The constituency was created in 1868 when the West Riding of Yorkshire was redistributed from two divisions into three.
The Eastern division was replaced by six new single-member constituencies: Barkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Otley, Pudsey, Ripon and Spen Valley.
The Reform Act 1867, as amended by the Boundary Act 1868, defined the constituency as the wapentakes of Claro, Skyrack, Barkston Ash and Osgoldcross with the part of Morley not in the Northern division.
The other areas included a number of small towns and the surrounding rural parishes.
Before the introduction of the secret ballot, in 1872, votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration.