Victorian Society praises Bradford after group visits city

The Victorian Society recently held its annual meeting in Bradford, where members were given a tour of the district’s many heritage buildings, including City Hall and Salts Mill, over the course of a weekend.

New Chair of the group James Grierson told the Telegraph & Argus that members were impressed with their visit, and was happy to see so many of Bradford’s Victorian buildings having been refurbished in recent decades.

Referring to the Bradford AGM Mr Grierson, from York, said: “The great majority of people had never been to Bradford before, and, even on a very packed schedule, we only scratched the surface.

The Victorian Society's AGM included a dinner in Bradford City Hall's Banqueting Suite (Image: Victorian Society)

“I struggle to think of anywhere else that has got such a collection of Victorian buildings like Bradford.

“30 years ago I studied in Bradford business school, so I was looking at it with a view to how much it has changed since then. It has got a lot better, an awful lot of buildings have been restored.”

The Bradford Tradesmans homes in Manningham by James Hughes (Image: Victorian Society)

Referring to ongoing work in the city centre – which includes the pedestrianisation of areas like Market Street, which is flanked by heritage buildings like the Wool Exchange, he said: “I know the work to the public realm is still going on, but it seems very promising.

The newly pedestrianised Bridge Street (Image: T&A)

“I got the impression that many decades ago Bradford lost a bit of its soul to the motorcar. Lots of great big roads were carved through the city centre. There is a feeling that this work is reclaiming the city centre for people.” 

He said the new public realm would provide a “new context” for the city’s grand Victorian buildings. 

He added: “What Bradford has done better than many cities is bringing residents back into the city centre – reusing buildings for residential purposes. There is Lister Mill and Little Germany. 30 years ago most of Little Germany was derelict.

The Victorian Society in Little Germany (Image: Victorian Society)

“I would like to see more life in the street there – like cafés spilling out into the pavements. It all adds to the atmosphere of the city centre.

“There are still plenty of fine Victorian stone buildings in need of refurbishment to keep work going for the next 20 years.

The interior of the Wool Exchange (Image: Victorian Society)

“It will be interesting to see what happens during City of Culture – I’m not too sure how Bradford markets itself to tourists. I think sometimes the idea of looking back at heritage clashes with looking forwards – as if the two ideas are in conflict. What makes cities vibrant is the way the different layers of its story integrate.”

He said while cities such as York have a mix of buildings from different eras – Bradford’s heritage buildings mainly sprung up during the Victorian era.

Asked what he would like to see happen with some of Bradford’s empty Victorian buildings, he said small office spaces would suit many buildings, and with City of Culture such spaces could be attractive to creative businesses or artists.