Bilton, Harrogate
| Bilton | |
|---|---|
 Bilton
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| Bilton shown within North Yorkshire | |
| Population | 5,409 (2011.Ward) |
| OS grid reference | SE305572 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HARROGATE |
| Postcode district | HG1 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Bilton is a suburb of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, situated to the north-east of the town centre.
Bilton was first recorded (as Billeton) in the Domesday Book in 1086. The name is of Old English origin and means "farmstead of a man named Billa".
Bilton was historically in the parish of Knaresborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It formed a township with Harrogate, and in 1866 the township of Bilton with Harrogate became a civil parish. When Harrogate became a municipal borough in 1894, Bilton remained outside the borough and became a separate civil parish. In 1896, Starbeck was separated from Bilton to form a new civil parish. In 1938 the civil parish was abolished, and most of Bilton was added to Harrogate.
In 1848 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway was opened through Bilton, although no station was built there. The line crossed the River Nidd on the northern boundary of Bilton by a stone viaduct. In 1908 a narrow gauge railway was constructed from the main line to carry coal to the gas works next to the Little Wonder roundabout. The line was closed in 1956, and with the tracks having been removed the only remains of the line are some walls and the underground tunnels that carried the trains. A small museum was opened in the neighbouring New Park School, where the line used to come out above ground. Between 2007 and 2008 the school created a garden, known as "The Secret Railway Garden", to commemorate the line.
The area of Bilton west of the railway line was developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The parish church of St John, designed by Gilbert Scott, was built between 1851 and 1857. It is now a Grade II* listed building.
The area east of the railway has remained rural, with scattered houses now known as Old Bilton. Bilton Hall, east of Old Bilton, was once a hunting lodge built on the orders of John O'Gaunt in 1380. It later belonged to William Slingsby (who discovered the first spa well in Harrogate). The building was rebuilt in 1853 and is now a care home. It lies on a hill facing Knaresborough.
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Wikipedia