The original suspension bridge (above),across the River Wharfe was built in 1897 by the Parish for the people of Beamsley as they came under the church at St Peters. It was necessary because the only two crossings were at Ilkley and Bolton Bridge. A ferry was used further down the river near Low Mill. This bridge was washed away in a great flood in 1936. A more substantial structure was built to replace it, that is one that stands today (top left).

High Mill occupies a place on the river where a cornmill and weir from the 14th century stood, the weir is one of the oldest structure in the village. It was washed away in the 1777 after being damage by a deep frost, this fits in with the 'Mini Ice Age' that Britain had in the mid eighteenth century. It was rebuilt as it is today

This is High Mill as painted by J M W Turner during one of his many visits to Yorkshire. His viewpoint was somewhere near where the Suspension Bridge stands today.