Explore Keighley Tarn’s transformation: from marshland to a popular Victorian skating destination and later, a boating lake.
Malham Tarn is the largest. It sits above the River Aire’s start. Eshton Tarn is the smallest. It’s near Gargrave.
Another tarn existed near Skipton, near Tarn House. It was off Bog Lane. Seamer Tarn sat east of Cringles, by Silsden. People drained this large tarn in 1698. Now that area is marshy. Reeds grow there, divided by walls.
Redcar Tarn is the most southern. People know it as Keighley Tarn. It has drawn visitors for two centuries. It used to be mostly marshland. A small bit of open water existed.
Ice skating became trendy in the 1800s. Skaters then went there often in winter. Local industrialists formed a skating club in 1865. It grew to nearly one hundred members by 1869.
They cleared reeds for smooth ice. They also built a wooden hut. It had seating and hot drink supplies.
The tarn froze quickly in the cold. It was a safe place to skate. The ice was only three feet deep. Newspapers announced when skating was good. Locals came from within twenty miles.
The club did well early on. So, they built a stone clubhouse in 1874. It cost £280. It even had a room for female skaters. Both members and visitors used the clubhouse. They sold coffee and snacks.
Someone broke into the clubhouse in 1874. Two boys, aged 13 and 16, broke in. They damaged things. They also stole skates. Police caught them. They got one month in jail.
By 1900, people mostly cleared the tarn. They built walls around it. The club cleared soil and weeds in 1901. This person helped pay.
The shallow tarn froze quickly. Hundreds of skaters visited from different cities. People came from Bradford and Leeds too. Special buses ran from Keighley. Skaters used car headlights at night. They kept skating later.
In 1909, the Charity Commission managed the tarn. Conservators maintained and fixed things. The tarn became a boating lake in the 1920s.
Frank Taylor and his wife ran the cafe. He made boats. You can still find boat molds nearby. These are by the old clubhouse site.
Indoor ice rinks opened later on. This ended the tarn’s skating popularity. Bradford Council manages it now. Birds like gulls live there. Some skaters still visit after hard frosts.