Brief History of Wibsey [Wisbee]
During the English civil war in 1641, troops amassed in a field, we now call that field Wibsey park, they stayed in tents waiting for their orders to besiege the town of Bradford. In 1902 park gardeners found remnants of the tents in the soil when digging the land to plant trees and flowers.
In 1783 there was a riot in Bradford [must be something in the water] as a direct result of the riot two men were hanged on beacon hill in Wibsey, their names were Mark Sattonstall and Thomas Spence.
There used to be a windmill in Wibsey, it was situated at the back of the windmill public house, the pub is still there but the windmill is long gone, the old windmill was attended by a man called Mathew Burnan, known locally as the "old milner" [miller] his wife, an old woman, became a celebrity in the neighbourhood as a fortune teller and was known only as Jenny Milner. She was commanding in person and of good address, but she was an ignoramus in regard to the knowledge of astrology. Cards, coffee grounds and tea leaves were her "mediums" and furnished her with information of past incidents and future destinies. Her fame however, was great. She was consulted by all classes and tell it not in gath! carriages from Bradford and many other places might often be seen standing at her door! Her sign was a long whitewashed chimney and parties in search of the white chimney might frequently be seen in the village.
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