one, but this contains much Saxon sculpture. Bondgate was for the workers: bondsmen and tenants. A leper hospital was founded on the road to Harewood beyond Cross Green. An early example can be seen in Otley Museum. By 1900 the printing machinery trade, with over 2,000 people employed in seven machine shops, was Otley's most important industry. After the First World War there was a general shortage of housing in Britain, and much of it was crowded slums. Otley Council prepared one of the first subsidized housing schemes, commencing with relatively open land in Newall on the North of the river in 1920. The local authority was the lord of the manor until 1864 when Otley Board was formed and many public buildings date from then on. Otley lies in the Leeds North West constituency of the UK Parliament and is represented by MP Alex Sobel (Labour Party (UK)). It is part of the Otley & Yeadon ward on Leeds City Council and is represented by three Liberal Democrat Councillors Ryk Downes, Colin Campbell & Sandy Lay. It is twinned with the French town of Montereau Fault Yonne, south of Paris. Otley and Wharfedale ward has a population of 24,000, and Otley itself has a population of 14,348, according to the Census 2001.

Otley lies 28 mile (45 km) south west of York, 10 mile (16 km) north west of Leeds, 10 mile (16 km) north east of Bradford, and 196 mile (315 km) from London. The town lies in lower Wharfedale, at a bridging point over the River Wharfe where there is a seven arched medieval bridge, and is surrounded by arable farmland. The historic town developed on the south bank of the Wharfe, but in the 20th century Otley expanded north of the river, to include new developments at Newall and the Weston Estate. The south side of the valley is dominated by a gritstone escarpment overlooking Otley called the Chevin and to the north is Newall Carr. The trackbed between Burley in Wharfedale, Otley and Pool is to become a cycleway, footpath and equestrian route known as the Wharfedale Greenway, with possible extensions onward to Ilkley alongside the extant railway. Planning permission for the first phase of the greenway was granted in July 2020. The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65. To Harrogate, the A659 heads east to the A658, which is the main Bradford–Harrogate road. Otley bus station is run by West Yorkshire Metro and services are operated by First West Yorkshire, Harrogate Bus Company, Keighley Bus Company, and Connexionsbuses. There are local services connecting the town and outlying areas.

The bridge is a 7 span stone bridge and Scheduled Ancient Monument, dating from 1228, which was rebuilt after the flood of 1673 and widened in 1776. It originally had an open air swimming pool.

While markets have been held from at least 1227 In 1918 the foundation was re established in temporary premises and in 1925 Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley, in Farnley Lane opened. Substantial changes were made in the 13th, 14th and 18th century, with the Tower Clock dating from 1793. An 1890 Quaker meeting house on Cross Green is now a Gospel Hall. Other Christian groups meet in members' homes or rented rooms. The Buttercross Belles (Ladies Northwest), Flash Company (Border, Molly, Appalachian & Clog), Hellz Bellz (Contemporary) and Kitchen Taps (Appalachian Step). Drama groups include the Otley Community Players, Otley Youth Theatre (OY), and a thriving arts centre in the former courthouse. There is a poetry society, which meets monthly in the Black Horse Hotel. The town has a Brass Band who perform at many events in the town. It is not a regular contesting band, but won first prize in the unregistered section at their first contest at Hardraw Scar in September 2007 and again in 2008. Since then they have competed in the 1st to 3rd section winning Second prize and Best March in 2014. Otley hosts the annual Otley Folk Festival in September, a Victorian Fayre in December, a carnival in June, and, in May, what is reputed to be the oldest one day agricultural show in the country. An Army Cadet Force detachment is also located in the town. In January 2013 The Guardian newspaper featured an article in its Weekend section entitled Let's move to Otley, West Yorkshire.

The Black Horse Hotel (original demolished, current from 1901 By 1900 there were over 30 inns, and Otley was said to have "a pub on every corner". Today there are 20 pubs in the town although the Roebuck (formerly known as the Spite), the Chevin and the Royalty are on the outskirts, with the Roebuck located in North Yorkshire. Some of the oldest buildings have been demolished or replaced, but the Red Lion on Kirkgate dates from 1745, the Bowling Green from 1757 (originally a courthouse), the Rose & Crown (originally cottages) 1731. The Old Cock on Crossgate (despite its name) has only recently become a pub, but inhabits former cottages from 1757. These are all Grade II listed buildings. The Black Bull in the Market Place, was allegedly drunk dry by Cromwell's troops on the night before the battle of Marston Moor during the English Civil War and has a 15th century well in the beer garden.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Leeds on 95.3 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Harrogate & The Yorkshire Dales on 107.1 FM, Capital Yorkshire on 105.6 FM, Heart Yorkshire on 107.6 FM, Drystone Radio on 102 FM and Rombalds Radio, a community based radio station that broadcast online. The local newspaper is the Wharfedale Observer.

Otley Angling Club was formed in 1897 by local land owners. It controls the fishing on the River Wharfe through Otley and a coarse fishing pond on the outskirts of the town. It runs regular fishing matches on the river and junior matches on the club pond. Otley Athletic Club meets at Otley Cricket Club. Otley Cricket Club, founded in 1820, play in the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League. The club has won the league title 13 times and shared it in 1966. The club has three Senior teams and provides facilities for Juniors from Under 9 to Under 17. The Club play at Cross Green. Otley R. U. F. C. play home matches at Cross Green, which was the venue for the Italy v USA fixture in the 1991 Rugby World Cup. In 1979 Cross Green was the site of a victory by the North of England against the All Blacks. Otley R. U. F. C. finished 5th in National Division One in both the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons but were relegated to National Division Two at the end of the 2006–07 season. The club won National Division Two in 2007–08 and returned to National Division One for the 2008–09 season. Otley Town Football Club has teams in the Premier division of the West Yorkshire League, the Premier division of the Harrogate & District League and the reserves division of the West Yorkshire League. It runs junior teams including two girls' teams. The club is a Charter Standard football club run by volunteers. The Sunday League team, Otley Wharfeside AFC, play in the Wharfedale Triangle Football League. Otley Cycle Club was founded on 27 January 1927. Its patron is Lizzie Armitstead, an international champion cyclist who was born in the town. It meets regularly and hosts a number of races throughout the year. On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the town. On 3 May 2015, the final stage of the first Tour de Yorkshire came through the outskirts of Otley. On 30 April 2016, Otley was the start of the second stage of the Tour de Yorkshire.