Otley in 1843
Otley, a small market-town in the West Riding, in the wapentake of Skyrack and parish of Otley, 205 miles from London and 30 miles west by south from York. The town is pleasantly situated on the south bank of the river Wharf. The church has accommodation for 900 persons. The north door, which has a plain circular arch, is supposed to be Saxon, and there are several ancient monuments in the interior. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Craven and diocese of Ripon, in the gift of the crown, of the net annual value of £60. There are places of worship belonging to the Methodists and Quakers. There is a free grammar-school, which was founded by Thomas Cave in 1611, but the lands with which it was endowed were let on a lease for 999 years, at a rent of £26, 13 shillings, 4 pence ; in 1833 the lands were let for upwards of £200. Of the free income of the school, £20 was paid to the master, and £6, 13 shillings, 4 pence to the usher: it contained 25 males and 6 females ; and there were 8 other daily schools.
The market is ancient, and is supplied with a very large quantity of corn and other agricultural produce. Woollen manufacture was formerly carried on to some extent, but has been removed to situations more contiguous to fuel and inland navigation. The population in 1831 was 3,161, and in 1841 it was 3,445. |