Overdale, The Bailey, Skipton

Overdale, the residence of Colonel George Robinson, was designed by F J Robinson and built on a greenfield site to the east of Skipton Castle, set a field back from the road from Skipton to Bolton Abbey. Plans were submitted in 1884 and George Robinson was in occupation by 1886. The house is shown on the1939 OS Map but has been demolished subsequently, its former drive becoming Overdale Court. The original coachman’s cottage may survive at the head of the drive.

George Robinson (1835-1907) was the son of Dixon Robinson and brother of the architect, F J Robinson. A colonel in the militia, he had worked his way up through the Craven Bank from clerk to manager. By 1901 (census), he described himself as the Managing Director of a Joint Stock Bank. Dr Geoffrey Rowley, a local historian recorded “Colonel Robinson married 1873 and moved to Dyneley House, Newmarket Street, afterwards building Overdale where he went in 1886 and where he has since resided.” [Rowley Ellwood Collection Book 2 page 82].

Reference        Information from T Robinson by email (confirmationof architect)
Reference        Dr Geoffrey Rowley, Rowley Ellwood Collection Book 2 page 82. www.rowleycollection.co.uk
Reference        Kenneth Christopher Jackson: Skipton-in-Craven 1865-1914, University of Bradford e-thesis