Bracknell
BRACKNELL, a large posting-village, in the parish
of Warfield, union of Easthampstead, hundred of
Cookham, county of Berks; 4 miles (E.) from Wokingham, on the road to Windsor. Fairs are held on
April 25th, August 22nd, and October 1st.
Bracon-Ash (St. Nicholas)
BRACON-ASH (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the
union of Henstead, hundred of Humbleyard, E. division of Norfolk, 6 miles (S. W.) from Norwich;
containing 293 inhabitants. The road from Buckenham
to Norwich intersects the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the
patronage of the family of Berney; net income, £245.
The church is partly in the early and partly in the decorated style, and consists of a nave, chancel, and south
aisle, with a mausoleum on the north side belonging to
the Berney family. Lord Thurlow was born at the old
Hall in 1730.
Bradborne (All Saints)
BRADBORNE (All Saints), a parish, partly in the
hundred of Appletree, but chiefly in that of Wirksworth, S. division of the county of Derby, 5 miles
(N. N. E.) from Ashbourn; comprising the township of
Aldwark, the chapelries of Atlow, Ballidon, and Brassington, and the hamlet of Lea-Hall; and containing
1303 inhabitants, of whom 187 are in Bradborne township. The manor was one of those belonging to Henry
de Ferrers at the time of the Domesday survey; in the
reign of John it was conveyed to the Bradborne family,
of whom Henry de Bradborne was executed at Pomfret,
in 1322, for his adhesion to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster.
In Elizabeth's reign the manor came to Sir Humphrey
Ferrers; and subsequently to the noble family of
Townshend, and the family of Gell of Hopton Hall.
The parish abounds with limestone. The living is a
discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£8. 3. 4.; net income, £119; patron and impropriator,
the Duke of Devonshire. The tithes of the township of
Bradborne have been commuted for £144. 15., whereof
£37. 10. are payable to the impropriator, and £107. 5.
to the vicar: there are two acres of glebe, with a glebehouse. At Brassington and Atlow are separate incumbencies, and at Ballidon a chapel of ease. A school is
partly supported by subscription: a school-house was
built by W. Evans, Esq., in 1844.
Bradbury
BRADBURY, a township, in the parish and union
of Sedgefield, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S.
division of the county of Durham, 2½ miles (E.) from
Rushyford, and 10½ (S. by E.) from Durham; containing 167 inhabitants. Mr. Cade, the antiquary, considered the name of this place to be a corruption of
Brimesbury, where King Athelstan encamped in 937,
when he gained a decisive victory over the Danes; but it
is more probable that the battle was fought at Bramby,
in Lincolnshire. The township is bounded on the
south-east by the river Skerne, which separates it from
the parish of Great Aycliffe; and comprises 2043 acres,
in equal portions of arable and pasture: the surface is
rather level, pretty well wooded, and presents almost
every variety of soil. £3000 have recently been expended in effectually draining the marshes, which promise to become good grazing-land. The York and
Newcastle railway runs through the township for two
miles. Here was a chapel of ease dedicated to St.
Nicholas, of which there are no vestiges; the curate's
house is still standing. The tithes have been commuted
for £233; and there is a glebe of 63 acres.
Bradby
BRADBY, a chapelry, in the parish of Repton,
union of Burton-upon-Trent, hundred of Repton
and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby,
3 miles (E.) from Burton; containing 298 inhabitants.
Near the chapel is the site of a baronial mansion, which
was fortified by royal licence in the year 1300. The
materials are supposed to have been used by the first
earl of Chesterfield in the erection of a residence which
he garrisoned for the king in 1642, and which, after a
short defence, was captured by a strong detachment
sent by Col. Gell; it was taken down in 1780. The
living is a donative; net income, £80; patron, the
Earl of Chesterfield. The inhabitants marry and bury
at Repton.
Bradden (St. Michael)
BRADDEN (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of
Towcester, hundred of Green's Norton, S. division
of the county of Northampton, 3¼ miles (W.) from
Towcester; containing 171 inhabitants. This parish is
bounded on the south-east by the river Tow, and comprises by measurement 1011 acres, whereof about twothirds are in permanent pasture. The soil is generally
strong, inclining to clay; the surface rather undulated,
with gentle inclinations and slopes; and the meadows
subject to occasional floods. Stone is quarried for roadmaking. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £14. 6. 8.; net income, £227, arising from 192
acres of land, allotted at the inclosure of the parish in
lieu of tithes; patron and incumbent, the Rev. C. Ives:
there is a glebe-house. The church is of an indistinct
style of architecture; the date of its erection is unknown, but it appears to have been restored about the
beginning of the 18th century. A school is supported
by the clergyman and the parishioners. There existed
a curious old manor-house, supposed to have been built
by the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem; but it
became necessary, from its ruinous state, to take it
down in 1818.
