The first published version of the words appeared in 1916, when it was described as "a dialect song which, for at least two generations past, has been sung in all parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire".[6] Arnold Kellett judged that the song "could well have originated in the early years of the second half of the [19th] century, and not as late as 1877"Tune
It is sung to the Methodist hymn tune "Cranbrook" (composed by Canterbury-based shoemaker Thomas Clark in 1805); this was published by him in 1805 in "A Sett of Psalm & Hymn Tunes with some Select Pieces and an Anthem", setting the words of Philip Doddridge's "Grace! 'Tis a Charming Sound".[8] It was later used as a tune for "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night"), but the Ilkla Moor song became so popular that the origin of the music as a hymn tune has been almost forgotten in the United Kingdom.[9] quote wiki