Do you remember these lost Bradford neighbourhoods?

Most Bradfordians will never have heard of them, but in the 19th century they were close-knit communities in and around the city centre, each with their own housing, shops, pubs and identity.

They became ‘lost neighbourhoods and today most are no longer recognisable, or known by their original names.

Over the past year, the Neighbourhood Project has been researching these long forgotten areas of Bradford city centre. The community research project, which received £8,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, invited people who lived or worked in the areas, or had other connection, to a series of sessions, to share memories and photographs.

Now the Neighbourhood Project is holding 10 talks on the history of these places. As well as places such as Little Germany and Goitside, preserved by regeneration schemes, the project has explored districts such as Bermondsey, which was around the Forster Square area, New Leeds, at the lower end of Leeds Road, Wapping, which followed Bolton Road up from the Shipley-Airedale Road, and Broomfields, a small area near Bradford Interchange.

Bermondsey was once a thriving neighbourhood (Image: Jonathan Crewdson)

Jonathan Crewdson, Director of the Neighbourhood Project, says that while the research prompted memories of cramped housing, strong community spirit and a variety of shops, overall it has had mixed success.

“It’s been a much longer and more difficult process than we originally anticipated,” says Jonathan. “It has been very difficult getting people to share their memories. We had a lot of people who arranged to meet with us but then didn’t actually turn up and went quiet on us. We also found there was a lot of confusion about the different areas, with many people never knowing an actual name for their neighbourhood whilst they lived there. Goitside, Birksland and Broomfields were prime examples of this.

“With some of the places we wanted to cover, such as George Street, Eastbrook and Belle Vue, we didn’t get a single person who had lived in these places to approach us.

“A lot of what people told us applied across all the areas: cramped conditions in the back-to-back houses, great sense of community among residents, amenities on their doorsteps such as the number of shops, greengrocers, butchers and pubs, and how they didn’t have to walk far to get to work, usually in a mill or factory.

“There seemed to be a lot of resistance to the slum clearances, despite the state these places ended up in, but then people were quite happy once they’d moved to one of the new council estates further out.

Wapping was a maze of mills and streets (Image: Jonathan Crewdson)

Adds Jonathan: “I think in the end the project is perhaps going to be more about raising awareness of these former neighbourhoods with the younger generations than uncovering much new material.”

The project started in 2022 with a call-out to former residents of Longlands, near Westgate, which was the first neighbourhood to be demolished for slum clearance and rebuilt by Bradford Corporation.

Following an appeal in the T&A, the project collected memories of people who lived and worked in Longlands - known today as Chain Street - which has a significant place in Britain’s housing history.

Tenements at Longlands off Westgate (Image: Jonathan Crewdson)

Longlands, off Westgate, has distinctive tenement blocks; all that remain of the rows of once cramped back-to-back terraced housing. In the 1800s sanitation was poor and the population was high. Infant mortality and disease were rife. Concerns about living conditions led Frederick Jowett, the first Independent Labour Party councillor on Bradford Corporation, to launch a public inquiry. He called for the houses to be demolished. By 1909 the area was rebuilt, with five new tenement blocks, three of which remain.

There was cramped housing in Longlands, but a tightknit community (Image: Jonathan Crewdson)

The Longlands restoration had a direct impact on early 20th century housing policy and was a model for further slum clearances in Bradford.

“One by one, these neighbourhoods went or were radically changed, most of their names are no longer used,” says Jonathan, who has long been intrigued by the ‘top of town’. “I was fascinated by the Victorian shops and the tenement blocks behind them. The housing style was radically different from anything else in Bradford.”

Jonathan set about researching the area, which he says is one of the most important in the social history of modern Bradford.

The talks, all taking place at the Millside Centre on Grattan Road, will be filmed and posted on YouTube and Facebook. The neighbourhoods under discussion and the dates are:

* The Legend of the Black Castle of Bradford: Monday, December 2, 10am to 12pm

* Longlands: Monday, December 2, 1pm-3pm

* Broomfields: Monday, December 9, 10am to 12noon

* Silsbridge Lane and Goitside: Monday, December 9, 1pm-3pm

* Listerhills: Monday, January 6, 10am to 12noon

* Birksland and New Leeds: Monday, January 7, 1pm-3pm

* White Abbey and Black Abbey: Monday, January 13, 10am to 12noon

* Wapping and Bermondsey: Monday, January 13, 1pm-3pm

* Ripleyville: Monday, January 20, 10am to 12noon

* Little Germany: Monday, January 20, 1pm-3pm

All events are free and light refreshments will be provided. To book email mail@neighbourhoodproject.org.uk or call or text Jonathan on 07422 715910.