Bradford, ENG - Postcode - BD1 1EG - Post Codes & Zip Codes List

Description of Bradford, England

Bradford, located in the county of West Yorkshire, is the district capital and largest settlement in the City of Bradford. The city sits on the banks of the Bradford Beck in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. At the time of the 2011 census, Bradford was home to 349,561 people, making it the county's second-most populous urban area behind Leeds, located 9 miles (14 km) to the east. All of the towns in the district, including Shipley, Silsden, Bingley, and Keighley, as well as the surrounding areas in the metropolitan county, form a contiguous urban region. Similarly, Bradford Beck is a name for it.

It became a West Riding of Yorkshire municipal borough in 1847 and obtained its city charter in 1897. Bradford City Hall has been the location of Bradford City Council meetings since the reform of local administration that took place there in 1974. With a total population of 539,776, the district is the seventh most populous in England and include both civil parishes and unparished regions.

It became a city in the 19th century, but the century before that it was a center of worldwide textile production. The city's swift rise to prominence as the "wool capital of the world" and the subsequent coining of the terms "Woolopolis" and "Wool City" make it one of the earliest examples of an industrialized community.  The area's proximity to sources of coal, iron ore and soft water started off the expansion of manufacturing which led to a boom in people. In the middle of the twentieth century, deindustrialization caused the textile industry and the rest of the industrial base to decline (including poverty, unemployment and social unrest). Based on finance and industry, the city's economy is over £10 billion, making it the third largest in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

It was the first UNESCO City of Film, and attractions like the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford City Park, the Alhambra theater, and Cartwright Hall contribute to the city's thriving tourism and media industries. It is the UK City of Culture for 2025 having gained the designation on 31 May 2022.

Geographical Description of Bradford

At 53°45′00′′N 01°50′00′′W, Bradford can be found (53.7500, -1.8333). Geographically, it is part of the South Pennines' eastern moorland.

The city of Bradford is not located on any large body of water, but rather at the confluence of three valleys. One of these valleys is home to the Bradford Beck, which has its origins in the western moorlands and is swelled by the Horton Beck, Westbrook, Bowling Beck, and Eastbrook. The beck makes a sharp swing to the north at the first ford and eventually meets the River Aire at Shipley. This valley is commonly referred to as Bradfordale (or Bradforddale) (see for example Firth 1997). It's technically one of the Yorkshire Dales, but because it cuts through the middle of the city, it's not always recognized as such. The city center beck has been culverted since the middle of the 19th century. On the 1852 Ordnance Survey map it is seen as far as Sun Bridge, near the end of Tyrrell Street, and then from beside Bradford Forster Square railway station on Kirkgate. Culverts extend to Queens Road, however the Ordnance Survey of 1906 has it ending at Tumbling Hill Street, off Thornton Road, and beginning again just north of Cape Street, off Valley Road.

Bradford Beck and its tributaries provided water for the Bradford Canal, which was constructed in 1774 to connect the city to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The supply was often inadequate to feed the locks, and the dirty status of the canal led to its temporary closure in 1866: the canal was abandoned in the early 20th century as uneconomic.

Economy of Bradford

There has been a long-term downturn in Bradford's textile sector, and the city as a whole has seen the effects of de-industrialization. Some parts of Bradford have some of the greatest social deprivation in the UK, with isolated communities of exclusion and unemployment rates that exceed 25%. However, other parts of Bradford have some of the lowest rates of social deprivation in the UK. Bradford's economy is worth over £9.5 billion and is projected to increase to more than £10 billion by 2018. This makes the district the third largest (after Leeds and Sheffield) in Yorkshire & Humber and 8.4% of the region's production. Financial institutions (Yorkshire Building Society, Provident Financial, Santander UK), textile producers (British Wool Marketing Board, Bulmer and Lumb Group), chemical producers (BASF, Nufarm UK), electronic component producers (Arris International, Filtronic), engineering component producers (NG Bailey, Powell Switchgear), and manufacturers (Allen & Overy) all call the city home (Denso Marston, Bailey Offsite, Hallmark Cards UK and Seabrook Potato Crisps). Supermarket chain Morrisons has its head office in Bradford as does water utility company Yorkshire Water.

