Sitting in the north-east of Bradford, Greengates is a small suburban area in West Yorkshire, bordered by Idle and Thackley to the north-west and Thorpe Edge to the west. Ravenscliffe lies to the south, with the village of Eccleshill beyond it. Apperley Bridge is to the north, and just across the boundary into the Leeds Metropolitan District sits the village of Calverley to the east. Bus services connect Greengates to Bradford city centre, Leeds, Keighley, and surrounding communities, with routes operated by First Bradford and the Keighley Bus Company running along the main roads through the area.
Industry and Commerce
Greengates has a long association with textile manufacturing, shaped in part by its proximity to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which passes through Apperley Bridge to the north. Robin Mills at the western end of Greengates was originally a base for producing knitting wool yarns and is now divided into industrial units, with a large portion occupied by Storey Evans, a printer of cartons, leaflets, and labels for the pharmaceutical sector. Nearby, Albion Mills – a historic textile mill destroyed by fire on 10 March 1911 and subsequently rebuilt – now contains office accommodation and business units. Within the Albion Mills complex is the Speedmaster Conference Centre, a racing car themed venue opened in April 2008 by Sir Stirling Moss, which was previously notable for its classic and competition car showroom.
Local Landmarks and History
A large cenotaph war memorial at the main crossroads commemorates those from Greengates and surrounding villages who died in both World War I and World War II. On Harrogate Road, north of the crossroads, is a substantial Anglican church dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, alongside Optegra Yorkshire Eye Hospital and Bettersight Advanced Eye and Vision Consultancy. In 1928, a purpose-built 595-seat cinema was constructed on New Line for the Greengates Cinema Company; it closed in 1959 and the site is now an Asda supermarket. The Bradford trolleybus routes were extended from Idle to Greengates in 1931, running along Albion Road and Leeds Road. Several listed buildings are found across the area, at Beck Bottom, Carr Bottom Road, Haigh Hall, Harrogate Road, New Line, and Stockhill Fold. Greengates falls largely within the Idle and Thackley ward, with a portion in the Eccleshill ward, and is represented in Parliament as part of the Bradford East constituency. Two primary schools serve the area: Greengates Primary School, which relocated to a new building on Leeds Road with its former premises converted to fashion business use, and Parkland Primary School, situated immediately behind Albion Mills and also serving the neighbouring Thorpe Edge estate.