Information AboutBradford |
Bradford is a large city within the City Of Bradford Metropolitan District of West Yorkshire , England . A Historic Yorkshire city, Bradford became a Municipal Borough of the West Riding Of Yorkshire in 1847, and received its charter as a City in 1897. The city status was transferred to the metropolitan district when it was formed in 1974. It has a population of 293,717 with the district as a whole having 485,000 inhabitants. By urban sub-area, it is the 11th largest settlement in England. HISTORY The name Bradford is derived from the "broad Ford " at Church Bank (below the site of Bradford Cathedral ) around which a settlement had begun to appear before the time of the Norman Conquest . The ford crossed the stream called ''Bradford Beck'' {Link without Title} . Bradford has long been a centre of the West Riding Wool industry. Bradford was one of the many English towns which became prosperous during the Industrial Revolution . Bradford's textile industry dates back as far as the 13th century, but it was not until the 19th century that it became world-famous. Wool was imported in vast quantities for the Worsted cloth in which Bradford specialised. Other fibres were also processed, e.g., Alpaca . Yorkshire boasted plentiful supplies of Iron Ore , Coal and Soft Water which were used in cleaning raw wool, and a huge coal seam provided the power that the industry needed. Sandstone , Bradford's local stone, was an excellent resource for the building of the mills, and the large population of West Yorkshire meant there was a readily available workforce. A culture of innovation was fundamental to Bradford's dominance in the 19th and 20th centuries. New textile technologies were invented in the city. A prime example being the work of . To support the textile Mills , a large manufacturing base grew up in the city, providing textile machinery, and this led to diversification with different industries thriving side-by-side. For example, Bradford's proud manufacturing history includes the Jowett Motor Company, which had many great achievements during its 50 years existence. The textile industry started to decline in the 1920s, and Bradford has been cited as an example of deindustrialization. However, today a spirit of rebirth has taken hold and Bradford is one of the north's important cities, with modern technology, chemicals, engineering, academic and financial sectors replacing the "dark satanic mills" image of the Industrial Revolution. The grandest of the mills (no longer used for textile production) is Lister Mills , the chimney of which can be seen from most places in Bradford. It has recently become a beacon of regeneration in the city after a £100 million conversion to apartment blocks by property developers Urban Splash {Link without Title} . Salts Mill is another large mill that has an exciting new life in the modern era. The mill is occupied by high technology companies, contemporary design shops and gallery spaces. It is the hub of the World Heritage Site of Saltaire , three miles north of Bradford city centre. The Bradford district also contains the villages of Thornton and Haworth , the birthplace and home of the world famous Brontë sisters. Clayton was home to Albert Pierrepoint , Britain's last hangman. Ever since the Industrial Revolution there have been waves of immigration into the city and today there is a very diverse population (Figures for ethnic origin of inhabitants are given in the entry for the Metropolitan District ). This is reflected in the different types of places of worship built over the years. Nonconformist chapels were frequently built in the 19th century, and mosques started appearing in the 20th century. The city has been praised for its cultural diversity but on occasion conflict has arisen. In January 1989, copies of Salman Rushdie 's '' The Satanic Verses '' were publicly burnt in Bradford, and the city's Muslim community took the lead in the campaign against the book in the UK. In July 2001, ethnic tensions and troubles in other northern towns led to serious rioting in Bradford " Bradford Riot ". Bradford was one of the contenders for 2008 European Capital Of Culture. Although in the end it lost out to Liverpool, the bid created confidence in the city and has led to new initiatives. In 2004, the Bradford Urban Regeneration Company commissioned architect Will Alsop to create a vision for the city's future and the role of a "City Centre" in the 21st century. The audacious (yet controversial) Alsop plan {Link without Title} envisions four regenerated quarters within the heart of the city — The Bowl, The Channel, The Market and The Valley — each creating new public spaces for commerce, education, leisure and showcasing Bradford's setting within the Pennine region. Political history During the English Civil War the town was Parliamentarian in sympathy, but changed hands several times as it was difficult to defend. A life-size statue of Oliver Cromwell decorates the façade of the 19th century City Hall, suggesting a continuing commitment to parliamentary values. However, Bradford did not gain its own MPs until the Reform Act 1832 gave it two. Other prominent statues of political