Historical Bradford

A History of Innovation, Philanthropy, Entrepreneurship and Creativity

Innovation

A textile capital through the Industrial Revolution, Bradford saw the unique model village of Saltaire built by Sir Titus Salt to provide a better life for the workers in his mill, whilst industrialist and inventor Samuel Lister, of Lister’s Mill, counted among his many inventions the Lister nip comb, which completely revolutionised the textile industry.

Anthrax, the deadly wool-handlers disease, was eradicated through the efforts of Bradford-born Doctor John H Bell, and Doctor Frederick William Eurich who conducted his medical research in the Technical College that is now the University of Bradford.

Philanthropy

The Independent Labour Party was founded in Bradford in 1893 as a result of the Bradford Labour Union.

Children were often used as workers in the factories and mills in the 19th Century, but Bradford was the first city to voluntarily impose a ten-hour limit on their working day before it became law in 1847.

A statue of Richard Oastler, known locally as ‘The Factory King’, who was instrumental in passing this law, stands in the city centre.

 

Entrepreneurship

Morrisons Supermarket was founded by 1899, initially as an egg and butter merchant in Rawson Market, operating under the name of Wm Morrison (Provisions) Limited. More recently, Bradford’s innovative output has included automotive (Kahn Design) and electronics (Pace Micro Technology).

Creativity

The cieroscope -  the first combined camera, projector and printer - was invented by Richard Appleton in 1896, and Appleton successfully filmed Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebrations in London in 1897, processed the footage on a modified train carriage, and screened it that same evening in Bradford’s Forster Square to thousands of people, a spectacular feat at the time.

The city’s love of cinema is further evidenced in the building of what was the largest cinema in England outside London in 1930, the New Victoria Theatre, designed by Bradford architect William Illingworth, and built exclusively by Bradford workers and with Bradford firms. In 1983 Britain’s largest cinema screen, the IMAX, opened at the National Media Museum.

 

Bradford today

Bradford was the first of the two UNESCO Cities of Film (Sydney, Australia, is the other), and hosts an international film festival, animation festival and horror festival each year, with other film-related activities here for you to enjoy all year round.

The city also has the world’s first Fairtrade cafe, many independent business (often set up by our Graduates) and the most visited museum outside London, the National Media Museum.

Bradford is perfectly placed, right in the middle of the UK, and with great transport links that mean you can go anywhere you like with ease. Leeds is just 20 minutes away by train and many of our students consider Leeds as an integral part of their social life for big nights out, staying local to Bradford for cosier ones.

In Bradford itself there is art, music, theatre, history, clubbing and great food and drink from all over the world right on your doorstep, provided by the many independent businesses and organisations that thrive in the city.

Bradford is a famously friendly and global city – the perfect place to experience genuine multiculturalism - but at the same time it has also been voted the most English city in the UK for its love of cricket, fish and chips and architectural assets like the old mills of the industrial revolution, and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Saltaire.