Otley

Otley is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near Guiseley, by the River Wharfe. In the churchyard there is a large collection of Anglo-Saxon crosses. Buried there is an ancestor of the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Thomas Fairfax who commanded Parliament's forces at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. Thomas Chippendale was born in Otley, and his statue stands in the town. The Wharfedale Printing Machine was developed in Otley by William Dawson and William Payne. An early example can be seen in Otley Museum[?].

The town is in the bottom of the Wharfe valley. The south side of the valley is called The Chevin. To the east and west of Otley there are flooded gravel pits, where sand and gravel have been extracted in the 20th century. The gravel pits to the east are known as Knotford Nook, and are a noted bird watching site.