figures include Robert Peel and Richard Cobden (campaigners for Free Trade which Bradford at one time saw as key to its commercial success) and W.E. Forster (perhaps Bradford's most famous MP). Bradford's politicians tended to identify with industrialists in the 19th century, but the city played an important part in the early history of the Labour Party . A mural on the back of the Priestley Centre For The Arts (visible from Leeds Road) commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in 1893. Bradford was incorporated as a Municipal Borough in 1847, covering the parishes of Bradford, Horton and Manningham . It became a County Borough with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888 . The county borough was granted City Status by Letters Patent in 1897. Bradford was expanded in 1882 to include Allerton , Bolton , Bowling , Heaton , Thornbury and Tyersal l. In 1899 it was further expanded by adding North Bierley , Eccleshill , Idle , Thornton , Tong and Wyke . Clayton was added in 1930. The county borough was merged with the Borough of Keighley , the Urban Districts of Baildon , Bingley , Denholme , Cullingworth , Ilkley , Shipley and Silsden , along with part of Queensbury And Shelf Urban District and part of Skipton Rural District by the Local Government Act 1972 . One result of the boundaries of Bradford being widened in this way is that the district is marginal in terms of party political loyalty — at present no group is in overall control of the council. In 1858 a case of poisoning occurring as a result of sweets sold from Bradford's Green Market being adulterated with Arsenic led to legislation such as the Pharmacies Act 1868 and W.E. Gladstone 's regulating of the adulteration of foodstuffs. See The Bradford Sweet Poisoning . INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY Bradford's historical dominance in the textile industry has now waned, however the prevailing low wages and the support of a thriving educational sector continue to create economic success in many areas, notably: Finance (Yorkshire Building Society, Bradford & Bingley plc, Abbey/Grupo Santander, Provident Financial plc), Retail (Morrison's supermarkets, Grattan Mail Order), Electronics (Pace Micro, Filtronic, NG Bailey), Manufacturing (Denso Marston, CIBA Chemicals). EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS The University Of Bradford has over 10,000 students. It received its Royal Charter in 1966, but traces its history back to the 1860s. It has always been a technical and technological institution, and has no true arts faculties; but it still covers a wide range of subjects including technology & management science, optometry, pharmacy, medical sciences, nursing studies, archaeology, and modern languages. Its Peace Studies Department, founded with Quaker support in 1973, was for long the only such institution in the UK. In terms of nationally recognised leading areas of research there are various departments such as Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation, Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, Bradford School of Pharmacy, Peace Studies, Archaeology, Engineering, Management, Biochemistry, amongst others. It balances academic research, teaching quality with a strong tradition of social inclusion. University Of Bradford School Of Management located near Lister Park, is currently rated the 3rd best business school {Link without Title} in the UK. Bradford College has around 26,000 students. It developed from the 19th century technical college whose buildings it has inherited. It now offers a wide range of further and higher educational courses, and is an Associate College of Leeds Metropolitan University . It has absorbed the Art School whose most famous alumnus is David Hockney . is another major private education establishment, located in the Aire Valley at Apperley Bridge. Barkerend Primary School {Link without Title} is situated close to Bradford city centre and occupies its original Victorian building, dating from 1875, as well as another, more modern, building. HEALTH There are two major hospitals in Bradford: Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital . Plus significant local health centres and cottage hospitals. Private health care is also available at the Yorkshire Clinic, Shipley and the Yorkshire Eye Hospital, Greengates. Bradford is home to one of the UK's largest ever birth cohort studies, known as Born In Bradford . Partly supported by European funding, it is the result of close collaboration between the University Of Bradford , the NHS and other institutions in West Yorkshire. It will track the lives of all the babies born in the city from 2006 to 2008 and aim to find solutions to some of Bradford's public health problems, such as Obesity and a higher than average Infant Mortality Rate . DEVELOPMENT Recently many significant developments have been completed in the Bradford district (last 10 years). In addition further large schemes are under construction and proposed. Complete:
Under construction and (proposed):
TWIN TOWNS Bradford's current twin towns and cities are listed at http://www.bradford.gov.uk/life_in_the_community/twin_towns_and_villages:
