Otley Victorian Fayre & Otley Ghost Tour
The iconic Otley Victorian Fayre is coming up to its 38th year! It will be taking place, as it always does, on the first Sunday in December, so this year’s will be 7th December (get it in your diary!)
The Victorian Fayre is a longstanding event and a key date on the Otley calendar. Because only growing up as an Otleyensian do you look back to primary school with fond(ish) memories of dressing up as a chimney sweep, belting ‘Food Glorious Food’ before snack time and setting off into the market square to sing traditional Christmas carols with only a flatcap or a bonnet (the scrimpiest piece of cloth available) to warm yer ted in front of what felt like the entire population of the town.
It’s quite weird, honestly. And very unique. So as ghost tour guides, we fully stand by it. Which is exactly why we shall be joining the Victorian Fayre this year with our very own stall. We will be in full Victorian garb (when are we not?) and relishing in the Dickensian nature of the town.
Please swing by to admire our gazebo, pick up a flier and enter our tombola. We will also be running a ghost tour later on at 6.30pm, so do get yourself booked on!
To get into the spirit of the Victorian Fayre, we thought we’d delve a bit deeper into Otley’s rich Victorian history…
The Jubilee Clock
The Jubilee Clock was first built in the year 1887 to celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. Our iconic clock tower is placed on the site of the original market place cross and has since gained several new plaques, including one that was gifted to us by the Belgian refugees who thanked Otley for its hospitality during WWI, and another which commemorates the Diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
2. William Taylor
A drunk, a crook and a murderer. His crimes took place in the days following the building of our clock tower. He’s buried in Otley cemetery after living out his days at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum and is said to haunt the pathway leading out of Gallows Hill. Learn more about this ‘orrible old git here
3. The Navvies Memorial
A very important part of Otley’s history, this memorial is the only one to exist that is dedicated to the lives of the brave workers who built the railway systems in the UK. It’s a replica of the Bramhope tunnel that was built between the years 1845 and 1849. Many of the “navvies” or “labourers” faced prejudice in Otley, and were cast as outsiders, forced to live in uncomfortable wooden shacks along the railway line.
4. The Otley Courthouse
First built in the year 1890, the Otley Courthouse was a new prison, courthouse and police station in Otley. The building itself housed 8 prison cells, which you can book in to visit nowadays - they’re very well preserved. You can even listen to voice recordings of the people who worked there once upon a time. It’s said to be haunted by a rather sinister woman… book onto the Otley ghost tour to learn more about her.
5. Tittybottle park
A park with an ironically extremely appropriate name (!) Tittybottle park was where women chose to breast feed throughout the Victorian era. It was also the death-place for one poor soul: Catherine Taylor, otherwise known as the Wharfedale Widow. She met a rather grisly fate… another one to find out about on the tour
6. The Printing Press
The Wharfedale printing press, invented by Dawson, Payne and Elliot, was a major innovation that made Otley world-famous in the printing industry. It was an invention unlike previous presses, with a revolutionary stop-cylinder machine with a travelling bed that could deliver print without having to be stopped. By 1900, the printing machinery trade was the town's largest industry, employing over 2,000 people.
7. The Irish Fields
Many of the “navvies” who built the Bramhope tunnel were in fact Irish settlers fleeing the potato famine in the 1840s. Lots of the Irish settled on land which was later named the “Irish Fields”, which was partly funded by Thomas Constable who created support for their Catholic worship. There’s a big plaque on the side of All Saints Catholic Church which names many of these Irish settlers who are still remembered in Otley to this day.
The Victorian era played a huge part in Otley’s industrial, social and cultural history. Come and celebrate the dark season with us and step back in time at this year’s Victorian Fayre! Don’t forget your Otley Ghost Tour tickets! 👻
