Cottingley (Bingley): what to know before moving day
Cottingley Bridge was a hamlet of its own in the early 19th century, and the old road to Bingley crossed the river there. Two listed houses survive near it: Cottingley Bridge House, an early 18th-century stone house of seven bays with cellars, and Tan House Farmhouse, a late 17th-century gritstone house. The streets off Bradford Road here are residential roads such as Grange Park Road, Ghyll Wood Drive, Westwood Crescent and Roundhill Avenue, with Cottingley Business Park close by.
The old village grew round St Michael's Church, Cottingley Town Hall and the Sun Inn. The town hall, built in 1864 to 1865 as a combined chapel and hall, is Grade II listed, and a regeneration project around St Michael and All Angels added a surgery, a nursery and 50 new homes. The primary school is on Cottingley Moor Road and Dixons Cottingley Academy is the secondary. Old coal pits are marked either side of Cottingley Cliffe Road on the 1852 map, and Cottingley Beck runs in a deep, rocky channel down to the Aire; the girls' fairy photographs were taken in that dell.
How the van gets to Cottingley (Bingley)
The A650 now bypasses Cottingley to the north: the Bingley Bypass from Cottingley to Crossflatts, named Sir Fred Hoyle Way, opened in 2003 and meets the old route at the Bankfield roundabout. The old road through Cottingley Bridge is now the B6265 Bradford Road, one-way in places, and the B6146 Cottingley New Road leads from it into the village and on to Sandy Lane.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 15 to 25 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Cottingley (Bingley)
Each service below links to its Bingley page, which covers how the job works in and around Bingley.
Cottingley (Bingley): questions before you book
Why does Cottingley have a Bingley postcode?
It is in the BD16 district, which covers Bingley. It is also in Bradford district, so bins and council tax go to Bradford Council, and the part around Cottingley Bridge, BD16 1NH, is in Bingley parish and the Bingley West ward, under Bingley Town Council.
Is there a street named after the fairies?
Yes, Fairy Dell is one of the residential roads near Cottingley Bridge. The story of Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths's 1917 photographs is still marked by the village's Cottingley Fairy Fest.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): BD16 1NH is in Bingley West ward, Bradford, parish of Bingley
- Cottingley, Bradford (Wikipedia): between Shipley and Bingley, Cottingley Fairies 1917 in the dell of Cottingley Beck, Cottingley Fairy Fest, St Michael's Church, the Town Hall and the Sun Inn, Cottingley Bridge a separate hamlet in the early 19th century, A650 bypass north of the village from 2003, Cottingley Beck's deep rocky channel, coal pits by Cottingley Cliffe Road on the 1852 map, regeneration project with 50 homes, Town Hall grade II, primary school on Cottingley Moor Road, Dixons Cottingley Academy
- Listed buildings in Bingley (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List for England): Cottingley Bridge House, early to mid 18th century, seven bays with cellars; Tan House Farmhouse, late 17th century, gritstone; Town Hall, Cottingley, 1864 to 1865, combined chapel and town hall
- A650 road (Wikipedia): Crossflatts to Cottingley Bingley Bypass opened 2003, old course now the B6265, meets the old route at the Bankfield roundabout in Cottingley
- Micklethwaite, Bradford (Wikipedia): Bingley Town Council created in April 2016
- OpenStreetMap map data (API extract): A650 Sir Fred Hoyle Way, B6265 Bradford Road (one-way sections), B6146 Cottingley New Road, Grange Park Road, Ghyll Wood Drive, Westwood Crescent, Roundhill Avenue, Fairy Dell, Cottingley Bridge, Cottingley Business Park