GEOGRAPHY Bradford is located at (53.7500, -1.8333) 1 . Topographically, it is located in the eastern part of the moorland region called the South Pennines . The Bradford Metropolitan District has an estimated population (2003) of 477,775. About 300,000 of these live within the main city area itself, the rest living in the surrounding towns, villages and countryside. Bradford Beck Unusually for a major city, Bradford is not built on any substantial body of water. The Ford from which it takes its name (Broad-Ford) was a crossing of the stream called ''Bradford Beck''. The beck rises in the Pennine hills to the west of the city, and is swelled by tributaries such as Horton Beck, Westbrook, Bowling Beck and Eastbrook. At the site of the original Ford , just below the present Bradford Cathedral , it turns north, and flows more or less straight towards the River Aire at Shipley . Bradford Beck's course through the city centre is entirely underground, and was mostly so by the middle of the 19th century. On the 1852 Ordnance Survey map of Bradford it is visible as far as Sun Bridge, at the end of Tyrrell Street, and then again from beside the Railway Station at the bottom of Kirkgate. On the 1906 Ordnance Survey, it disappears at Tumbling Hill Street, off Thornton Road, and first appears again north of Cape Street, off Valley Road, though there are further culverts as far as Queens Road. This is substantially the position today. Bradford Beck is now a central element of the Alsop plan to regenerate the city centre. 'The Bowl' is an ambitious project to open up the beck and create a huge pool to act as the pivotal point of the new city centre. The Bradford Canal , built in 1774, took its water from Bradford Beck and its tributaries. This supply was often inadequate to feed the locks, and the polluted state of the canal led to its temporary closure in 1866: the canal was closed in the early 20th century as uneconomic. Like the beck, the canal is about to be rejuvenated in the Alsop plan. 'The Channel' envisions the reopening of the canal and the creation of a new canal-side community. Bradfordale Bradfordale (or ''Bradforddale'') is a name given by geographers to the valley of Bradford Beck (see for example Firth 1997). It can reasonably be regarded as one of the Yorkshire Dales , though as the site of a big city, it is often not recognised as such. CULTURE AND RECREATION Museums and art galleries The city is the location of the most visited museum outside London - the National Media Museum which has 3 cinemas including a gigantic Imax screen. Bradford's main art gallery is housed in the grand Edwardian Cartwright Hall in Lister Park . Salt's Mill has the world's largest collection of David Hockney artworks. Bradford Industrial Museum celebrates and explains the significant achievements in Bradford's industrial past, from textiles to the manufacture of motor cars. Colour was important in the development of the textile industry and the educational Bradford Colour Museum [http://www.colour-experience.org/index.htm is unique in the UK. It is run by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. Festivals Each year the city hosts several successful festivals. In June the {Link without Title} in September/October is the largest and most prestigious in the north attracting big names from the arts and entertainment. There are several Continental Markets and Food Fairs throughout the city and district including the Bradford International Market, a four day spectacular in August. The city has an annual series of important film and cinema events: the Bradford Film Festival in March, Bite The Mango (World Cinema) in September, plus the Bradford Animation Festival held each November. Architecture Bradford's oldest building is the Cathedral , which for most of its life was a parish church. Few other Medieval buildings have survived apart from Bolling Hall , which has been preserved as a museum. Bradford boasts some fine (with statues of rulers of England unusually including Oliver Cromwell ), the Wool Exchange (now used as a bookshop), and a large Victorian cemetery at Undercliffe. Little Germany is a splendid Victorian commercial district just east of the city centre which takes its name from 19th century immigrants who ran businesses from some of the many Listed Buildings . Following decades of decay there have been successful conversions to office and residential use. In mid-2005 renovation began on the prominent Eastbrook Hall in Little Germany. Like many cities, Bradford lost a number of notable buildings to {Link without Title} . Theatre There are four theatres in Bradford: The Alhambra was built in 1914 for theatre impresario Frank Laidler, and later owned by the Moss Empire group ( Oswald Stoll and Edward Moss ) and refurbished in 1986; The Studio is a smaller studio theatre in the same complex. Both of these are operated by Bradford Council . The Theatre In The Mill is a small studio theatre in the University Of Bradford which presents both student and community shows and small-scale touring professional work. The Priestley Theatre is a privately run venue with a medium-sized proscenium theatre and a small studio. Among the professional theatre companies based in Bradford, are
