Next year in 2025, Bradford will be UK City of Culture. Following Hull in 2017 and Coventry 2021, the city and its district will be celebrating what makes Bradford the unique, vibrant and dynamic place it is today.
Martin Wills, HTT's Development Officer, writes:
I love the city. I spent four years working in its centre. From the scores of beautiful listed buildings financed through the city’s 19th-century industrial boom, to the giggles and squeals of children playing in the Mirror Pool during warm (and sometimes not so warm) days, the walks between the train station and my office were always full of sights and sounds of a youthful and energetic place, with a fascinating history.
Bradford’s success in bidding to be UK’s City of Culture was incredibly well deserved and will give the district the chance to celebrate the arts and heritage of this young and diverse part of West Yorkshire.
At HTT we are enthusiastic supporters of cities celebrating their culture, and we are developing a project to publish a map in 2025 to showcase Bradford’s past and the stories that have made it the city it is today.
Like our other Town & City Historical maps, the map of Bradford will use an early OS map as its base, and will show historic and contemporary features and indicate changes over time. It will be an accessible and attractive summary of Bradford’s rich story. But our publication will be the basis for so much more. We are reaching out to a range of partners (including the Council for British Archeology, West Yorkshire Archaeological Services and Yorkshire-based Universities) to build an exciting programme of educational, cultural and community-centred activities. These will bolster the work we do on the map so it inspires local residents and visitors about Bradford’s history.
We have a great track record of producing maps for UK City of Culture cities, having worked with the University of Hull in 2017 and Medieval Coventry and Coventry City of Culture in 2021. It is our aspiration that education, research, economic activity and local pride in Bradford can all benefit through this project, impacting the lives of thousands of people in the area.
If you would like to support the project or hear more about what we want to achieve, please contact Martin Wills at development@historictownstrust.uk