The Navvies Memorial

By Margaret Parkin

An impressive monument in memory of those who died during construction of the Bramhope Tunnel. This is located in the small section of churchyard on the north side of Church Lane.

The unusual design is a replica of the crenellated north portal of the Bramhope Tunnel and is Grade II listed.

Backgound History

In 1845, the Leeds & Thirsk Railway Act received Royal Assent, heralding the invasion of the railway age into Wharfedale and providing a rail link between Leeds and Thirsk. James Bray, an iron and brass founder from Leeds was appointed to oversee the construction of the section between Horsforth and Weeton which had to pass under the ridge separating Airedale and Wharfedale. This necessitated the building of a tunnel at Bramhope, some 2 miles long,  25 feet high and at its deepest point 290 feet under the village. Work began on 20th October 1845. It is reported that at the height of the work some 2,300 men and 400 horses were being used – quarrymen,  stone-masons, tunnellers, labourers and carpenters. Each man worked a 12-hour shift, were lowered down by huge buckets to work in candlelight and were paid around £1.50 per week. Working conditions were constantly wet with foul air, gun-powder fumes and the danger of roof falls.

For four years, the navvies, many of whom bought their families with them, lived in wooden huts called bothies in and around Bramhope. There were often seventeen at a time in each hut, taking turns to share beds in unsanitary conditions. They had travelled to find work from all over England, Ireland and Scotland. As might be expected, given the dangerous working conditions, accidents were frequent and often fatal and it is recorded that 23 navvies were buried in unmarked graves in Otley Churchyard. We know there are more – buried elsewhere.

Navvies Memorial (c) Graeme Bickerdike/Forgotten Relics

In 1849, a memorial to those killed, and known as The Navvies Memorial, was erected in Otley churchyard at the expense of James Bray the contractor, agents and sub-contractors and fellow workmen. Costing £300 it was made of soft Caen stone shipped here from Normandy. Unfortunately, it did not weather well and by 1883 was recorded as ‘being in a sorry state of repair’. But it  was another 30 years before the memorial was reconstructed in more resilient local stone.

1974, the monument was granted Grade II listing by the Department of the Environment, thanks to recommendations from Paul Wood, Christine Dean and Eric Cowling,  under the auspices of the Otley Civic Society. Further restoration was carried out in 1988.

Latest Restoration

In 2017 permission was given to Otley Town Council to take ownership of the monument with a view to its restoration and future maintenance. That work was completed in 2019, driven by the enthusiasm and hard work of local volunteers in the form of Otley Town Council and  Otley Conservation Task Force, with funding from the Heritage Lottery fund, the Heritage Railway Trust, and the Otley Town Mayor’s Charity Appeal; also with private donations from local residents and businesses. It will continue to attract the attention of visitors and local residents alike – being the only known memorial of its kind in the country.

Here is more information about the Navvies Memorial. To mark the monument's restoration a 30 minute film was produced entitled: The Navvies who Built the Bramhope Tunnel
 

One of the tragic deaths during the construction of the tunnel was reported in The Bradford Observer on Thursday 9th July 1846 and this is reproduced below: