Shipley is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford and close to Saltaire.

Shipley was also the starting point of the now derelict and filled-in Bradford Canal which joined the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Shipley and ran into the heart of Bradford

It is within the City and Metropolitan Borough of Bradford but is generally considered to be outside the city of Bradford itself (it was outside the pre-1974 Bradford county borough boundaries, forming an urban district in its own right), although the town forms a continuous urban area with Bradford.

Shipley railway station serves the town.

To the North of Shipley, across the River Aire, is a wooded ridge called Shipley Glen (the word "glen" referring to the little valley beneath the ridge). This has long been a popular beauty spot, and in 1895 the Shipley Glen Tramway was built to carry visitors up to the top. The tramway has weathered periods of neglect and even closure, but at present (2005) it runs most weekends, staffed by volunteers.

Shipley also has a World Heritage Site in the village of Saltaire that was designed and built to house the industrialist Sir Titus Salt's workforce. Salt built his mill beside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and was involved in the manufacture of alpaca and woollen cloth. Salts Mill is no longer used for textile production, and is home to the 1853 Gallery which houses some of artist David Hockney's artwork and photography, as well as several shops and businesses, including digital television manufacturer Pace Micro Technology plc. One of the shops is The Home, a high class designer homeware shop which sells Alessi kitchenware and Designer Furniture from the likes of Philippe Starck.

Famous Residents

Academy Award-winning film director, Tony Richardson was born in Shipley. He made such iconic British films of the 1950s & 1960s as Look Back In Anger (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). He was married to actress Vanessa Redgrave, with whom he had two daughters - actresses Natasha Richardson & Joely Richardson.

England spin bowler Jim Laker is from Shipley. He still holds the world record for the amount of wickets taken by one player in a single match of first-class cricket - 19 out of a possible 20, which he achieved at Old Trafford in an Ashes game against Australia in 1956.

TV actor Steven Hartley comes from Shipley. He has appeared in EastEnders, Holby City, The Bill (as Supt. Tom Chandler), and Doctors.

See also

• Shipley Parliamentary Constituency
  
• Shipley (Wikipedia)

Key Links

• Shipley Community Directory
  
• Shipley Business Directory
• Shipley