Time sauced: HP bottle adds flavour to 1904 Exhibition dig
Early 20th century glass sauce bottles, foundations of a concert hall and Somali village and sheep bones were uncovered by archaeologists during a park dig on an exhibition dubbed ‘a piece of lost history of Bradford’.
The 1904 City of Bradford Exhibition, a celebration of the city’s industry, attracted 2.4 million visitors to Lister Park between May and October 1904.
‘Uncovering the Bradford 1904 Exhibition’, led by the University of Bradford, saw a team find footings and foundations of two of the exhibition’s main features, a concert hall and a Somali village, at the Manningham park.
Strong time stamp
Items found during the archaeology work included an empty glass Garton’s HP brown sauce bottle which dated from before 1903 and was found in the broad area of the Somali village. HP Brown Sauce was invented by Nottingham grocer, Frederick Gibson Garton, in 1899, who sold it and was relabelled as HP Sauce in 1903.
Dr Ben Jennings, Associate Professor in Archaeology at the University of Bradford, said: “The Garton's bottle is a really interesting find as it gives us a strong time stamp for some of the features we found in the Somali village area. For fans of other sauces, we did find a Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle, but no Henderson's Relish to be seen.
“The dig has publicised the history of Bradford and the 1904 Exhibition well, telling that story to a wider audience.
“We are happy with what we have found. We had a huge number of public volunteers who took part in the work.”
Other items found during the dig
The jawbone and leg bone of a sheep, believed to be from the Exhibition’s Somali village, were also found during the archaeological investigation work.
A glass Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle, dated from between 1918 and 1935, fixings the size of a football boot stud used on the concert hall building, glassware, ceramics and a glass medicine bottle were also discovered.
What was the 1904 City of Bradford Exhibition?
The 1904 exhibition housed two huge structures – an industrial hall, and a concert hall which included brass band performances.
It also featured a water chute (similar to a log flume) at Lister Park’s lake, gravity railway, model hospital and a baby incubator unit, which people could visit.
More on the Somali village
A total of 57 men, women and children, originally from Somalia, were part of the exhibition. They lived on-site at Lister Park during the six-month festival, in a constructed village.
During the exhibition members of the touring group made pottery, worked in ironmongery, and gave demonstrations of traditional Somali dancing.
After the exhibition closed in October 1904, the temporary buildings, including the concert hall, were removed and sold.
The University of Bradford’s work is in collaboration with Professor Fozia Bora, Professor of Islamic History at the University of Leeds, and the Somali Village charity.
‘Uncovering the 1904 Exhibition’ is one of the University of Bradford’s programme of events to mark Bradford 2025.
People will be encouraged to share any photographs, prints, postcards or imagery of the 1904 Exhibition, which will be digitised to offer a digital dataset and may be used to create virtual reconstructions of parts of the exhibition.
The project's 3D data collection has been made possible by substantive investment from the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) RICHeS (Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science) and Capability for Collections (CapCo) funds.
This project exemplifies the University’s strategic priority to grow its reputation for research and knowledge mobilisation, engaging communities and showcasing Bradford’s rich heritage through inclusive, transformative experiences.
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The Lister Park dig work on the 1904 Exhibition is one of the ways the University of Bradford is using technology, combined with our expertise, to help shape the future of archaeology and heritage.
From inviting people to share their stories of supporting Bradford City AFC to working with refugee and mixed communities in Jordan to explore digital heritage, we’re helping people to imagine the past, and protecting heritage for the future. Find out more at our website