Districts
of Manchester
Manchester District of Bradford. Aerial photo Image provided courtesy
of Webb Aviation © 2008. www.webbaviation.co.uk - all rights
reserved.
Bradford is
a suburb of Manchester bordered by Miles Platting and Bewick, and
has the Ashton Canal running through it on its way to Portland Basin
and the Peak District.
It should
not be confused with the City of Bradford in Yorkshire.
The name, originally
thought to have been "Broad Ford", referring to a possible
crossing place over the River Medlock. In
medieval times the district was unequivocally rural with pastures,
streams and woodland, inhabited by deer and significant numbers
of bees who added their honey to the local economy. It was reported
that wolves and eagles also lived within its woodlands.
That all
changed with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, as Bradford
emerged as a major source of coal to fuel steam engines to drive
the factory machines. Nothing of the fields or woodland survives.
Bradford Colliery continued coal production until its closure and
demolition in 1973.
From the
ridiculous to the sublime - Bradford also had the distinction of
having one of Manchester's two original public parks. Philips
Park was opened in 1846 by Manchester MP Mark
Philips, a reforming politician who has fought long and hard
to provide recreational gardens for the benefit of working people
in Manchester. The park was the first of its kind and set the standard
for many others that followed in towns and cities throughout the
United Kingdom. Its flower gardens, expansive lawns, walks, lakes
and exotic glass houses to some extent helped replace some of the
rural landscapes which had been lost with increasing industrial
development.
In 1869
the construction of the giant gas holder at the new Bradford Gas
Works was controversial and universally unpopular, yet quickly became
subsumed into the local landscape to become part of Bradford street
furniture, and remains so today.
Bradford
is now part of the East Manchester Regeneration Scheme, and has
benefitted from the creation of the City of Manchester Stadium and
other sporting facilities as part of the Manchester 2002
Commonwealth Games Sportcity complex.
See also:
NOTE:
We have made reference to several sources in compiling this web
page, but must make special mention of the Breedon Books' "Illustrated
History of Manchester's Suburbs" by Glynis Cooper, of which
we made particular use. Information about this book can be found
on our Books About Manchester webpage.