Bradenham (St. Botolph)
BRADENHAM (St. Botolph), a parish, in the
union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of
Buckingham, 4¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Wycombe;
containing 226 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 3. 9., and in
the patronage of Mrs. A. Hearle; net income, £190.
Catherine Pye, by deed dated in 1713, gave land for the
instruction of children.
Bradenham, East (St. Mary)
BRADENHAM, EAST (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe,
W. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (N. W.) from Shipdham; containing 368 inhabitants. It comprises 2340a.
3p., of which 1013 acres pay a modus of £34. 8. in lieu
of tithes. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £12. 2. 8½., and in the patronage of Thomas
Adlington, Esq.: the remainder of the tithes have been
commuted for a rent-charge of £352. 9., and the glebe
comprises a little more than three acres, with a house.
The church is a spacious structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; it was
thoroughly repaired in 1833, and contains some handsome monuments. There is a place of worship for
Independents.
Bradenham, West (St. Andrew)
BRADENHAM, WEST (St. Andrew), a parish, in
the union of Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe,
W. division of Norfolk, 3 miles (N. W.) from Shipdham; containing 364 inhabitants. It comprises by
computation 1682a. 3r. 30p., of which 972 acres are
arable, 615 pasture and waste, and 95 wood and plantation. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £7. 1. 10½.; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Ely: the appropriate tithes have
been commuted for £210, and the vicarial for £160;
there are nearly eight acres of glebe belonging to
the bishop, and nearly 58 to the vicar. The church,
situated on an eminence, is an ancient structure in the
later English style, with a square embattled tower at
the west end of the south aisle: in the chancel are
three sedilia of stone, and a piscina of elegant design.
Bradeston.—See Braydeston.
BRADESTON.—See Braydeston.
Bradfield (St. Andrew)
BRADFIELD (St. Andrew), a parish, and the head
of a union, in the hundred of Theale, county of Berks,
8 miles (W.) from Reading; containing 1042 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4057a. 3r. 19p., according
to a survey made in 1838. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £19. 7. 8½., net income,
£788; patron and incumbent, the Rev. T. Stevens. A
parochial school, or school of industry, was established
by the parish officers for the purpose of giving employment and instruction to poor children; the arrangements are superintended by the family of the rector,
who chiefly support another school. The union of
Bradfield comprises 29 parishes or places, of which 25
are in Berks, 3 in the county of Oxford, and one in the
county of Southampton; and contains a population of
15,557. A monastery was founded here by King Ina,
before 699.
Bradfield (St. Lawrence)
BRADFIELD (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex,
3 miles (E. S. E.) from Manningtree; containing 995
inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the river
Stour, and comprises by computation 2270 acres: the
greater portion of the land rises to a considerable elevation above the marshes; and the soil, chiefly a fine impalpable loam, is uncommonly fertile. A fair is held on
the last Monday in July. The living is a discharged
vicarage, united, with the living of Manningtree, to the
rectory of Mistley, and valued in the king's books at
£12. 13. 4.: the great tithes, belonging to the trustees
of the late Col. Rigby, have been commuted for £422,
with a glebe of 32 acres; and those of the incumbent
for £193, with a glebe of 11 acres. The church is an
ancient edifice, partly in the later English style, and
partly of a much earlier date. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Sir Harbottle Grimston, master of
the rolls under Charles II., and an eminent writer on
the law, was born here.
Bradfield (St. Giles)
BRADFIELD (St. Giles), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles (N. N. W.)
from North Walsham; containing 195 inhabitants.
One mediety of the living is a discharged rectory,
valued in the king's books at £3. 15. 7¼., and in the
patronage of Lord Suffield; the other is a donative,
annexed to the vicarage of Thorpe-Market. The tithes
of the rectory have been commuted for £160, and those
belonging to the vicar of Thorpe for £55; there are 2½
acres of glebe. The church is chiefly in the early style,
and consists of a nave and chancel, with a square tower;
the font is handsomely sculptured.
