Ben Rhydding is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Ilkley urban area and civil parish.
The village is situated on a north-facing valley side beneath the Ilkley Moor and above and to the south of the River Wharfe. It was in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.
History
The village's former name was Wheatley.
In the 19th century it was noted for its hydropathic establishment, the Ben Rhydding Hydro, which opened on 29 March 1844
[Durie, Alastair J Water is best: the hydros and health tourism in Scotland 1840-1940 (John Donald, 2006) p.14] at a cost of £30,000.
It was the third major hydropathic establishment in England, "perhaps the most deeply respected and certainly the longest-lived".
[Price, R. (1981), pp.273-74] Ben Rhydding, the name given to the establishment, also given to the railway station built to serve it and by which the village subsequently became known, is allegedly the ancient name of the uplands above Wheatley. In a 1900 history of Upper Wharfedale, a footnote describes the circumstances, citing Collyer's
History of Ilkley:
Amenities
Ben Rhydding is served by a railway station, public house, two petrol stations, two churches and local shops but relying on nearby
Ilkley for shopping and civic facilities.
Sport
Ilkley Town A.F.C. is a football club based at Coutances Way, and compete in the Northern Counties East League.
Ben Rhydding Hockey Club is a field hockey club that is based at Countances Way, and competes in the Men's England Hockey League, the Women's England Hockey League, the North Hockey League and the Yorkshire & North East Hockey League.
Ben Rhydding Cricket Club is also based at Coutances Way.
See also
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Listed buildings in Ilkley
External links
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Conservation Area Assessment for Ben Rhydding, dated 2003, from the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
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Memorials from Ben Rhydding, by John Pringle Nichol, published by Charles Gilpin, 1852
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Ben Rhydding: the principles of hydropathy and the compressed air bath, by 'A graduate of the Edinburgh university', published by Hamilton Adams & Co, 1858
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Ben Rhydding described in Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland, 1861, from Google Book Search
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Ben Rhydding: the Asclepia of England, by Rev. R. Woodrow Thomson, published by John Shuttleworth, 1862
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