About Bradford in West Yorkshire

Bradford is a town in West Yorkshire, England, in the foothills of the Pennines, 8.6 miles (14 km) west of Leeds, and 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897. Following local government reform in 1974, city status was bestowed upon the wider metropolitan borough.

Bradford forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area, which in 2001 had a population of 1.5 million, and the metropolitan boroughs of Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees, which had a population of 2.3 million. The City of Bradford had a population of 522,452 in 2011.

Bradford was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bradeford" in 1002. The name derives from the Old English word "brad" and the Old Norse "fjord", meaning "broad ford". This referred to a crossing of the River Aire. By 1086, it had become known as Bradford-in-Elmete.

The settlement grew around two early medieval settlement centres: Baildon Hill, a Saxon burh with its church at the site of All Saints' Church, Baildon; and West Bradford, which grew around a Norse settlement centred on Bradford Cathedral. The two settlements were united by an act of Parliament in 1847 as the Municipal Borough of Bradford.

The town experienced significant industrial growth during the 19th century, when it became a major centre for wool and textile industries. However, these industries declined during the 20th century, leading to Bradford becoming one of the UK's largest unemployment blackspots.