WEST YORKSHIRE ARCHIVE SERVICE

BRADFORD

These mainly come from borough and district councils and their predecessors which merged in 1974 to become Bradford Metropolitan Council. The minutes and other records of the Bradford and Bingley Improvement Commissioners, and Bowling, Manningham and Shipley township books are among the earlier records. Bradford became a borough in 1847 and large quantities of its archives are available including minutes and departmental records. Similar material is available for other local authorities. There are collections for Bradford, North Bierley and Keighley Poor Law Unions and School Boards.

The office is a place of deposit for the records of the Diocese of Bradford. It holds material for most of the parishes within the Metropolitan District with the earliest parish registers starting in 1562. Nonconformity was always strong in the region and the office has collections on many of the dissenting congregations.

There are a number of large collections. They include papers of the Spencer-Stanhope family which relate to the Horsforth, Calverley and Eccleshill areas, the Wilsons of Eshton Hall which cover Keighley and also have material on North Bierley, the Tempests of Tong, the Ferrands of Bingley and Francis Sharp Powell of Horton Hall.

Bradford is a classic example of an industry town with its success depending on the worsted trade. A number of manufacturers' records have been deposited; among them Salt's of Saltaire, Fison's of Burley-in- Wharfedale, Drummond's of Lumb Lane and Garnett's of Apperley Bridge. Other important collections are the records of the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Trade, the Bradford Manufacturers' Association and the Wool Textile Manufacturers' Federation. Non-textile business records include those of the Bowling Iron Company, George Hattersley and Sons, loom manufacturers, the Bradford Canal Company and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal Company.

The workers' side of industrial relations is represented by trade union records. The earliest material relates to the important 1825 strike. Bradford Trades Council has deposited several large collections and there is good material on a number of textile unions, such as the Power Loom Overlookers, Textile Managers and Overlookers, Crafstmen and Dyers, Bleachers and Finishers. Other craft union records including those of printers, woodworkers and engineers are also available, as are records of some general unions and the Distributive and Allied Workers.

The Labour, Liberal and Conservative parties have all at various times headed the town's politics. The office holds material on the various political movements of the 1830s and 1840s, in particular the struggle for the Ten Hours Bill. The Liberal control of the mid nineteenth century is recorded in various minute books, letters and papers; the Conservative revival after 1885 can be followed in a fine set of party records; and the rise of the Independent Labour Party and later the Labour Party can be seen in several sources especially those deposited by the Bradford Trades Council. Papers on a number of well-known local politicians such as W E Forster, Philip Snowden and E R Hartley are also held.

Records from a wide range of organisations are also available. Among them is a large collection of archives of co-operative societies which has national significance. There are also many papers about individuals such as personal letters, diaries, reminiscences, antiquarian notes and pedigrees.