Bradford City Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bradford City Hall |
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City Hall
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Venetian gothic |
| Town or city | Bradford |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°47′32″N 1°45′12″W / 53.7923°N 1.7533°W |
| Construction started | 1870 |
| Completed | 1873 Extensions 1909; 1914 |
| Cost | £100,000 in 1873 |
| Client | Bradford Council |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Gaisby rock sandstone |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Lockwood and Mawson 1873 Norman Shaw 1909 William Williamson 1914 |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Designated: | 14 June 1963 |
| Reference #: | 1133675 |
Bradford City Hall is a grand building in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in the 1800s and used to be called the town hall. It's a special "Grade I listed building" because of its important history and unique design, especially its tall clock tower.
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History of Bradford City Hall
Before this amazing building was finished, the town hall was in a different place. In 1869, the city bought a new piece of land. They held a competition to find the best design for a new town hall. Many architects entered, but a local company called Lockwood and Mawson won.
The building was constructed by John Ives & Son and took three years to build. It cost £100,000, which was a huge amount of money back then! The mayor of Bradford, Matthew Thompson, officially opened it on 9 September 1873.
The City Hall was made bigger in 1909 with new rooms and a large hall for banquets (big dinners). This was designed by Norman Shaw. In 1914, it was extended again with a new entrance and staircase made of fancy marble.
In 1912, a famous politician named Winston Churchill gave a speech outside the hall. He encouraged people to work together on important issues.
In 1965, the building's name changed from "Town Hall" to "City Hall." This showed that Bradford had grown into a major city. The building was also improved at this time.
Bradford City Hall was used for important court cases until 1993. The bells in the tower stopped working in 1992, but they were fixed in 1997 with money from the National Lottery.
In 2000, a brave flight attendant named Barbara Jane Harrison was honored here. She died saving passengers on a plane. In 2006, an artist named Patrice Warrener lit up the building for the Bradford Festival. The City Hall has even been used for filming! In 2007, it pretended to be a court for the TV show Coronation Street.
In 2007, the City Hall started using a new heating system. It turned the city's old Christmas trees into woodchips to fuel its boilers. This was a clever way to recycle and heat the building.
What Bradford City Hall Looks Like
Outside the Building
The City Hall is designed in a special style called Venetian Gothic. This style is inspired by buildings in Venice, Italy. Look closely at the outside, and you'll see statues of past kings and queens of England. These statues were carved from local stone and each cost £63. One of the statues, facing Centenary Square, is of Oliver Cromwell.
The tall bell tower was inspired by the famous Palazzo Vecchio building in Florence, Italy. The top of the tower is about 200 feet (61 meters) high! Inside are 13 bells that were put in place in 1872. They weighed over 13 tons and cost £1,765. The bells first rang when the City Hall opened in 1873. They weren't designed for traditional ringing but could play 28 different tunes automatically. The clock in the tower was installed in 1872 and worked until 1947, when a newer clock replaced it.
The two flagpoles on the building fly different flags. For example, the flag of Wales is flown on Saint David's Day, and the flag of Australia is flown on Australia Day. Flags are also flown for important royal events and to show respect during major world disasters.
The City Hall is located in Centenary Square, which became a pedestrian area (meaning no cars) in 1997. You can even take a tour of the building if you ask! Every September, during a heritage weekend, visitors can explore more parts of the City Hall.
Inside the Building
Inside the City Hall, there's a beautiful banqueting hall. Above the fireplace, there's a carved decoration called an "overmantel" and a long carved strip called a "frieze." The frieze has the Bradford city motto: Labor omnia vincit. This means "Hard work conquers all." It shows how important hard work was to Bradford, especially during the Industrial Revolution when the city grew because of its factories. The figures on the frieze represent the wool trade, which was very important to Bradford, as well as architecture and the arts.
The Bells of City Hall
Today, the bells ring every 15 minutes. They also play tunes at midday and in the late afternoon. In December, they play carols. When an important person from Bradford passes away, the City Hall flags fly at half mast (halfway up the pole) until the funeral. The bells also ring slowly for an hour to mark the sad news and again during the funeral.
The bells have played special songs for serious events, like "The Star-Spangled Banner" to remember victims of terrorism. They also played "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Abide with Me" in 2005 to remember those who died in the 1985 Bradford City stadium fire.
But the bells usually play happier tunes! In 2001, there was talk of updating the computer that controls the bells so they could play pop music. Now, the bells can be programmed to play almost any tune. For example, in 2001, they played No Matter What when a musical was playing at the Bradford Alhambra theatre nearby. The person controlling the bells could time the music to play as the audience left the theatre! In 2010, the bells even played the theme tune from Coronation Street when the TV show's cast was filming in the area.
