Addingham (formerly Haddincham , Odingehem 1086) is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the A65, south-east of Skipton, west of Ilkley, north-west of Bradford and around north-west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is located in the valley of the River Wharfe and is only from the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The name is thought to mean "homestead associated with a man called Adda", although in the Domesday Book, the village was referred to as "Ediham", which may have referred to Earl Edwin of Bolton Abbey. The 2001 census numbered Addingham's population at 3,599, increasing to 3,730 at the 2011 Census.
The area around Addingham is thought to have been populated from at least Bronze Age times, indicated by the 'cup and ring' carved stones that can be found on Addingham Moor. Its beginnings may date back to the late Mesolithic period, as evidenced by the scattered remains of early flint tools across Rombald's Moor to the south.
The earliest of the existing houses were built in the 17th century when the village was a farming community, but the real growth began in the late 18th century and early 19th century when the textile industry arrived and five working mills, plus other loomshops and weaving sheds, were established, and the village developed into a busy industrial community. The village grew up around three centres; Church Street in the east; The Green, about a mile away in the west; and the Old School in between. This is thought to be one of the reasons the village used to be known as "Long Addingham".
Since the decline of the textile industry during the 20th century, the village has now become largely a commuter and retirement community. It is home to an award-winning Medical Centre, a public park, four public houses, several retirement homes and a solitary school, Addingham Primary School.
History
Early history
There is evidence of civilisation around Addingham as far back as the late Mesolithic, Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, as indicated by the remains of early man in the form of flint tools on Rombald's Moor, which may date back to around 11,000 BC. The first 'fixed' artefacts are the 'cup and ring' marked stones, several of which can be found on top of Addingham Moor and Ilkley Moor to the east, which are thought to date back to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, around 1800 BC.
The first evidence of settlements come from the Iron Age – evidence of major tree clearance dating back to 700 BC has been found, as well as quern-stones on Addingham Moorside, which were shaped like small straw beehives and have hence been named 'beehive querns'. While a settlement on the Moorside has never been found, remains of an Iron Age settlement have been found on Addingham Low Moor, today known as Round Dikes. It has been suggested that Round Dikes, along with similar nearby sites Woofa Bank and Nesfield Scar, were summer encampments of the Romans. Little evidence truly remains of the 350 years of Roman occupation, save for the Roman road towards Skipton (now Moor Lane) which, up until the 1800s, was still the primary route between the two settlements.
It is thought that the Craven area, including what now constitutes Addingham, was settled by Anglo-Saxons around 612 AD following the defeat of the local Celtic tribe. Addingham is considered to be one of the earlier Anglo-Saxon settlements because of the ending – inghaem. It is likely that the village was an early Christian centre: Ecgfrith of Northumbria presented the lands in this area to St. Wilfrid in 678 AD, while a letter describing events taking place in 867 AD describes Archishop Wulfhere of York residing in Addingham during the conflict between the Angles and Danes, which suggests there was already a church and a hall in the village – most likely at the site of St Peter's Church – in the 9th century AD.
Middle Ages
The Domesday Book in 1086 places the village in the region of Burghshire and refers to the village as "Ediham". The Lord in 1066 was Earl Edwin of Bolton Abbey ("Bodeltone"), who was Lord of several other surrounding settlements ranging as far west as Skipton, Hellifield and Anley, and may have given his name to the village.
The weir of a medieval corn mill that is located near modern-day High Mill has been dated back to 1315, and is one of the oldest medieval structures in the village. Despite this, the main occupation in the 1370s, when poll tax was levied, was agriculture, iron smelting and blacksmithing.