Egypt, Bradford

Egypt is a hamlet near Thornton, in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

A view of Egypt, with part of the so-called "Walls of Jericho" visible in the foreground

Geography

Egypt is situated about 1 mile (1.5 km) northwest of Thornton on a hairpin bend of a road between Well Heads and a junction with the B6144 road near Wilsden, and at the top (western) end of the marked valley of Bell Dean in which a stream runs roughly in an eastern direction.[1] High walls that were erected to hold back the waste rock from the local quarries flank the road, giving rise to the nickname "The Walls of Jericho".[2]

History

The hamlet was established in the first half of the 19th century and is named on maps surveyed in the late 1840s.[3] Its name may be related to the commemoration of the 1798 invasion of Egypt by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte,[4] or the nearby Egypt Methodist Chapel which was already demolished by 1876.[5] The names of other hamlets in the area such as Jericho, Jerusalem, and World's End are also of biblical origin.[6]

Quarrying was the major industry in the area, with about 30 active quarries reported in the 1870s.[5]

References
  1. Yorkshire CCXVI.NW (includes: Bradford; Clayton; Thornton.) (Map). 1:10560. Ordnance Survey. 1947.
  2. Alison C. Armstrong (1985). "The Walls of Jericho at Egypt, Thornton, Bradford". The Bradford Antiquary. Third series. Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society. 1: 44–49.
  3. Yorkshire 216 (includes: Bradford; Clayton; North Bierley; Thornton.) (Map). 1:10560. Ordnance Survey. 1852.
  4. P.F. Kendall and H.E. Wroot (1924). The Geology of Yorkshire. ii. p. 898.
  5. William Cudworth (1876). Round About Bradford. p. 140. (Reprint: Mountain Press, 1968)
  6. "Thornton Village: History". www.brontecountry.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  • North of Thornton (PDF). City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. June 2010. - Description of a circular walk in the area

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