
Bradford is one of the ten largest cities in Britain with a population of over 450,000 people. Originally founded by the Saxons, the name is a corruption of "Broad Ford", reflecting the watercourse which ran through the fledgling town.
Water would continue to be of vital importance to the growing city, providing one of the raw materials needed for the wool trade as well as, via the canal, a way of transporting new goods off to market.
At the beginning of the 19th century Bradford had grown to be a rural market town of 16,000 people centre around spinning and cloth weaving. The following 100 years saw massive expansion of these humble beginnings into comprehensive industry and Bradford become the wool capital of the world. By 1850 the population had grown to 100,000 and there were around 40 mills in the city producing cloth. On the 9th of June 1897 the town became a city.
I love Visit Bradford.
Bradford has a wealth of theatres and performing companies to enjoy, watch, and participate in, both amateur and professional. Theatre venues include the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford University's Theatre In The Mill, the Priestley Centre, and St George's Hall. Theatre companies to get involved with, include Lost Dog at Theatre in The Mill, the Asian Theatre School (also at Theatre In the Mill, though operated by Red Ladder from Leeds), Page to Stage at the Priestley Theatre, and madcap theatre/caberet, and comedy promoters/performers (specialising in new writing), Komedy Kollective Theatre Company.
Bradford is blessed with a useful number of film venues ranging from "arthouse" to "mainstream" flicks, and is also the home to many budding filmmakers, some of whom are based at Bradford University, and offer opportunities for students to get involved. The National Media Museum also operates two film festivals, the Bradford Film Festival, and the the Animation Festival (Bradford Film Festival [8]).
All styles of music are available in Bradford, from rock, pop, indie, jazz, opera, to dance, and the latest listings can be found at alive.co.uk. Live venues include the Gassworks, St George's Hall, the University Union bars, and the Beehive. The Bradford Mela takes place every summer at Peel Park. Formally part and parcel of the now defunct Bradford Festival, this is now a free-standing gypsy event, fusing both Eastern musical influences with Eastern Commercialism.
Bradford City AFC and Bradford Bulls RLFC represent the city at football and rugby league respectively.
Bradford city centre has two railway stations. If travelling from most places in the UK, the easiest option is to travel into Leeds, and then catch a connecting service into one of the Bradford stations (journey time from Leeds of about 20 minutes).
Once famous for its woolen textile manufacture, Bradford is now known as one of the best cities in Britain to eat a curry.