Bradfield
BRADFIELD, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of
Ecclesfield, union of Wortley, N. division of the
wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of
York, 6¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Sheffield; containing 6318 inhabitants. It comprises about 33,700 acres,
in a mountainous part of the county, and lying between
the river Don and the borders of Derbyshire; the Loxley, the Ewden, and several smaller streams wind
through it in various directions. The district abounds
with slate, flag, and fire and building stone. Game
abounds on the moors, and is strictly preserved. Fairs
are held on June 17th and December 9th. The living is
a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £186, and in
the patronage of the Vicar of Ecclesfield, who, with the
curate of Bradfield and others, has the impropriation.
The chapel was repewed about 1800, by the feoffees of
sundry parcels of land consisting of about 250 acres,
appropriated by a decree of the Commissioners of
Charitable Uses, 13th James I., for the repairs of the
chapel and defraying the expenses attending the celebration of divine service, being such as are usually
discharged by a church-rate: the income is about £170
per annum. There are district churches at Oughtibridge, Stainington, and Wadsley, and chapels at
Bolsterstone and Midhope; also several places of
worship for dissenters. Near the chapel is a Saxon
camp in a very perfect state, and on the moors are
several Druidical remains: many Roman coins have
also been found.
Bradfield-Combust, or Bradfield-Manger (All Saints)
BRADFIELD-COMBUST, or Bradfield-Manger
(All Saints), a parish, in the union of Thingoe, hundred of Thedwastry, W. division of Suffolk, 5½
miles (S. S. E.) from Bury St. Edmund's; containing
192 inhabitants, and comprising 836 acres. It is situated on the road from Bury to Sudbury. The living is
a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£4. 19. 7., and in the patronage of the Rev. H. J.
Hasted: the tithes have been commuted for £230, and
the glebe comprises five acres. This was the birthplace
and the residence of Arthur Young, the celebrated
writer on agriculture, and author of various miscellaneous works.
Bradfield St. Clare
BRADFIELD ST. CLARE, a parish, in the union
of Thingoe, hundred of Thedwastry, W. division of
Suffolk, 6 miles (S. E. by S.) from Bury St. Edmund's;
containing 240 inhabitants. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £7. 4. 7.; patron, the
Rev. Robert Davers: the tithes have been commuted
for £272. 15., and there are 29 acres of glebe.
Bradfield St. George, or Monks-Bradfield
BRADFIELD ST. GEORGE, or Monks-Bradfield, a parish, in the union of Thingoe, hundred of
Thedwastry, W. division of Suffolk, 4½ miles (S. E.)
from Bury St. Edmund's; containing 479 inhabitants.
An inconsiderable fair is held at Whitsuntide. The
living is a rectory, with that of Rushbrook, and valued
in the king's books at £11. 17. 3½.; net income, £550;
patron, the Marquess of Bristol. The church stands
upon the highest ground in this part of the county, and
has a very lofty square tower, from the summit of which
sixty parish churches may be seen; in one of the upper
windows on the south side, is a representation of St.
George and the Dragon, in painted glass. There is a
small place of worship for Baptists.
Bradford (All Saints)
BRADFORD (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Holsworthy, hundred of Black Torrington,
Holsworthy and N. divisions of Devon, 6 miles (N. E.
by E.) from Holsworthy; containing 530 inhabitants.
It comprises 3454a. 3r. 9p., of which 250 acres are
common or waste; and is situated on the river Torridge.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£13. 8. 4., and in the patronage of the Rectors of East
Down, Bratton-Fleming, and Goodleigh: the tithes
have been commuted for £350. 10., and the glebe consists of about 70 acres, with a house. The church is a
plain edifice.
Bradford
BRADFORD, a township, in the parish and union
of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of
the county of Lancaster, 2 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester, on the road from Ashton-under-Lyne; containing 911 inhabitants. This township, which is included
in the ecclesiastical district of Openshaw, comprises
about 280 statute acres, chiefly the property of Lady
Hoghton, of Astley Hall, near Chorley; the surface is
level, and the soil heavy. The Bradford coal-mines
produce good engine-coal. There is a cotton-mill;
and some bleach-works are in operation, which were
established about sixty-five years ago, by the father of
their present proprietor, John Ryder, Esq. The river
Medlock, and the Ashton canal, run through the township; in which is Philips Park, of 31 statute acres, forming a favourite promenade of the people of Manchester,
and for the site of which the Park Committee gave Lady
Hoghton £6000.—See Manchester.
