On the trail of Bradford’s peacemakers

FROM JB Priestley to William E Forster, Bradford has had its fair share of pioneers, philanthropists and peacemakers.
J.B. PriestleyJ.B. Priestley
J.B. Priestley

Now all those who have championed harmony in the city are to be honoured with the launch of a new walking trail for residents and tourists to enjoy.

The Routes to Peace Heritage Trail celebrates the rich social history which saw Bradford declared a City of Peace in 1997, interspersing well-known points of interest with hidden gems.

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Diane Hadwen, head of the Peace Museum, from which the trails sets out, said: “Bradford’s heritage is incredible. We have so many inspirational stories to draw from, stories that show how people in this area have worked together and tried to overcome challenges that affect us all.”

The trail pays homage to the social reformers who have shaped the fabric of the city over the centuries and the communities who have made it their home.

Among the famous figures it honours is Richard Cobden, who lived and worked in the city as an MP until he lost his seat for speaking out against the aristocracy’s control of land and the Corn Laws, which caused many poor people to go hungry.

He was also a peace activist and campaigned against the Crimean War from 1854 to 1856

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His statue, which stands in the former Bradford Wool Exchange on Hustlergate – now occupied by Waterstones bookshop – is the first of 25 stops on the trail.

Statues of Bradford-born author JB Priestley, whose ideas led to the formation of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and Richard Oastler, who campaigned to pass a law to reduce the hours young children worked in mills and factories, also feature on the route.

The trail also takes in Forster Square, named after former Bradford MP William E Forster, famous for his role in passing the 1870 Elementary Education Act, which first made basic education available to all children.

Other important political sites it maps out include Broadway Speakers’ Corner, where peace campaigners regularly spoke out against the nuclear arms race in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including renowned local activists and free thinkers Joe and Rita Corina.

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The bottom of Ivegate, thought to have been the site of Bradford’s original Speakers’ Corner, where local people first came to publicly express their ideas, views and beliefs, is also on the map.

Nowadays, people can be heard preaching their ideas in New Market Place, and this 21st century speakers’ corner – where Mrs Corina’s funeral procession stopped in March in honour of her commitment to free speech – is another stop on the trail.

A little further on is the former Textile Hall in Westgate, the site of a peace march by more than 3,000 Women’s Humanity League members protesting against the First World War in 1917.

The city’s war dead are remembered through the memorial and the tribute to Bradford Pals, which also feature on the trail.

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The Commonweal Mural on Leeds Road, which commemorates the founding of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in Bradford in 1893, is another stop on the route.

The party – founded as a result of the 1890 Manningham Mills strike – helped lead to the modern Labour Party’s formation.

The former Laycock’s Temperance Hotel, where the ILP first met in Bradford and which is now an Italian restaurant, can also be found on the trail.

The city’s diverse population and various faith communities are represented by the places of worship dotted along the route, including the city’s cathedral and Eastbrook Hall – a former Methodist church where many Christian socialists worshipped – the Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara Sikh temple and the Bradford Central Mosque.

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The warehouses of Little Germany, built in the 19th century by members of Bradford’s small Jewish community, who mainly came from Austria and Germany, also feature, along with Kala Sangam, a South Indian arts, music and dance organisation, and the Checkpoint Caribbean and West Indian community centre.

The route also takes in some of the city’s best-known landmarks, including City Hall and Centenary Square, City Park and its Mirror Pool and the under-threat National Media Museum.

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