Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847 and was officially declared a city in 1897.
The population grew to 349,561 at the 2011 census, making it the second largest subdivision of the West Yorkshire Built-Up Area after Leeds and has since grown to 377,221 in 2024.
As it was an international centre of textile manufacture, the city developed in the 19th century, especially in the wool industry. It was a boomtown during the Industrial Revolution and quickly became the ‘wool capital of the world’.
There are a lot of listed Victorian architecture in the city including the city hall.
In May 2022, the city won the designation making it the UK City of Culture for 2025.
1. Forster Square
Forster Square in Bradford in July 1921. Photo: Topical Press Agency / Getty Images
2. Town Hall
The Town Hall and Market Street at Bradford in 1900. Photo: London Stereoscopic Company / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
3. Thornton Road
Thornton Road, Manningham, Bradford in the 1890s. Photo: Heritage Images / Getty Images
4. Bradford College
Schoolboys at Bradford College practise their marksmanship safely with the help of a rifle machine in February 1908. Photo: Topical Press Agency / Getty Images