Bradford
BRADFORD, a township, in the parish of Bambrough, union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough
ward and of Northumberland, 4½ miles (E. S. E.)
from Belford; containing 34 inhabitants. It is situated
on the west side of the river Warn, near the road between Belford and Alnwick, and not very far from the
sea.
Bradford
BRADFORD, a township, in the parish of Bolam,
union of Castle ward, N. E. division of Tindale ward,
S. division of Northumberland, 12 miles (W. S. W.)
from Morpeth; containing 38 inhabitants. This ancient
place was one of the manors of the Bolam barony, and
had free tenants in it, who held of the chief lord by
knight's service. It occupies a bare situation on the
south bank of the Blyth-water rivulet, and comprises
about 1030 acres of land; a little to the south-east is
the beautiful demesne of Belsay. The impropriate tithes
have been commuted for £64. 2., and the vicarial for
£8. 2. 6.
Bradford (St. Giles)
BRADFORD (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of
Wellington, hundred of Taunton and TauntonDean, W. division of Somerset, 4¼ miles (W. S. W.)
from Taunton; containing 550 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Tone, and within a
quarter of a mile of the great western road, comprises
1735a. 3r. 22p. Freestone is quarried; and the canal
from Bridgwater to Tiverton affords facility of carriage.
A cattle-fair is held on the third Monday in September.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £10. 17. 6.; net income, £120; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. W. Burridge; impropriators, the
landowners. The church is an ancient edifice.
Bradford (St. Peter)
BRADFORD (St. Peter),
a borough, market-town,
and parish, and the head of
a union, in the wapentake of
Morley, W. riding of York,
10 miles (W. by S.) from
Leeds, 34 (S. W.) from York,
and 196 (N. N. W.) from
London; comprising the
townships of Allerton, North
Bierley, Bowling, Bradford,
Clayton, Eccleshill, Heaton,
Manningham, Shipley, and
Wilsden, and the chapelries of Haworth, Horton, and
Thornton; the whole containing 105,257 inhabitants, of
whom 34,560 are in the town. This place during the
heptarchy formed part of the extensive parish of Dewsbury, from which it appears to have been separated soon
after the Conquest. The manor of Bradford, which in
the Domesday survey is described as a barren waste, was
given to Ilbert de Lacy, who attended the Conqueror
from Normandy, and fought under his standard at the
battle of Hastings. Ilbert had 150 other manors in the
county, which he formed into a seigniory, called the
Honour of Pontefract; and in the same family was
vested the barony of Clitheroe, in the shire of Lancaster.
The frequent intercourse between the proprietors of
these two baronies, which were separated by a wide tract
of dreary, rugged, and uninhabited country, rendered
some intermediate station requisite either for refreshment or security, in a journey of such difficulty and
danger, at a time when feudatory wars were raging between the various chieftains among whom the lands
were divided; and the comparatively fertile and pleasant
vale in which the town of Bradford is situated, appears
to have been selected for that purpose. There is evidence of a castle existing here in the time of the Lacys,
which, as a baronial seat, would naturally assume that
character; and the inhabitants in its immediate neighbourhood, whom even the temporary residence of a
chieftain and his retinue would attract, are styled burgesses in an inquisition taken after the death of Henry
de Lacy, the last earl of Lincoln. In this inquisition,
which is dated 1316, notice also occurs of a fulling-mill,
a soke corn-mill, a market on Sunday, and other particulars; from which it would appear that the town, originating in the residence of the Lacy family, had already
attained no inconsiderable degree of importance. In
the time of Henry III., Bradford paid more tallage to
the king than Leeds, though smaller in extent. During
the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, it
suffered much from the hostilities of the contending
parties; and in compensation the inhabitants, though
firm adherents of the house of Lancaster, received from
Edward IV. exemption from toll, and a grant of two
annual fairs of three days each. From this time the
town continued to prosper without interruption; in the
reign of Henry VIII., it had become equal to Leeds in
extent and population, and far exceeded it in manufacturing importance.
Arms.
