Swan Arcade, Bradford facts for kids

The Swan Arcade was a large, four-storey building in Bradford, England. It stood between Market Street and Broadway, right across from the famous Wool Exchange. A small river, the Bradford Beck, even flowed underneath it!

Building the Swan Arcade

The Swan Arcade was designed in a fancy style called Italianate. Architects Milnes and France created the plans, and it was built between 1877 and 1880. The builders, J and W Beanland, used strong Bolton Woods Stone. It cost a lot of money back then – about £160,000! The beautiful gates were made by Hodkinson and Co, and Taylor and Parsons.

The arcade officially opened in 1880. The Mayor of Bradford and local MP Angus Holden were there for the big event. It was named after the "White Swan Inn," an old pub that used to be on the same spot. A part called the west wing was added in 1881. The whole building covered a huge area, about 2,630 square yards.

The Swan Arcade had six grand entrances. The main ones on Market Street even had graceful stone and iron swans! Inside, there were four connected shopping areas, called arcades. They had lovely glass roofs made of wrought iron. Above the shops, there were offices and storage rooms.

When it first opened, you could find all sorts of shops on the ground floor. There was a cigar merchant, a cabinet maker, and two tailors.

Clever Lighting and a Unique Lift

In the early 1900s, many mill owners had offices in the arcade. But after some years, it went back to being mainly a shopping centre.

Originally, the names of the shops were painted on the windows. This blocked out some light. So, clever mirrors were hung to reflect light from outside into the shops and offices. Later, mirrors were angled downwards from the sides of the walkways to help even more.

The arcade had a very unusual lift. It was a chain of cages, powered by a gas engine. This lift never stopped moving during business hours! It went so slowly that people could easily step in or out as it reached each floor. No attendant was needed! Later, a modern electric lift replaced it.

Famous author J B Priestley worked in the Swan Arcade as a young clerk before World War I. The building made such a big impression on him that he wrote about it in his book, Margin Released. He even came back to visit the arcade in a film for the BBC in 1958.

Why the Swan Arcade Closed

In 1954, a company called Arndale Property Trust Ltd bought the Swan Arcade. They specialized in developing shopping and office areas. They paid a lot of money for it, though the exact amount was kept secret. The company waited eight years for all the shop and office leases to end. Their plan was to knock down the old arcade and build a new shopping centre.

At the time Arndale bought it, the arcade had 112 tenants and was earning about £15,481 a year in rent. Most of the offices had short leases, and the shop leases were ending between 1955 and 1960. A company managing the arcade said there would be "no immediate changes." They thought the area was developing, and a new building next door would make Broadway even better.

On October 13, 1960, Arndale Property Trust announced that the Swan Arcade would be pulled down. They wanted to rebuild it to "fit in with Bradford’s central redevelopment." Demolition was planned for early 1962, and construction of the new building, which would be called Arndale House, was hoped to start in May of that year.

By October 1961, a local newspaper reported that the upper floors, once busy, were now "dusty and silent." The unique lift no longer came when you called.

In the months before it closed, most of the 112 shops and offices moved out. On the very last day, only two businesses were still open. One was a men's clothing shop, full of suits and coats, which staff were moving to Leeds that weekend. Leeds is sometimes called the "city of arcades" because it has many. The other was a sweet shop, which had less stock than usual. Only former tenants and workers removing fittings were left.

It was thought it would take about four months to pull down Bradford's only arcade. J B Priestley was very sad about the demolition plan, as he had worked there when he was young.

Around this time, other Arndale centres were being built in different places across northern England and Scotland. The Swan Arcade was once described as being 50 years ahead of its time. Its replacement, Arndale House, was called "structurally the most advanced building to be constructed in the United Kingdom" by one of its architects.

A sign in a men’s clothing shop on the last day of business read "The last day." When the heavy iron gates opened after that night, the demolition workers would be moving in.

What Happened Next

In early March 1962, the last shops closed. Demolition workers moved in, and Bradford’s only arcade was turned into rubble. It was replaced by a "more efficient building to marry with the new city centre." The beautiful gates made by Hodkinson and Co and Taylor and Parsons were sold to a rich businessman.

The next year, in 1963, construction began on Arndale House on the same site. It was an eight-storey office block with shops around it, and it was finished in 1964. Arndale House is still there today, even after big redevelopment plans for Broadway in the early 2000s.

The demolition of the Swan Arcade was a common event in the 1960s. Many beautiful Victorian buildings across the UK were replaced with tall, concrete and glass buildings. The Arndale Centres were generally successful, but they also received a lot of criticism. People were upset that old buildings, especially Victorian ones, were being knocked down and replaced with modern, often plain, concrete structures.

An architectural writer named James Lees-Milne was very angry in 1964. He said, "There are people today amassing stupendous fortunes by systematically destroying our historic centres." He worried that eventually, all buildings – good or bad – would be replaced with chain stores, supermarkets, and blocks of flats that all looked the same and had no special character.