Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Bradford

Bradford is a populous city in Yorkshire, 8 miles from Leeds (Yorkshire).

At the beginning of the 19th century it had 6,000 imhabitants, but in thirty years this had grown to 97,000, largely due to the success of the textile industry.

There was a huge building programme in the Victorian period, leading to a collection of fine confident public buildings, including the excellent Gothic City Hall with a campanile rising to 200 feet. Also, there was much interest in social reform, with Bradford being the birthplace of the Independent Labour Party.

Bradford, along with Birmingham and Leicester, has a reputation for superb Indian restaurants, facilitated by its large Asian population.

The National Media Museum is in Bradford.

Bradford Cathedral functioned as St. Peter`s Church, dating from the 14th century, until 1920.

Among the eminent persons born at Bradford are John Braine, novelist; Barbara Castle, politician; Kiki Dee, singer; Frederick Delius, composer; Adrian Edmondson, actor; David Hockney, artist; Richard Illingworth, England cricketer; Jim Laker, England cricketer; and J. B. Priestley, novelist.

The great actor Henry Irving died at Bradford after a performance of "Becket".

Blue Badge Guide Colin Crosby is available to lead Guided Walks around Bradford for groups.