During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., the
town was garrisoned for the parliament, whose cause
the inhabitants zealously supported. In 1642, it was
attacked by a detachment of the royalist forces from
Leeds, that took post at Undercliffe, in the immediate
vicinity; but after one or two assaults, in which they
were repulsed, the assailants retreated to Leeds, from
which a stronger detachment was sent with no better
success. Sir Thomas Fairfax soon afterwards took the
command of the garrison in person, and marched out to
meet the Earl of Newcastle, who had fixed his headquarters at Wakefield, and who now obtained a signal
victory over Fairfax: the parliamentarians, after their defeat, retreated to Bradford; and the earl, who took up
his head-quarters at Bolling Hall, and brought his artillery to bear on the town, commenced a regular siege.
Fairfax, seeing the dangerous position in which he was
placed, endeavoured to make his escape by a desperate
sally, in which Lady Fairfax, who accompanied him, was
made prisoner, but generously sent back with an escort
by the earl in his own carriage. The town now surrendered, and was garrisoned by the royalists, from whom,
after the Earl of Newcastle had marched against the
Scots, it was taken by Col. Lambert for the parliamentarians, in whose possession, after one or two attempts to
retake it, it ultimately continued.
The prosperity of Bradford received a severe check
during this struggle; its trade was so much impeded,
that nearly half a century elapsed before it recovered its
former importance, and Leeds, which had been inferior
to it as well in population as in extent, now became
greatly its superior in both. The woollen manufacture,
for which it had from a very remote period been celebrated, and for which it is noticed by Leland in the
reign of Henry VIII., was at its height in the reign of
Charles I.; but after the breaking out of the parliamentary war, the town lost its consequence as the principal
seat of that manufacture, and languished till the middle
of the last century. It then began to revive; on the
subsequent introduction of the worsted manufacture, it
fully recovered its previous importance, and since that
time it has been rapidly advancing in prosperity.
The town is pleasantly situated at the junction of
three fertile valleys, and is supposed to have derived its
name from a ford over a stream which, rising in the
western hills, flows through it into the river Aire. It is
built partly in the bottom, but principally on the acclivities, of the valley, at various elevations; and though
some of the streets in the more ancient part are narrow
and irregularly formed, most of those of modern date
are spacious and handsome. The houses are chiefly of
stone, and roofed with slate: many of them are large
and substantially built; and in the suburbs are numerous excellent houses and pleasant villas, inhabited by
merchants and the proprietors of the various factories
in Bradford and its vicinity. The streets are well paved,
and lighted with gas from works erected at an expense
of £15,000, by a proprietary of 600 £25 shareholders,
under an act obtained in the 3rd of George IV., subject
in its provisions to an act of the 43rd of George III. for
paving, lighting, watching, and improving the town and
neighbourhood. The inhabitants were until lately very
inadequately supplied with water from works established
by a company, incorporated by act of parliament in 1790.
The water was conveyed by pipes from a spring at Brown
Royd Hill into a reservoir at Westgate, capable of holding only 15,000 gallons; some of the larger houses,
which were not supplied from this source, had wells
attached to them, and the remainder were supplied by
water-carriers from wells belonging to various proprietors, most of which were sunk to a depth of more than
100 yards. Great efforts have, however, been made, for
some years, to obtain a more ample supply from Manywells, a copious spring of pure water, about eight miles
from the town; a company of shareholders recently subscribed a capital of £45,000, and an act for their incorporation was passed in 1842. The air, though sharp,
is healthy; and the environs abound with pleasing
scenery.
A subscription library, containing a well assorted collection of nearly 8000 volumes, supported by 140 shareholders and annual subscribers of a guinea each; and a
public newsroom, supported by 200 subscribers, were
opened in 1828, in the Exchange Buildings, a handsome
structure of freestone in the Grecian style, erected at an
expense of £7000, by a proprietary of £25 shareholders.
It comprises various apartments, of which those on the
ground-floor are appropriated to the library and newsroom, while on the first-floor is a spacious and elegant
assembly-room for concerts, balls, exhibitions, and public meetings: the late Miss Jowett bequeathed £1000
towards liquidating the outstanding claims for the erection of the edifice. A mechanics' institution was formed
in 1825, but after a short time discontinued; and in
1832 another was established, for which an appropriate
building was erected in 1839, at an expense of £3300.
It is situated at the junction of Well-street with the new
road to Leeds; and contains a theatre for the delivery
of lectures, a library of 3000 volumes, and a museum
in which is a good collection of specimens in natural history, antiquities, various models, and machinery: an
exhibition, including also a collection of paintings, was
opened to the public for fifteen weeks in 1840, and the
receipts for admission amounted to £2345.
