‘What Bradford needs a is a proper museum about the city' says Civic Society chair
NEWS that Forster Square is being served by an extra six LNER London services per day will hopefully bring an influx of new visitors to the city - while also making it easier for us Bradfordians to enjoy trips to our nation's great capital.
But, after our southern thrill-seekers have meandered through our smart-looking historic streets, had a cup of tea using proper tap water, and enjoyed curry that makes a Brick Lane biryani taste like a limp cheese sandwich by comparison, where would they discover the story of Bradford?
Because while we can boast an outstanding collection of Council museums and galleries, a world-famous national museum, and a peppering of fascinating independent sites, Bradford still doesn't have a proper city museum. Nowhere in the centre can you really discover how Bradford grew from a sleepy Pennine backwater to one of the great industrial capitals of the world. You can't see our civic treasures, or learn about our great characters, or discover our proud history of migration, social reform, and pioneering spirit. Nor is there a 'warts and all' bit that chronicles some of the city's darkest days, but times that we must none-the-less never forget or, more importantly, learn lessons from.
Pull-up banners, hastily-converted shop units, or occasional glimpses inside City Hall's civic rooms simply won't cut it. We need a big old stone building, full to the brim with weird and wonderful things, where you can get lost on a rainy Sunday afternoon or spend far too much money on fridge magnets and stationery. It should be where children hear tales of the Bradford Boar and make Minecraft Little Germanys; where grown-ups exchange knowing glances at a Rita, Sue, and Bob Too original movie poster; and where the even older folk marvel at posh old shop signs and artefacts from decades gone by. A proper celebration of Bradfordia, past, present, and future.
If this all sounds fanciful given the Council's well-documented financial challenges, the conditions are right to make it happen.
It's believed that the city will, at some point soon, need a new museums and galleries store to replace its crumbling backroom sites. It has also been stated, as outlined in the much-trumpeted 10 year cultural strategy, that there should be a standalone site in the city centre to help tell the 'story of Bradford' - a vision that has yet to materialise despite being mid-way through the UK City of Culture year.
Plans for a mini museum inside City Hall were scuppered when a deal with the National Rugby League Museum fell through, and besides, the grand old building is already busy with new municipal functions and the excellent Police Museum. It's also a matter of public record (no pun intended) that the West Yorkshire Archives and local studies centre needs a new Bradford home. Presumably that search comes with a bit of regional funding in place too.
Aside from the need and desire for a new city centre museum, Bradford is increasingly adored by lots of national bodies with regular funding streams, such as Historic England, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. With grand old sites like the Bradford Club on Piece Hall Yard, the striking terracotta Prudential building, and any number of ex bank buildings now up for grabs, the city's new Heritage Action Zone can comfortably host something with a fine civic and cultural function to keep the good people of this city entertained and enlightened.
A proper city museum is an essential ingredient in any town looking to flex its municipal muscles. Leeds boldly created one in its main square; London is opening a new mega museum in 2026; and Liverpool has recently bagged £10m from the Government to build on its already excellent museums offer. Now is not the time for Bradford to be thinking small.
Culture, heritage, and experiential activities are what are tempting people back to historic town centres, not retail, and with footfall rising in the city centre we need to be creating even more attractions that will see people returning in 2026, 2027, and years to come.
The recent launch of our new website for Little Germany - thanks to the hard work of Impact Hub Yorkshire and other local partners - has shown that there is still such a strong appetite to make more of Bradford's history and heritage, and even more fascinating, there are still so many unanswered questions too.
I hope that the upcoming changes and further reshaping of the city centre can provide an opportunity to satisfy that curiosity, and to create a new civic space for us all to take pride in, for us all to own, and for us all to contribute towards. That is the stuff proper cities are made of.
* Si Cunningham is chair of Bradford Civic Society.
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