Wool Exchange, Bradford. Architects: Lockwood & Mawson. Photo: James Hughes
Friday 4 October to Sunday 6 October 2024
AGM from 2.45pm at Midland Hotel, Bradford BD1 4HU
The Victorian Society, the national charity that campaigns for Victorian and Edwardian buildings and structures, is this year gathering in Bradford for its AGM. The Society will hold its AGM weekend on 4, 5 and 6 October, to report and celebrate its work over the course of the last year, and to highlight the great richness and quality of Bradford’s C19th and early C20th built environment. Members will be out and about, in and around the city, enjoying a fascinating programme of walks and talks organised by the Society’s West Yorkshire Regional Group.
The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Beverley Mullaney, will join the Victorian Society Chair Professor Hilary Grainger and the Society’s Director James Hughes at Bradford’s Midland Hotel for the AGM (at 2.45pm), and, after, at the remarkable Grade I-listed City Hall of 1873 for lectures and dinner in the wonderful surroundings of Norman Shaw’s banqueting hall.
Victorian Society Director, James Hughes said: “Bradford is a great Victorian city, and in 2025 will be the UK City of Culture. No better time, therefore, to celebrate its nineteenth-century history, and the rich and remarkable architectural legacy of that period. Beyond the general Victorian character and feel of the city, it boasts some extraordinary buildings of the period, many of which the Society will visit. It promises to be a wonderful weekend.”
Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Beverley Mullaney said: “I am delighted to welcome the Victorian Society to our great city. We are really excited to soon be celebrating our year as UK City of Culture, so this is the ideal time to have been asked to meet with the Victorian Society. We will learn more from them about the influence of the Victorians, and to share some of the stories of great Victorians who have had such a marked impact on the city of Bradford. We will be sure to give everyone a real warm Yorkshire welcome and showcase what our city and district has to offer.”
On Saturday there are guided walks and visits around Bradford’s Victorian heart. These will take in major landmarks such as St George’s Hall, the Bradford Club and the wonderful Wool Exchange. The tour continues through Victorian neighbourhood Little Germany, before visiting the Cathedral with its Morris & Co windows. The day culminates with a tour of the Undercliffe Cemetery, the Grade II*-listed Victorian burial ground, offering panoramic views across the city and numerous fine Victorian funerary monuments.
Highlights of Sunday’s visits will include the extraordinary Reform Synagogue of 1880 (Grade II*), the second oldest surviving Reform synagogue in the country; Manningham and the Manningham Mills; and Cartwright Hall and its magnificent municipal gallery and grounds. The day – and the weekend as a whole – will conclude at Saltaire, the astonishingly well-preserved industrial village (and now UNESCO World Heritage Site) developed by Titus Salt in the 1850s.