The staple trade is the worsted manufacture; the
woollen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent in several parts of the parish, and that of cotton on
a smaller scale. For the spinning of worsted-yarn, and
the weaving of worsted goods, there are not less than
112 large mills in the parish, of which 38 are situated
in the town: in these are 88 steam-engines of the aggregate power of 2059 horses, and 20 water-wheels of 87horse power; and the number of persons engaged is
10,896. In the woollen manufacture are six extensive
mills, chiefly in the adjoining townships; the machinery
is propelled by 5 steam-engines of 150-horse power, and
one water-wheel of 12-horse power, and the number of
persons employed is 681. For the cotton manufacture
there are two mills, worked by a steam-engine of 14horse power, and 3 water-wheels of 22-horse power;
affording occupation to 98 persons. A very considerable
number of persons are also engaged in hand-loom weaving. The Piece Hall, in Kirkgate, was erected by the
merchants and manufacturers, in 1773, for the exhibition
and sale of worsted stuffs; and is a neat building, 144
feet in length, and 36 in breadth, containing an upper
and lower chamber. The larger manufacturers display
and sell their goods in the spacious warehouses attached
to their factories; yet on market days, the hall is crowded
with numerous manufacturers from neighbouring places,
and by multitudes of dealers who resort to the town as
the principal mart of the worsted manufacture. It is
open every Thursday from ten till twelve in the morning,
and from two till four in the afternoon. Much business
is transacted on Monday in the woollen-trade; and of
late years, a considerable trade in English and foreign
wool has sprung up, large quantities of wool being transmitted hence to the various parts of the clothing district.
The quantity consumed in the manufactures of the parish
in a recent year, was 17,135,704 pounds; nearly equal
to the aggregate quantities of Keighley, Bingley, Halifax,
and Wakefield. The Bradford Canal, which communicates with the Leeds and Liverpool canal at Shipley,
affords facility of conveyance for the manufactures of
the town, and also for the rich mineral produce of the
surrounding district, which abounds with coal, limestone,
and freestone of excellent quality; it is three miles in
length, and has a fall of 87 feet in its whole extent, with
12 locks. A railway was opened to Leeds in July, 1846;
and an extension, from Shipley to Colne in Lancashire,
has since been completed. The market, which is amply
supplied with corn, cattle, and provisions of all kinds, is
on Thursday; and fairs for horses, cattle, sheep, and
various articles of merchandise, are held on March 3rd,
June 17th, and Dec. 9th; the two last continuing for
three days each. The market-place, built by the lord of
the manor in 1824, comprises a spacious area, round
which are ranged shops for butchers, poulterers, greengrocers, and dealers in other necessaries; and above, on
three sides of the area, are ranges of stalls and shops for
the sale of fancy articles. The market for cattle is held
in an inclosed area in Duke-street; swine, of which great
numbers are brought to the town, are exposed for sale
in the streets.
By the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William IV., Bradford was invested with the elective franchise, and constituted a borough, with the privilege of returning two
members to parliament. The right of election is in the
resident £10 householders, and the returning officer is
appointed by the sheriff of the county; the borough
comprises the townships of Bradford, Manningham,
Bowling, and Horton. The town is within the jurisdiction of the magistrates for the West riding, and the adjourned Midsummer quarter-sessions are held here: the
powers of the county-debt court of Bradford, established
in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Bradford. The court-house is a handsome building of freestone, in the Grecian style; in front is a rustic basement
projecting boldly from the centre, above which is a portico of four Ionic columns, supporting an entablature
and cornice surmounted with a triangular pediment. The
watch-house, with a depôt for fire-engines, was built in
1837, at a cost of £1400.
The parish comprises by computation 33,323 acres,
of which 1198 are in the township of Bradford. A very
considerable portion is hilly moor, affording but indifferent pasture; and the land under cultivation being
divided into small farms, occupied chiefly by persons
who are also employed in the domestic woollen and
stuff manufactures, or in the factories, the system of
agriculture pursued is susceptible of much improvement.
