Inquisitive photos take you back to Ilkley in the 1970s

Ilkley in the 1970s: Memories of Victorian cabman’s shelter, Ilkley Lido, White Wells, Cow & Calf Hotel and Crescent Hotel

By Andrew Hutchinson

Specialist Reporter

Published 24th Oct 2026, 04:30 BST

These inquisitive photos take you back to Ilkley in the 1970s. It was a decade which saw a town landmark facing an uncertain future. The Victorian cabman’s shelter which stood proud on a station forecourt was set to be dismantled and stored as its future and ownership was uncertain. Coun Joseph Holden claimed it was given by women in Ilkley so that cab drivers could shelter while waiting for their employers and fares outside Ilkley railway station. “It is such a beautiful old shelter that it seems a pity to let it go,” said Coun Holden who thought it should be painted and left where it was. Ilkley Council had decided to take it down and store at their depot pending a decision on its future. The council did not own it and the last users, present day taxi drivers, had asked that it be removed. The photo is one of 18 charting life around the town in the 1970s. They have each been plucked from the Yorkshire Evening Post archive and in many cases never been seen before having being digitised for the first time. READ MORE: 29 of the finest photos take you back to Ilkley in the 1990s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia

7. Ilkley in the 1970s

June 1972 and this walnut tree, perhaps one of the first to be brought to England, was undergoing tree surgery to make sure that it lasted for many years to come. The specialist carrying out the work at the 16th century Low Hall estimated it was 600-years-old. | YPN Photo: YPN