Queensbury is a village in the metropolitan borough and city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Perched on a high vantage point above Halifax, Clayton and Thornton and overlooking Bradford, Queensbury is one of the highest parishes in England, with views beyond the West Yorkshire conurbation to the hills of Brontë Country and the Yorkshire Dales to the north and north west. Its population of 8,718 in 2001[2] increased to 16,273 in the 2011 Census.[1]
Queensbury was originally known as Queenshead, a name derived from a local public house, now a house on the High Street, which was popular with travellers on the pack horse route from Halifax to Bradford.
Governance
The village was divided between the township of Clayton in the parish of Bradford, and the township of Northowram in the parish of Halifax, both in the West Riding of Yorkshire.[3] It became a civil parish and urban district in 1894. In 1937 the civil parish was abolished, and the urban district was merged into the new Queensbury and Shelf Urban District. In 1974 the urban district was split, and Queensbury was transferred to the City of Bradford in the new county of West Yorkshire.
Queensbury Ward is a ward in Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, , named after the village. It includes the villages of Clayton Heights and Horton Bank Top as well as several hamlets: Ambler Thorn, Calder Banks, Catherine Slack, Hazel Hirst, Hunger Hill, Little Moor, Mountain, Old Dolphin, Scarlet Heights, Shibden Head and West Scholes.
indicates seat up for re-election.
indicates councillor defection.
indicates a by-election.
2004 boundaries of Queensbury Ward
Black Dyke Mills
Black Dyke Mills was built from 1835 onwards by John Foster as a wool spinning and weaving mill specialising in worsted and mohair fabric, and by 1851 dominated the town. John Foster & Son, the owners of Black Dyke Mills, were responsible for the construction of many of the buildings in and around Queensbury, each being for the benefit of the employees, be it housing/accommodation, shops and leisure facilities. In 1891 the company erected the Victoria Hall in Queensbury for the benefit of its workers and the local community - it had a concert hall, with gallery to seat 650 people, library, billiard room and many other facilities. It also sponsored the internationally famous Black Dyke Mills Band.
The mill has now been converted into individual business units. The company now manufactures elsewhere in the area.
Music
As well as being home to the world famous Black Dyke Band, Queensbury is also noted for its strong musical heritage. Home to the world-class rehearsal studio Backfeed, notable musical residents Giles Stocks and Joe Irish of Jon Jones and the Beatnik Movement, pop-punk trio State of Error, and the bands of the Sherry family, including the nationally successful Scarlet Heights (named after the hamlet), The Bad Beat Revue and Ti Amo.
A short distance from the station on the Halifax line was Queensbury Tunnel, 2,501 yards (2,287 m) in length (the second longest on the Great Northern system after Ponsbourne Tunnel in Hertfordshire), while close by on the Bradford line was Clayton Tunnel at 1,057 yards (967 m). All these lines were closed to passengers in May 1955, later to freight in the 1960s, before finally closing to all traffic in 1972–74.
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