The soil near the town, and generally in the lower parts
of the parish, is a loam on a substratum of clay, and
the lands in the bottoms of the valleys produce abundant crops. The substratum is rich in mineral produce,
abounding with coal, ironstone, freestone, and millstone-grit, all of which are extensively wrought: of the
last the town is mostly built; it is raised in large
blocks, and, together with great quantities of flagstone,
is sent to London, and some of the principal towns in
the kingdom. The millstone-grit is abruptly cut off to
the east and south of the town by the coal-measures,
which form the northern boundary of the large Yorkshire coal-field; and in these strata are found the rich
iron-ores so extensively used in the Low Moor, Bowling,
and Bierley iron-works. The coal is of two kinds, distinguished as the black bed and the better bed; the
former found at various distances from the surface, with
a roof of argillaceous ironstone; and the latter about
forty yards below the former, varying in thickness, and
extending to the magnesian limestone formation in the
south. To these valuable mines and quarries, and to
the numerous rivulets that intersect the parish, may be
in a great degree attributed the importance of the town,
as the principal seat of a wide and prosperous manufacturing district.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £20; net income, £437, with a good house; patrons,
the Trustees of the late Rev. C. Simeon. An afternoon
lectureship was founded in the seventeenth century, by
Peter Sunderland, who also presented part of the communion-plate. The parish church is a spacious and
venerable structure, with a massive square embattled
tower strengthened by double buttresses at the angles,
and crowned with angular and central pinnacles, rising
from a perforated parapet. The western entrance is
through a handsome arch, above which is a large
window, in the later English style; the south porch is
modern: the walls of the aisles are strengthened with
buttresses of several stages, and those of the nave are
embattled. The nave is separated from the aisles by a
series of finely clustered columns, and lighted by a range
of clerestory windows; the east window, which is of
modern insertion, is large, enriched with tracery, and
embellished with some portions of ancient stained glass.
Christ Church, erected on a site presented by Benjamin
Rawson, Esq., was completed in 1815, at an expense of
£5400, raised by subscription, towards which a lady
unknown contributed £800, through the Rev. Dr. Gaskin, of London; it was enlarged in 1826 by the assistance of the Incorporated Society, and in 1836 was new
roofed and repaired at an expense of £1000. The incumbency is a perpetual curacy; net income, £160;
patron, the Vicar. The churches dedicated to St. James
and St. John are described under the article Horton, in
which township they are situated; as also St. Jude's
church under the article on the township of Manningham.
Other churches have been erected at Bierley, Bowling,
Buttershaw, Clayton, Daisy-Hill, Denholme-Gate, Eccleshill, Haworth, Horton, New Leeds, Manningham, Oxenhope, Shipley, Stanbury, Thornton, Wibsey, and Wilsden: the greater part of the livings are in the Vicar's gift.
There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of
Friends, Independents, Primitive Methodists, Wesleyans, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics; the gateway of
the Unitarian meeting-house is an ancient massive piece
of masonry, removed from Howley Hall on its demolition.
The Free Grammar School, which is of very early date,
was refounded and richly endowed by Edward VI.; and,
by charter of Charles II. in 1662, was placed under the
direction of thirteen governors, of whom the vicar of
Bradford is one ex officio. The school-house was rebuilt
on a more eligible site, under an act of parliament, in
1818, and comprises a neat dwelling-house for the
master, and a library. The endowment exceeds £500
per annum, and the number of scholars on the foundation is by the statutes limited to fifty; the scholars are
eligible to exhibitions founded in Queen's College, Oxford, by Lady Elizabeth Hastings. At Undercliffe, about
a mile to the north-east of the town, is the Airedale
Independent College, a handsome edifice of freestone, with
a stately portico, and occupying a considerable eminence; it affords accommodation for twenty students,
each of whom has a private study and separate bedroom, and contains a library, lecture-room, and diningroom, with apartments for the tutors, one of whom is
always resident. At Horton is a Baptist College, founded
in 1804. The Infirmary, in Westgate, erected in 1842 at
a cost of £5000, contains wards for 60 patients, and is
gratuitously attended by two physicians, two surgeons,
and two apothecaries: this institution now unites the
business of a dispensary; the buildings in Darley-street,
where a separate establishment existed, having been
vacated in 1843. The union of Bradford comprehends
the whole of the parish except the township of Haworth,
and eight townships in the parishes of Birstal and Calverley; including in the whole twenty-two townships,
and containing a population of 132,164. The learned
and eloquent John Sharp, Archbishop of York in the
reign of William III., was a native of the place.