Secret Ilkley

Explore Ilkely's secret hidden history through a fascinating selection of stories, facts and photographs.



The beautiful town of Ilkley, situated in the heart of Wharfdale, has been a famous and much-loved tourist destination ever since it was established as a fashionable spa town of the railway age. Home to the oldest literary festival in the north of England, Ilkley is still characterised as much by its Victorian architecture as by the stunning surrounding scenery of open moorlands and green meadows. Secret Ilkley goes behind the façades of the familiar to discover the lesser-known aspects of the town’s long and illustrious past. Local author Mark Hunnebell takes the reader on an enlightening and entertaining journey through the past, delving beneath the surface to reveal dark deeds and strange tales with long-forgotten facts and amusing stories. This book lifts the lid on the hidden secrets that even most local people don’t know.