Provident Financial plc, a financial services firm that focuses on Home Collected Credit (HCC) and owns the credit card issuing institution Vanquis Bank, is a major employer in the area. It's on the LSE and included in the FTSE 100 Index. It was founded in 1880 by Joshua Kelley Waddilove with the goal of serving the needs of low-income families in West Yorkshire with access to credit. It has relocated its offices to a new 250,000-square-foot (23,000-square-meter) facility in the heart of the city at a cost of £45 million. A 200-room Jurys Inn is also located here.

In October 2011, Bradford Council secured £17.6 million of regional growth funding from the government, which it will match to create a £35 million "growth zone" in which companies would get business rate relief in exchange for helping people get training and jobs. This was a boon to plans to regenerate Bradford's city center, which includes the long-delayed Broadway shopping center.

When retail company Freeman Grattan Holdings signed a lease in Bradford in April 2012, they planned to open a new headquarters there to accommodate 300 employees. When the time comes, the mail-order and online retailer Grattan will relocate its administrative offices from Lidget Green, where it has been located since 1934, to a Grade II-listed former wool warehouse on the outskirts of Little Germany.

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county located in the northern part of England. It is bordered by South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester. The county is known for its rich industrial heritage, stunning landscapes, vibrant cities, and cultural attractions.

The county's largest city is Leeds, which is also the cultural, financial, and commercial hub of West Yorkshire. Leeds is renowned for its thriving shopping scene, diverse culinary offerings, vibrant nightlife, and impressive Victorian architecture. The city is home to numerous museums, galleries, theaters, and music venues, making it a vibrant cultural destination.

Another prominent city in West Yorkshire is Bradford, which has a significant multicultural population. Bradford has a strong industrial heritage and is known for its textile industry. The city is home to the National Science and Media Museum, which explores the history and impact of photography, film, and television. Bradford also has a rich heritage of Victorian architecture, including the iconic City Hall and Bradford Cathedral.

Huddersfield is another notable town in West Yorkshire, famous for its rich history and beautiful architecture. It is home to the University of Huddersfield and has a lively arts and music scene. The town boasts a diverse range of independent shops, cafes, and restaurants, as well as the impressive Huddersfield Railway Station, an architectural gem.

West Yorkshire is blessed with stunning natural landscapes, including the Yorkshire Dales National Park and parts of the Peak District National Park. These areas offer breathtaking scenery, picturesque villages, and excellent opportunities for hiking, cycling, and outdoor activities.

The county also has several notable historical sites, such as Kirkstall Abbey, a well-preserved Cistercian monastery in Leeds, and Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that showcases Victorian industrial architecture and textile heritage.

Transportation within West Yorkshire is well-developed, with an extensive network of roads, railways, and bus services connecting the towns and cities. Leeds Bradford Airport provides domestic and international flights, making it easily accessible for travelers.

West Yorkshire offers a blend of urban excitement, cultural attractions, stunning landscapes, and historical sites. Whether you're exploring the vibrant cities, immersing yourself in nature, or delving into the county's rich industrial past, West Yorkshire offers a diverse and captivating experience.

England, UK Description

England is the UK's largest constituent unit, occupying more than half of the island. Despite its political, economic, and cultural legacy, England is no longer a governmental or political unit. 

With its rich soil and crisscrossing network of rivers and streams, England has been and remains a thriving agricultural economy. England became the epicenter of the global Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s, quickly rising to the top of the global industrialization rankings. Manufacturing industries in Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool turned raw materials into finished goods for export. London, the country's capital, became one of the world's most important cities, a hub for a global political economy. The London metropolitan area continues to be Europe's financial center and a hotbed of innovation, particularly in the fields of popular culture.

