Alex Cockshott talks about how Ilkley developed from a rustic village in the early 1800s (population 1801 426) to bustling town.

It was transformed by the fashion for taking the water cure, the arrival of the railway (1865) and the land sales (from 1867).

With population at 7455 by 1901, Ilkley was ready for itsTown Hall, opened 1908.