Look up!


As you walk through the streets of Bradford, look up above the shops and offices and let the rich architecture tell you its story.


Many of Bradford’s grand Victorian buildings such as the Italianate City Hall and the Wool Exchange date from the times when Bradford was the world’s wool capital. As the Guardian recently said, the mills still “circle the town like fantastical castles”. New life is being breathed into some of these amazing buildings, using them as settings for cafes, theatres, and shops.


Look up and you’ll see engravings, statues, and ornate carvings that pay testimony to Bradford’s essential role in world trade. Little Germany is a particularly good place to wander – you’ll see over 50 listed buildings.


Find the


armchair and clock sculptures, showing how time passes and the pendulum keeps swinging.


They’re hidden in Little Germany.


Pop into the Wool Exchange (now a bookshop and cafe) and you’ll marvel at the striking high ceilings and columns of this ornate Venetian Gothic-style trading place.


Spot the carved portraits of Columbus and Francis Drake in the old Wool Exchange.


Bradford


Cathedral is 500 years old, one of the city’s


oldest buildings: look for the dazzling


windows, including some of William Morris’ earliest stained glass.


Look down!


Manor House in Ilkley is built on the remains of a Roman fort, Olicana. You can see a short section of the exposed defensive walls and Roman artefacts from the fort.


Undercliffe Cemetery provides an altogether different way to think about the past. It’s an


enigmatic place full of grand 19th Century monuments and the final resting place of many of the city’s most notable inhabitants.


Look for the towers


City Hall’s clock tower soars 220 feet above the skyline and was inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.


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Count the 35 statues of rulers of England from the Norman Conquest to Queen Victoria.


The huge Lister Mill’s chimney can be seen for miles around, just as the influence of Samuel Cunliffe Lister’s many


inventions dominated the textile industry for many years.


Visit the Chaat Café in the old mill and see some of its impressive structure from the inside


Inside stories


If you’d prefer to discover Bradford’s history by going indoors, take a trip to the Bradford Industrial Museum, where you’ll see old machines, displays and recreations that make sense of the past.


East Riddlesden Hall is full of surprises and stories. Don’t miss lesser- known museums such as Bolling


Hall whose displays highlight different periods of the house’s history.


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