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To the End of the 18th Century
Wilsden is a village of ancient origin, although there is no evidence about the number or exact location of its earliest inhabitants. There must have been a Saxon presence for the Domesday survey shows that Gamalbarn held taxable land here. The area was part of the King's land at that time, though later annexed by the powerful baron, Ilbert de Lacy. Later, parts of Wilsden were granted to the abbeys of Byland and Kirkstall.
After the Dissolution of the monasteries, and various sales and enclosures of land, Wilsden grew as a farming community, looking very different from its present shape. Housing was not focussed along a closely built up main road, but consisted of separate clusters of farms at Hewenden, Hallas Bridge, Mytholme, Wilsden Hill, Norr, Wilsden Lee and Ling Bob.
