About Collingham

Collingham is a pleasant village based centrally between Leeds, Bradford, York and Harrogate and approximately 2 miles from Wetherby.

A Potted History of Collingham

Much of my research for this history was taken from “Collingham – A Village Scrapbook” by Ken Jones. This book is available from our local newsagents with all the proceeds going to support the Orchard garden & the Glebe, a local charity.

Although there were habitations in Roman times nothing seems to have happened much and Collingham did not get a mention in the Domesday book. In 1379 the village was valued at 15 shillings (75 new pence for younger readers). In 1644 it is reputed that Oliver Cromwell spent a night in the half moon pub. Circa 1730. Dick Turpin spent a few nights in our other pub, The Old Star.

Collingham seems to have really been put on the map in 1705 whenit was inherited by Lady Betty Hastings. She founded the school and became a benefactor to the village church and the village. Tothis day her trusts and charities exist to the benefit of the village. Much of the land and property is owned by these charities.

In 1866 the railway came to Collingham and was used by Royalty on their journeys to Harewood House.

Collingham Today

The railway has gone and much of the traffic bypasses the village using the A1. Today, Collingham is a very quiet and pleasant place to live. We have very little industry and most people who work travel to Leeds, Wetherby, Harrogate or York to do so. The Parish Council is active and meets regularly to discuss the needs of village residents. We have the Memorial Hall which is a venue for many of the local activities which are many and varied. During the summer we attract many visitors, some who will be passing through and some just taking one of our local walks or perhaps fishing in the River Wharfe which runs through the village.

Collingham was a victim of the floods and for some time our onlyway out of the village was through Wetherby. Pictures which were taken at the time of the flooding can be seen in our photo gallery (coming soon). Many houses were evacuated and will remain empty for 12 - 18 months while they are dried out and repaired.

Currently much work is being done on widening the A1 which runs past the village. The work is going to take several years and will have quite an impact on residents as the access roads to Collingham and Wetherby are changed past the village. The work is going to take several years and will have quite an impact on residents as the access roads toCollingham and Wetherby are changed.

David and Jennifer
Collingham-Wetherby.co.uk