Bradford, with a population of over half a million people, is among the largest and busiest boroughs in England. Few people know, though, that Bradford is also one of the oldest cities in the country, with a history that dates back to the ninth century, when it was the home of a loose confederation of Saxon tribes. Like many of England's oldest cities, the Industrial Revolution of the mid-1800s turned Bradford from a wool-spinning market town into a coal-burning and textile-milling powerhouse almost overnight.
The inevitable repercussions of massive growth over a short time did have an effect on Bradford, unfortunately, and throughout the age of industry up until only a handful of decades ago, Bradford was known as one of the most polluted cities in all of Europe. During the height of the textile and coal industries, Bradford had several hundred smokestacks burning all day and citizens succumbed to diseases like cholera and typhoid in huge numbers. Fortunately, those days are long behind the city and though the textile industry is all but lifeless, Bradford has managed to change its industrial face into a skyline built for the twenty-first century. Instead of smokestacks sending coal refuse into the sky there are engineering firms like NG Bailey and Powell Switchgear sharing the atmosphere with finance giants like YBS and Provident Financial.
Though fast and unmitigated growth has been a large part of Bradford over the past two hundred years, there are still traces within the city limits of the Bradford that existed during the Middle Ages. The Bradford Cathedral, for instance, is one of the few medieval buildings that still stand but it is a source of pride and a symbol of beauty for a city that has seen much since. The beautiful concert hall known as St. George's Hall is a bit younger, dating back to 1853, but it marks the last throes of Victorian architecture before industry took over making the building all the more beautiful and significant.
As is common with any city that is both crowded and historically complex, Bradford is very unique in its "attitude" and this has helped to shape many minds that grew up there. As a result, many famous celebrities have come out of Bradford including the Bronte sisters (the writers of such classic fiction as Wuthering Heights), David Hockney, and Sir Edward Appleton among others. The city still has a thriving youth population that plays to the beat of its own drum and there is reason to believe that, no matter what Bradford goes through in years to come, the city's identity will always sculpt bright young minds. Bradford has survived through clan wars, pollution, massive fires, and riots and it still stands to this day as an important epicenter for technology and twenty-first century culture. Few cities can claim this much relevance after being so old but it is a testament to the forward-thinking people who inhabit this burg that Bradford should still be one of the most significant cities in all of England.
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