Hot on the heels of “Death In Addingham” comes a new title from Addingham Civic Society: “Samuel Cunliffe Lister: Bradford’s Most Eminent Victorian”.
But what you may well ask has he got to do with Addingham? Well, rather a lot! He was baptised in St Peter’s Church here in the village. His family built most of the big houses. Had his Grandmother had her way, he’d have become Rector of St Peter’s himself. After he’d made one of his fortunes, he came to live in Farfield Hall. And when he finally died after a long life of 91 years, he was buried in a special family crypt at the back of St Peter’s.
Amazingly this very significant man, with as many as 150 patents to his name, and the ownership of both Low and High Mills, no one had written his biography. Chris Cobley, author of “Death In Addingham”, decided that this was too good a story not to tell, and began to research Samuel Lister’s life...
It was Lister who sold what is now Lister Park, formerly his family home. He then contributed the bulk of the cost to build the Cartwright Memorial Hall, now the city’s art gallery. To make his fortune he had developed the first functional wool-combing machine and built the huge Manningham Mills above Lister Park, which became the largest silk-weaving factory in Europe. At its height it employed 5,000 and in total Listers employed there and elsewhere 11,000 staff.
“Samuel Cunliffe Lister: Bradford’s Most Eminent Victorian” will be out for sale at £8 in time for Christmas: an ideal gift for anyone with an interest in the village’s history.
All our publications are available to buy locally and you should contact Chris Ensor at
In addition we have indicated which of our publications are available via Amazon. The price for these books does not include shipping. Please click on the publication image to go directly to the purchase page on Amazon.
Please contact Chris Ensor £1.50
We have a great little leaflet of the Addingham Blue Plaques Trail, 17 Plaques in total.
Please contact Chris Ensor £4.00
Published in Feb 2019 this short booklet is a must for those interested in the history of this iconic Village Pub. Sadly, at the present time (Feb 2021) it remains empty but hopefully it will reopen and once again thrive.
Amazon £6.00 or £5.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
Before 1750 Addingham was a small farming community but during the next 100 years the village was transformed by the coming of the textile industry.
Please contact Chris Ensor £5.00
This is a companion volume to Addingham Houses 1750-1850. There are some notable houses in the parish which go back much further than 1750. The main focus of this book is houses situated on or near the Main Street but for completeness houses on the Moorside are also covered.
Amazon £12.00 or £10.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
From Addingham, a village with a population of less than 2000, over 400 men marched to fight in the 1914-18 war. This book tells about the families and their men who went to war.
Amazon £6.00
Addingham was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. It saw the development of some of the earliest worsted spinning mills in Yorkshire. This book tells the story from when woolcombers and weavers worked in local farmhouses to the time when Addingham was a large industrial centre, to the closure of the mills in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Amazon £6.00 or £5.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
Addingham’s Most Inventive Engineer. Inventor of textile machinery and unique motorcycles for his successful attempts to master cross-country trials riding.
Please contact Chris Ensor £10.00
The village was mentioned as early as 875 when the Archbishop of York took refuge here. Since then Addingham became important for farming and textiles, and boasted the world’s first successful mill-spun worsted yarn. It is now entering a new phase as a commuter village at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales.
Please contact Chris Ensor £4.00
This book describes the ‘Manor Garth’, which is a green field at the heart of the rural village of Addingham in the Yorkshire Dales. Patterned by paths and becks it contains a wealth of wild flowers, grasses and trees. It holds a long history, extending into neighbouring parts of the village with dwellings and barns dating back to about 1450. The author details archaeological evidence which is significant such as earthworks and fragments of timber framed houses.
Amazon £6.00 or £5.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
This study looks at the three unique and fascinating cemeteries in Addingham, Quaker, C of E and Methodist. Looking at each cemetery in turn and dwelling on their most remarkable features. The section on St Peter's Church poses a question about whether or not the Rector committed suicide in 1789. Contains a brief biography of Addingham's most famous, some say notorious son, Samuel Cunliffe-Lister, who gave Bradford both Manningham Park and the money to build the internationally known art gallery, Cartwright Hall. Instead of a mausoleum, the Listers built a crypt in St Peter's, and in this Samuel Cunliffe-Lister, first Baron Masham of Swinton, was buried. Even in death, class distinctions were preserved in each cemetery.
Please contact Chris Ensor £0.50
A nice easy walk around the village and local beauty spots taking in local historic points of interest. The total trail is approx. 3 miles and should take one hour.
Amazon £6.00 or £5.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
Present day Addingham is very different to what it was during the Second World War and the 1950s. This book describes the everyday life of two young girls growing up on Main Street during the war.
Amazon £12.00 or £10.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
A collection of circular walks of various lengths from the village of Addingham, West Yorkshire. The walks radiate out from the village; north to Beamsley Beacon and historic Bolton Abbey, east to Ilkley, south to Rombald’s Moor, west to Counter Hill and to points in between. Two walks are mainly within the village itself, including a trail round the village.
Please contact Chris Ensor £5.00
This is the story of an English Orchard from its inception to the present day. Its design and the Fruit Collection it contains is based on a 17th & 18th century Rectory Orchard which were planted to provide fruit for the Parish.
Please contact Chris Ensor £2.00
This wonderful book was put together following a photographic competition held by the Society in 1990. These old photographs give a ‘glimpse’ of the past in both Work and Play in the Village.
Please contact Chris Ensor £5.00
Shortly before his untimely death local resident Will Varley put together a draft of a walk he had designed describing local geology from the village up to Addingham Moorside. It has been completed at his request by Judith Ellis and by members of the Environment Group and is now available as a booklet.
Amazon £15.00
Published in 2008 it is a detailed study of our local history, a fascinating publication.
Amazon £6.00 or £5.00 if ordered through Chris Ensor
This book describes ways in which villagers worked for the war effort at home, in the Civil Defence, Home Guard or ARP (Air Raid Precautions) and other organisations. It continues with a diary of wartime newspaper reports, followed by detailed information about the lives, and deaths, of the men from Addingham who lost their lives in the 1939 to 1945 conflict.
Amazon £7.50
This book tells the story of the mill, the people who worked there, what they did, what equipment they used and what the mill produced in both its phases.
There is considerable emphasis on the people and the families, much of the information coming from the four-times-great-grandson of Fentiman and many members of the extensive Brear family.
