One of the most striking things a visitor to Bradford might notice is that in stark contrast to many large English cities, it doesn’t have a river. Whilst nearby Leeds has the Aire, Wakefield has the Calder, and Sheffield and Doncaster have the Don, Bradford is notably lacking in waterfronts. This might seem doubly puzzling to anyone who has considered the etymology of the city’s name, and indeed Bradford comes from the Old English “brad” and “ford”, describing a ford across Bradford Beck near the present day site of Bradford Cathedral. Once described as the filthiest river in England, the beck still exists, but can’t easily be seen: it has been culverted beneath the city since the nineteenth century. Bradford was originally a small market town, and like many neighbouring towns, it prospered during the Industrial Revolution, primarily due to the wool industry; city status was granted in 1897. For a while, it an unenviable reputation: twentieth-century de-industrialisation stripped away the textile industry that the city was once famous and brought poverty and deprivation. Waves of immigration during the twentieth century resulted in Bradford being the most ethnically diverse city in Yorkshire, but in 2001 racial tensions led to riots which brought violence to the city and led to hundreds of convictions. Today however, the city’s fortunes have improved: the city centre’s numerous Victorian buildings have largely been restored, and in 2009 it became the first UNESCO City of Film. In 2025, it is due to be the next UK City of Culture, which will surely bring more tourism into the city.
The walk is relatively short (a little shy of 3 miles), allowing time to visit the museum and cathedral that we pass along the way. It starts at Bradford Interchange, the largest of the city centre’s two stations. It has a complex history; built on its current site in 1973 as Bradford Exchange (and renamed Bradford Interchange in 1983) it replaced an earlier station that opened nearby in 1850. Today it serves as both a railway station and a bus station, but is arguably the ugliest major railway station in Yorkshire. From the station, we walk downhill along Bridge Street to the crossroads, then continue straight ahead across Hall Ings before bearing left into City Park. From here, walk to the right around the huge Bradford City Hall, a Grade I-listed building dating from 1870-1873 and probably Bradford’s most recognisable landmark.
Bradford City Hall
On reaching Centenary Square (developed in 1997 to mark – as its name suggests – the city’s centenary), walk anticlockwise around City Park Mirror Pool and fountain (the largest man-made water feature in any city in the United Kingdom), then exit the square onto Godwin Street. Turn left, cross the road to reach the National Science and Media Museum, one of the most visited museums in the north of England. Just in front of the museum is a statue of English novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster J. B. Priestley (1894-1984), who was born in the Bradford suburb of Manningham and is one of the city’s most famous sons.
Turn right in front of the museum and cross Little Horton lane to reach the War Memorial and Queen Victoria Memorial. Continue straight ahead, crossing Morley Street, to reach the Alhambra, a Grade II-listed theatre built in 1913. Continue along Godwin Street, passing the huge former Odeon Cinema on the left. When this was built in 1930, it was the largest cinema outside of the London and the third largest in England. Follow Godwin Street to a crossroads, then turn right along Sunbridge Road, passing Queen Anne Chambers on the right. Turn left along Tyrrel Street, past the Prudential Assurance Building, then left again along Ivegate, Bradford’s oldest street. We continue to follow Ivegate as it becomes Westgate, then turn right along Godwin Street, then turn left along Rawson Place, at the top of which on the left is the former Rawson Hotel. Continue straight ahead along Northgate, then bear right past a statue of Richard Oastler to reach North Parade. Oastler (1789-1861) was actually born in Leeds, and was a Tory radical who was an abolitionist and also known for objecting to the New Poor Law of 1834.
We now turn left along North Parade, then sharp right along Manor Row, passing the former Yorkshire Penny Bank on the corner. Continue along Manor Row, looking out for the former County Court on the right and the former Registry Office on the left. Shortly, the upper entrance to Bradford Forster Square Railway Station can be seen on the left. Bradford’s second railway station, this was opened in 1846 by the Leeds and Bradford Railway Company, rebuilt in 1853 and 1890, and finally rebuilt on its current site in 1990. Turn right opposite the station entrance and follow Duke Street to its junction with Darley Street. Turn left, then left along Kirkgate. Turn right along Piece Hall Yard and follow it to Hustlergate, then turn right, passing the former Bradford Commercial Bank on the corner. Turn left along Bank Street and follow this to Market Street, then turn left and follow the road past the enormous Wool Exchange, a Grade I-listed building dating from 1864-1867. When Market Street reaches a roundabout, turn right, passing the Midland Hotel on the left. Follow Lower Kirkgate, then turn left along Canal Road.
Follow Canal Road to a crossroads, then turn right along Holdsworth Street and then immediately right again to follow a cobbled lane between buildings; this is the line of the former Bradford Canal. The canal was authorised by an Act of 1771 and was completed in 1774. It ran for three and a half miles from Bradford Canal Basin to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley, before finally being closed in 1922; it has subsequently been filled in, although some traces remain. Ambitious proposals have been put forward to restore the canal and thus give Bradford a waterfront, but as of yet have come to nought. On reaching Balme Street, the modern building opposite occupies the site of Bradford Canal Basin. Turn left, then left again along Bolton Road, before turning sharp right and follow Stott Hill to Bradford Cathedral, more formally the Cathedral Church of St. Peter. Another Grade I-listed building, this dates from the fourteenth century and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Bradford City Centre. Turn right into the Cathedral grounds, and after visiting the building continue downhill, bearing right to exit via stone steps onto Church Bank.
Bradford Cathedral
Turn left and walk past the former General Post Office, opposite which is a statue of W. E. Forster (1818-1886), an industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. He wasn’t born in Bradford (hailing, instead, from Dorset), but became its Member of Parliament in 1861. Bear right along Well Street, then left along Currer Street, right along Vicar Lane and right along Burnett Street, passing several listed former warehouses and commercial buildings. This area is known as Little Germany, due to the fact that many of the merchants who built the warehouses hailed from Germany. At the end of Vicar Lane, we cross Hall Ings and then turn right, following a footpath that bears left past a small garden area and ends at Drake Street. Follow this, passing the Great Victoria Hotel on the left, to return to Bridge Street. Finally, we turn left to return to Bradford Interchange.
From Bradford Interchange, our next trip is south along the Calder Valley Line, which links Bradford with the town of Halifax in Calderdale. But an exploration of that metropolitan borough must wait; for now, we make a single stop just one station along the line, at Low Moor…
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