Bradford
Districts & Suburbs of Manchester

BRADFORD
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.

Return to: Suburban Districts of Manchester

See also:

• Map of City Boundaries in 1838
• Map of City Boundaries in 1938
• Map of City Boundaries in 2002
• Gazetteer of Greater Manchester Place Names

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.