Discount Hotels Bradford
Historical interest: Bradford
    
Bradford began as a Saxon village by a ford, with 'brad' meaning broad. In
the Middle Ages, Bradford developed a leather tanning and wool industry, and
quickly became a major market town for trade in the area. The wool industry
continued to grow and by the 16th century dying and fulling was also being done
in Bradford.
1642 saw the beginning of the civil war between the King and Parliament, with
Bradford solidly siding with Parliament. However, Bradford was badly sacked
by the royalists, as the parliamentary army fled Bradford. In 1644, Bradford
was taken back by the parliamentary army and remained in parliamentary hands
until the end of the civil war. Prosperity returned to Bradford in the late
17th century, when the woollen industry began making worsted wool instead (a
mixture of cotton and wool).
As with many British cities, Bradford was transformed by the Industrial Revolution
in the 18th century. The textile industry boomed in northern England and a Wool
Exchange was established in Bradford in 1857. The completion of the Leeds-Bradford
canal in 1774 made transportation of goods faster and cheaper. In 1897, Bradford
became a city.
In the 1920s and 1930s Bradford saw a steep decline in the cloth industry and
with it came mass unemployment. Although some of the decline was usurped by
the growing engineering and printing industry in Bradford, the economy suffered
badly. In the 1950s, the economy rebounded with the growth in the manufacturing
industry. During this period, Bradford also saw the influx of a large number
of immigrants from the West Indies, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making the
city multi-cultural one it is today.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Hilton Bradford | | Victoria Hotel Bradford | | Novotel Bradford | | Express by Holiday Inn Bradford City Centre | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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