BRADFORD has been named as one of the most “historic” cities in the North of England.

The the survey, which looked at how many historic features each city has, also revealed that Bradford has the highest number of “scheduled monuments” in the North.

Data carried out by Transpennine Express ranks cities with populations of over 100,000 in the North of England and Scotland based on the number of listed buildings, UNESCO heritage sites, listed parks and gardens and other heritage features.

Coming out top is Edinburgh, followed by Glasgow, York, Leeds then Bradford.

And Bradford comes top for “scheduled monuments” – features that could include prehistoric features, ancient buildings or historic areas that are deemed nationally important.

Bradford has 196 scheduled monuments – over three times that of Edinburgh, the city with the second highest amount (62).

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Bradford’s scheduled monuments include carved stones on a number of the District’s moors, Roman ruins in Ilkley and the remains of a prehistoric settlement in Cullingworth.

Bradford has the third highest number of listed buildings in the North – 2,291. Leeds just edges Bradford to second with 2,370 listed buildings. Edinburgh is top with 4,871 listed buildings.

Bradford has the second highest amount of listed parks and gardens, 16, with Edinburgh once again coming top with 18.

The city has 15 museums – well below Edinburgh’s 93 and York’s 43.

There are two Unesco sites in Bradford – Saltaire which is a World Heritage Site and Bradford which is the first Unesco City of Film.

There are four historic sites in Bradford, although there are no regular historical or heritage tours.

Bradford is famous for its history. The Bronte Parsonage is where the literary sisters lived and wrote their famous works. Bolling Hall is a family home that became a flash point for the Civil War. And Little Germany in the city centre contains an unrivalled collection of listed buildings.

The concept of school dinners originated in Bradford, and for a time the wool trade made it one of the richest cities in the world.

Many of the buildings associated with Bradford's past still remain.

Si Cunningham, Chair of Bradford Civic Society, said: “It comes as no surprise to us that Bradford has been praised for its unique and historic character.

“Little Germany must be one of the most beautiful merchants’ quarters in Europe, and the whole district is full of hidden historic gems.

“Now that TransPennine Express have discovered we’re one of the five most historic places in the north, I’d encourage them to operate more train services here so that people from all across the north can come and enjoy Bradford for themselves.”

Making up the remainder of the top 10 are Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle upon Tyne, Aberdeen and Manchester.