FOR countless generations Guiseley Wells have played an important role in the town.

The ancient source of water is believed to have supplied the area since Saxon times, and it played a crucial role for hundreds of years.

It is believed the settlement around the area of the spring was named after the Saxon Gislic. The name ley, meaning glade or clearing in a wood, is thought to have been added, so that by the time of the Domesday Book the settlement was known as Gisele.

Over time the Wells fell into disrepair until they underwent a major refurbishment in the year 2000.

This year herb planters have been put in place at a new “pocket park” in Guiseley - one of the first tasks undertaken by the new group the Friends of Springfield Park and Guiseley Wells.

A photograph of the 2000 restoration can be seen, top let, in these images from Aireborough Historical Society. An undated photograph, top right, shows a man getting water from the ancient wells.

Centre and bottom left photographs show the wells before and after the 2000 restoration. The picture at the bottom of the page on the left shows earlier work to clean the wells being carried out by Dennis Williams and J Barratt.