Bradford (pop. 546,412) is a local government district in northern England. Bradford and the nearby city of Leeds form a large urban area within the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. Bradford is an important center of finance, engineering, and the manufacture of textiles and electronics.
Many buildings in Bradford date from the Victorian period of the 1800’s. The center of Bradford includes the Victorian-style Wool Exchange, completed in 1867; and the Town Hall (now called City Hall), which dates from 1873. Other sites there include the University of Bradford and the National Media Museum. Bradford is also the home of the Bradford Industrial Museum and the Cartwright Hall art gallery.
The Romans built a camp near what is now Bradford in about A.D. 80, and a town developed at Bradford during the Middle Ages. The town became an important producer of wool textiles. By the 1700’s, Bradford was known for its manufacture of worsted wool. The city experienced rapid growth during the 1800’s, when the introduction of mechanical weaving greatly increased its textile production. By 1900, Bradford had become the main wool-buying center in its region, handling wool from both home and overseas markets.
