Cottingley England

The Town Hall

The first stone was placed in 1863 for the Town Hall. It was completed and officially

opened on March 21, 1865. The Hall was rededicated on September 30, 1978.

Cottingley or Cottingelaia was named after the Cota or Cotta family and means

meadows of the sons of Cota. Long before the naming of the land, it was the site of a

proud and ancient beginnings. Archaeological evaluations of nearby Bingley North Bog

concluded that the land was a national importance for its near complete vegetation

history from the Ice Age to the medieval period.

Unlike the Cottingley of today with 4,649 (1991 Census figure) inhabitants, the

Cottingley of yesteryear was a quiet and sparsely populated countryside. During the

seventeenth century, the people of Beckfoot was ravaged by The Plague.

Cottingley received its most celebrated time for the turn of the century when Francis

Griffiths and Elsie Wright took photos of cutout fairies behind their house at Cottingley

Beck. This caused worldwide interest and media coverage. Even today people argue

that the photos are genuine. Without a doubt, this one event put Cottingley on the map

and recent adaptations of the story have taken shape in the form of multi-million dollar

Hollywood productions.

The Beck

Pictures above depict how the Beck looks today. The waterfall which enchanted the

girls still runs at the bottom of the garden which now is overlooked by modern housing.

It is easy to understand why the girls spend so many hours playing here. The magical

sound of the waterfall provides an ambience which draws you away from the city life.

Unfortunately, time has taken its toll on the Beck and part of the stream has been

fenced off. A recent ruling declared that the site was too dangerous for public access

after years of tours and visitors. The Beck is on private property.

Elsie's House

Elsie and Frances would spend hours playing in the attic bedroom. They traced images of fairies from Princess Mary's Gift Book which they later photographed using Arthur Wright's Midg 1/4 plate camera.

The Beck was only 70 ft. beyond the garden behind the house.

The house is still standing and has been occupied by several residents.