the "domesday book", of 1086, records ilkley ("ilecliue/illecliue/illiclei/illicleia") as being in the possession of william de percy 1st baron percy. the land was acquired by the middelton family of myddelton lodge, from about a century after the time of william the conqueror. the family lost possession through a series of land sales and mortgage repossessions over a period of about a hundred years from the early 19th century. the agents of william middelton (1815–1885) were responsible for the design of the new town of ilkley to replace the village which had stood there before.