Idle railway station

Idle railway station was a railway station in Idle, West Yorkshire, England.

1. History

During the 1860s, two small railway companies were formed to promote suburban railways in Bradford, the Bradford, Eccleshill and Idle Railway and the Idle and Shipley Railway. Their schemes - and the companies themselves - were taken up by the Great Northern Railway, which built a line looping through the villages to the north-east of Bradford: from Laisterdyke, through Eccleshill, Idle and Thackley to Shipley. The line was open to goods traffic on 4 May 1874, and to passengers on 18 January 1875. Idle railway station opened on 15 April 1875 and was situated south of the High Street next to the Oddfellows Hall, built in 1840. Passenger service on the line ceased on 2 February 1931 and the passenger station closed, though goods traffic continued on the whole line until October 1964 and between Shipley and Idle until 1968. Little now remains to show that there was ever a railway station in Idle. The station was just south of the bridge where the railway crossed High Street at the junction with New Street. It then followed the route of what is now Idlecroft Road south towards Eccleshill.

1. Route


1. References

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Idle Working Men's Club

The Idle Working Men's Club is a working men's club in the village of Idle, a suburb of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The club was established in 1928 by workmen from a local sewage works who found that their shift working arrangements and the pub licensing hours left them unable to have a drink after work. The humorous pun in the club's name has attracted interest from around the world. The club has benefited by granting honorary memberships to people who would not normally fit its criteria for membership. Present honorary members include Mohammed Al Fayed, Paul Gascoigne, Uri Geller and Lester Piggott. Richard Whiteley, Michael Jackson, Tom O'Connor and Roger Moore were also honorary members. In keeping with the tradition of many working men's clubs, Idle Working Men's Club supports a number of charities, most notably the children's cancer charity Candlelighters.

Thorpe Edge

Thorpe Edge is a housing estate located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The estate is situated off Harrogate Road in the north-east of the city, and borders Idle, Five Lane Ends, Greengates and Eccleshill.

Idle, West Yorkshire

Idle is a residential suburban area in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, in the north-east of the city. Historically it was a separate village, and before that it was the Manor of Idle. Idle is about 5 miles (8 km) north of the centre of Bradford and 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Shipley. It is loosely bordered by the areas of Eccleshill, Wrose, Thackley, Apperley Bridge, and Greengates, and also bordered to the north by the River Aire along with the Leeds-Liverpool canal. At the 2021 census, the area of Idle & Thackley had a total population of 17,290 people. The etymology of Idle can be traced back to the Old English word for "Idel", meaning "Empty Space". A myth perpetuates that the etymology of Idle belongs to that of "Idlawe" or "Ide's Hill", referring to an Anglo-Saxon settler called "Ide", however, this is not widely accepted due to a lack of historical evidence. Industry in Idle, according to the 2021 census, consists of retail and wholesale (14.5%), human health and social work activities (14.5%) and education (11.6%) for people living in Idle. Historically, the village achieved some economic success and experienced high population growth during the 19th century due to advances in industrialisation which influenced the widespread textile industry of 19th century Bradford which was also prevalent within the village, evidenced by remnant mills contained within the village to the modern day. The village also had a successful quarrying industry along Idle Moor, a geographical moorland where the modern Idle area is located.

Idle and Thackley

Idle and Thackley is a ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the villages of Idle and Thackley around which it is drawn. The population of 14,541 according to the 2001 UK census had increased at the 2011 Census to 16,135. As well as the villages of Idle and Thackley, the ward includes the villages of Apperley Bridge, Greengates, a small part of the Thorpe Edge housing estate, and a part of Little London near Rawdon.