#1Famous people · Ilkley, West Yorkshire
20 famous people were born in Ilkley, more of them performers than in most towns
The best known is the English actress Georgie Henley, with articles in 42 languages. Guy Sigsworth and Alan Titchmarsh follow. From W.A. Stewart to Lorcan Hanafin, the births on the list run from 1882 to 2002. 10 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period.
Born here
20
notable people
Best known
Georgie Henley
in 42 Wikipedia languages
First
1882
W.A. Stewart
Youngest
2002
Lorcan Hanafin
Most common field
Writing & Arts
5 people
What stands out about Ilkley’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Ilkley is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is performers, at 2.3 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Ilkley
Performers take two of the three places.
#1
#2Music
Guy Sigsworth
born 1960English composer, record producer and songwriter
13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Film, TV & Stage
Alan Titchmarsh
born 1949British television show presenter
6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Ilkley’s famous people were born
The 1960s alone account for 4 of the births charted here.
Writing & ArtsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawSportsScience & MedicineMusicMilitaryNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Ilkley
Of the other 17, 5 are writers and artists.
Laurence D. Hurst
born 1965Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the University of Bath
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Thomas Harold Broadbent Maufe
1898–1942Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1898–1942)
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
W.A. Stewart
1882–1953Exponent of modern technical education in the Middle East and painter (1882–1953)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Keighley has the longest list next door: 86.
Keighley · 6 miTom Moore & 85 moreFHBingley · 5 miFred Hoyle & 26 more
Otley · 5 miJulian Sands & 23 moreAMBaildon · 6 miArthur Mitchell & 7 more
Silsden · 5 miDougie Lampkin & 6 moreABSteeton · 6 miArran Brindle & 4 moreWBBurley in Wharfedale · 3 miWalter Burley & 2 more
Menston · 4 miSam Riley & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Ilkley
Who is the most famous person from Ilkley?
Georgie Henley (English actress) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 42 languages. Next come Guy Sigsworth and Alan Titchmarsh.
How many famous people were born in Ilkley?
20 people born in Ilkley have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 23 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Ilkley known for?
Among its famous people, writers and artists: 5 of the 20. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 12% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Ilkley?
W.A. Stewart, born in 1882. The youngest on the list was born in 2002.
Who counts as from Ilkley?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Ilkley’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (14)
- Georgie Henley: Khedara Ariyaratne, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Guy Sigsworth: Chris.elms, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alan Titchmarsh: Phil Guest https://www.flickr.com/photos/philip-rosie (cropped by Heligoland), CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Jones: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Maufe: Basher Eyre, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alice Jenkins: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Laurence D. Hurst: Royal Society uploader, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mae Bacon: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robin Shepherd: Halifax International Security Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Emmott: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Moore: British Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Julian Sands: 5of7, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dougie Lampkin: Juan Fernández, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sam Riley: Manfred Werner - Tsui, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.