Groups and organisations teaching theatre include
Amateur theatre groups include:
Music and dance St George's Hall is a grand concert hall, designed by Lockwood And Mawson , dating from 1853. The Hallé Orchestra have been regular visitors over the years, as have a wide range of popular entertainers including Ken Dodd . It is sometimes used for theatrical productions. Though the University does not have an academic music department, it has a ''Fellow in Music'' who organises a range of playing and performing groups, and regular concerts around the university, in venues such as the Tasmin Little Music Centre, and the ''Yorkshire Craft Centre'' at Bradford College ; there are also occasional concerts further afield, in venues such as Bradford Cathedral . Although Bradford was home to composer Frederick Delius , there are no prominent professional music ensembles based in Bradford at present. There are some prominent amateur groups, such as the ''Bradford Festival Chorus''. The Topic Folk Club has been in existence since 1956, though it has changed the pub it meets in every few years. It currently meets in the ''Cock and Bottle'' on Barkerend Road, on Thursday nights. ''Jazz at The Priestley'' is a long-running series of jazz evenings in the Cellar Bar of The Priestley on Friday nights. ''Boar's Head Morris Men'' were a (mainly Cotswold) morris side in Bradford from the early 1970s until 2006. ''Persephone Ladies Morris'' are still active, as are ''Rainbow Morris'' in Shipley , and clog side ''Clogaire''. Mono is a monthly rock Fanzine published in Bradford, covering the local alternative/independent rock music scene. Fabric Fabric is the arts development organisation for Bradford representing artists and creative organisations in all art forms, promoting and developing their work and lobbying on their behalf. http://www.fabric-artsforum.org.uk Cinema The National Media Museum celebrates cinema and movies. It contains an Imax cinema, the Cubby Broccoli Cinema, and the ''Pictureville'' Cinema - described by David Puttnam as the best cinema in Britain {Link without Title} . The museum has a rich and varied programme of films from around the world. Traditional , on the outskirts of Bradford, to replace the old Odeon next to the Alhambra, which was the recent focus of protests by Bradfordians who didn't wish to see this building close. The operates from the University's Great Hall. Bradford is bidding to become a UNESCO City of Film. Nightlife Since around 2000, several clubs and theme Pub s have opened in the ''West End'' of Bradford, around the Alhambra Theatre , turning what was previously a fairly quiet area into one that is often crowded and vibrant at night. Hotels Bradford has a number of Architecturally historic hotels that date back to the establishment of the two railway lines into the city centre, back in Victorian times. The Victoria Hotel and the Midland Hotel were built to accommodate business travellers to the city from Scotland, the Midlands, and London, arriving at Forster Square and Bradford Victoria station (later to become Bradford Interchange , during the height of the woollen trade. Parks and countryside Within the city district there are 37 parks and gardens. Lister Park with its boating lake and Mughal Water Gardens, was voted Britain's Best Park for 2006 {Link without Title} . Peel Park is the venue for the annual Mela — a celebration of eastern culture. And Bowling Park is the site where the annual Bradford Carnival takes place, celebrating local African and Caribbean culture. Beauty spot Chellow Dene has two Victorian and moors above Haworth known internationally for its connection with the Brontë Sisters . Sport Bradford has a long and proud history in sport, especially rugby league, football and cricket. The city has a long rugby tradition, and Bradford Bulls (formerly Bradford Northern ) are one of the most successful Rugby League clubs in the world. Currently (2006) World Club Champions and 7 times winners of the Rugby League Championship . The home of the Bulls is Grattan Stadium, Odsal (formerly Odsal Stadium) in the south of the city. Football also has a rich heritage in Bradford. Bradford (Park Avenue) and Bradford City are passionately supported. On May 11 1985 , 56 people were killed at a fire at Valley Parade , home of Bradford City . Centenary Square now contains a monument to the Bradford City Disaster . The fire led to new legislation to increase safety in all the UK's sports grounds. The Valley Parade name has recently been officially changed to the Intersonic Stadium , following a £1million pound sponsorship investment. The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is just across the road from Grattan Stadium, Odsal . The sports facilities at the University are also open to the public at certain times. Local groups and societies Bradford's former importance as a centre of international trade led to the creation of the Bradford Circle for Foreign Languages {Link without Title} , which still survives today and is possibly unique among similar clubs in that it owns its own premises. Also following the closure of the Bradford trolleybus system, The was founded