Bradford Stories and Local Studies
Our District is built by everyone who comes here. We all leave our mark, including those who stay for generations and those who are passing through. Bradford Libraries are proud to celebrate the vibrant diversity of our shared history.
Bradford Libraries grew out of the nineteenth century Free Libraries movement – advocating for workers drawn to the booming Industrial towns to have access to reading and knowledge.
The Local Studies Libraries in Bradford and Keighley gather information about the history of our diverse communities across the District. In the mid-1980s Bradford Heritage Recording Unit and Bradford Libraries and Museums produced Destination Bradford, an exhibition attempting to “bring to life the individual life experiences of newcomers to Bradford over the past century in their own words”.
The photograph on the cover of the accompanying Destination Bradford book captures something of the richness of cultural exchange brought about through migration, showing “Assur Rehman’s Fish and Chip Shop, Cornwall Road, Manningham, which he bought in 1985 from Mr Stupans, a Latvian, who had run the business since the early 1960s.”
The Local Studies website contains a wealth of information about Bradford and the history of the people who live here, as well as guides to collections and other resources. The Black History Timeline for Bradford District stretches back to Ancient times up to the present day.
Discover the story of Henry Box Brown’s appearances at Bradford Mechanics Institute and his unconventional journey to Leeds in 1851, and the famed nineteenth century Fisk Jubilee Singers from America who played concerts at St George’s Hall, as well as many other stories you may not know about from our District.
The Timeline aims to give a broad overview of Black History in Britain and Bradford. It is not a complete record but provides a framework to be filled out with more detail and further information about Bradford’s rich Black History. It is a starting point for learning, further research and local Black history projects.
If you have information about a person or a place you think should be added to this Black history timeline for Bradford or like to find out more about any aspect of Local Studies please get in touch by emailing local.studies@bradford.gov.uk.