Bradford in historic gazetteers

Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887). John Bartholomew

Bradford.-- parl. and mun. bor., par., and township, N. div. West-Riding Yorkshire, 8 miles W. of Leeds. 34 SW. of York, and 191 from London by rail -- par., 32,929 ac., pop. 251,553; township, 1595 ac., pop. 68,372; bor., 10,775 ac., pop. 194,495 (the mun. bor. was considerably extended in 1882, and the parl. bor. made conterminous with it in 1885, when it got an extra member); 10 Banks, 7 newspapers. Market-days, Monday and Thursday; has 5 public parks, and numerous handsome public buildings, -- St George's Hall (1851) accommodates 5000. Among its educational institutions are the Free Grammar School, endowed by Charles II.; and the Technical College (1882). B. is the chief seat in England of the mfr. of worsted and woollen stuffs, there being about 300 mills at work; it also carries on the mfr. of mixed cotton and silk goods, velvets, alpacas, &c. The Saltaire alpaca and mohair mills, erected by Sir Titus Salt, Bart., stand on the river Aire, 3 miles to the NW. There are numerous collieries and iron-works in the district. B. returns 3 members to Parliament -- 3 divisions, viz., West, Central, and East, 1 member for each division.