to preserve Bradford's trolleybuses. Newspapers The '' Telegraph And Argus '' is Bradford's daily evening newspaper, published six days each week from Monday to Saturday. It is known locally as the "T&A". Local radio Bradford was one of the first areas of the UK to get a local commercial radio station Pennine Radio in September 1975. Today this is The Pulse Of West Yorkshire and Pulse Classic Gold . As of 2006 Bradford Community Broadcasting based in the city centre has broadcast on full-time Community Radio license around Bradford and the Aire Valley. RELIGION The City Of Bradford and surrounding Districts are home to a wealth of places of worship that contribute to the region's Cultural Heritage . These include Sikh and Hindu Temples , Synagogues but mostly Christian churches and Muslim Mosques . Due to there being significant Pakistani (and to a lesser extent, Bangladeshi populations) throughout the city, Islam is a prominent religion, particularly in inner city areas such as Manningham and Girlington . As well as there being a significant Muslim population in the city, there are also many immigrants from India which contribute to both the Sikh and Hindu populations in Bradford . The area of Leeds Road probably boasts the largest Sikh population in the city, which can be seen from the several Gurdwaras in the area. Furthermore there is also a small Jewish population, despite the fact that over the years many of them have tended to leave Bradford, preferring various parts of Leeds instead, particularly the area of Alwoodley and Moortown . However several Synagogues can still be found in the city, such as the one in Manningham . The district has a tradition of Nonconformity which is reflected in the number of chapels erected by Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists etc. The city was a major centre of the House Church movement in the 1980s , and the Christian charity Christians Against Poverty was founded in the city. Two carved stones, probably parts of a Saxon preaching cross, were found on the site of Bradford Cathedral. They indicate that Christians may have worshipped here since Paulinus Of York came to the north of England in AD 627 on a Mission to convert Northumbria. He preached in Dewsbury and it was from there that Bradford was first evangelised. The vicars of Bradford later paid dues to that Parish . Religious buildings Bradford Cathedral See Also: Bradford Cathedral The most prominent Christian church in Bradford, is Bradford Cathedral , originally the Parish Church of St Peter. The parish of Bradford was in existence by 1283, and there was a stone church on the shelf above Bradford Beck by 1327. The Diocese Of Bradford was created from part of the Diocese Of Ripon in 1919, and the church became a cathedral at that time. Other Christian churches There are many fine churches in the Bradford area, some of them Listed Buildings , and also many buildings that were formerly churches but now in other uses. In 2006 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds proposed to close half the Roman Catholic churches in Bradford for demographic reasons {Link without Title} . Several immigrant communities from central and eastern Europe have their own churches, such as the Ukrainian Bazilian Fathers and the Polish Roman Catholic Church. Mosques Since the 1960s Bradford has had a significant Muslim population, and accordingly there are many Mosques throughout the city. Some were converted from churches or other buildings, but there are several purpose-built mosques as well. The largest of these mosques is probably Hanfia Masjid in the majority Muslim area of Manningham . Hindu temples There are two Hindu temples, the Hindu Cultural Society of Bradford on Leeds Road and the Hindu Temple & Community Centre on Thornton Lane {Link without Title} . Sikh temples There is a prominent Sikh community in Bradford, with 6 Gurdwara's(sikh place of worship) around the city. The sikh festival of Vaisakhi is also celebrated on the 14th of April of every year, this sees sikhs from Bradford and the surrounding area travel to each of the Gurdwaras in the city in a procession called a nagar kirtan. There are 3 gurdwara's in the Leeds Road area of Bradford alone, Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara being the biggest of these and it is located just off Leeds Rd on Gobind Marg. There is a Ramgharia Gurdwara on Bolton Road and Guru Nanak Gurdwara is on Wakefield Road at the corner of Usher Street. Synagogues The Jewish community in Bradford was strong in the middle to late 19th century, but is smaller today and many families have moved to the near-by city of Leeds . There is a 19th century Reform Synagogue in Bowland Street in the Manningham area. This, "The oldest Reform synagogue outside London",European Day of Jewish Culture and Heritage, 5 September 2004, leaflet issued by the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage was established by German Jews who had moved to Bradford for the wool trade. According to historian Shatman Kadish, "The city of Bradford was unique in that it boasted a Reform synagogue before it acquired an Orthodox one". |
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