At the same time, the UK is a place with a very developed tourism industry. The culture and scenery of the UK attract a lot of tourists to come for vacation all year round. If you also want to travel to the UK or have been there and want to leave some traces of your visit, you can try to customize Custom Keyrings with a UK theme, such as the British flag, Buckingham Palace, etc.  Customized keychains can be carried with you and retain beautiful travel memories.

One of the most fundamental features of the English language is its diversity within a limited compass. Even England's most remote regions are accessible by car or train within a day's drive or train ride of London. Many English people identify with the regions or shires from which they are descended—for example, Yorkshire, the West Country, or the Midlands—and maintain strong ties to those regions even if they live in other parts of the country. Some differences exist, but many more, especially as England transitioned from a rural to an urban society, began to fade after 1945. The country's island location has shaped the English character, which values social harmony, social harmony, and good manners that ensure orderly relations in a densely populated landscape, among other characteristics.

During the dismantling of Britain's vast overseas empire in the mid-20th century, England suffered an identity crisis, and much attention has been paid to discussions of "Englishness"—that is, what it means to be English in a country that now has large immigrant populations from many former colonies and is far more cosmopolitan than insular. Although influenced by other cultures, English culture is distinct and difficult to define. The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell, a self-described "revolutionary patriot" who chronicled politics and society in the 1930s and 1940s, makes this observation. 

Geographical Description of England

Except for Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire in the east, England's topography is low-lying but rarely flat. The area has many rolling hillsides, with the highest elevations in the north, north-west, and southwest. Intricate underlying structures have resulted in intricate patterns in the landscape. The oldest sedimentary rocks and some igneous rocks (found in isolated granite hills) are found in Cornwall and Devon, while the most recent alluvial soils are found in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. Both the sandstone and limestone bands that separate these two regions date from prehistoric times when large sections of central and southern England were submerged under warm seas. Geological forces lifted and folded some of these rocks, forming northern England's spine. Scafell Pike, England's highest point, stands at 3,210 feet (978 metres) and is part of the world's highest mountain range. The northern mountains are mostly slate, while the southern mountains are mostly lava flows. Mountain ranges have developed from the North Downs at 965 feet (294 meters) to the Cotswolds at 1,083 feet (330 meters).

The Chiltern Hills, North Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds, and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds were rounded into distinctive plateaus with west-facing escarpments during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). A land bridge connecting Britain to the rest of Europe was engulfed as the last glacial sheet melted. The retreating glaciers left behind gravel, sand, and glacial mud, further altering the land surface. Rain, rivers, and tides, as well as subsidence, have shaped the hills and coastline of eastern England. Limestone, gritstone, and carboniferous strata plateaus are associated with major coalfields, some visible as surface outcrops.

A great example of England's geologic complexity is its cliff structure. The chalk cliffs of Dover are made up of a series of sedimentary rocks of varying ages that start at Land's End in the far southwest and end at the Isle of Wight. The English coastline is dotted with cliffs, bays, and river estuaries that add to the overall beauty of the landscape. 

England's weather is as varied as its topography. The average temperature in England, like other temperate maritime zones, is moderate, ranging from around 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) in January to 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) in July in the Thames river valley (32 degrees Celsius). Tacitus, the Roman historian, described it as "unpleasant" with "frequent rains and mists but no extreme cold." However, the higher elevations of England receive snow for roughly 50 days out of the year. In fact, the northwest and southwest of England are particularly "wet". These areas receive less than 30 inches (750 mm) of rain per year and are frequently subject to severe drought. Rainfall averages only 20 inches in parts of the southeast (500 mm). The weather has influenced English art and literature not only seasonally but also day-to-day and even hour-to-hour. The bumbershoot's moniker as the stereotypical English gentleman's walking stick is not accidental.

The Economy of England

In the 18th and 19th centuries, England's economy was primarily agricultural until the Industrial Revolution transformed it into a highly urbanized and industrialized region as a result of the Industrial Revolution. A result of the close proximity of coal and iron ore deposits, heavy industries (iron and steel, textiles, and shipbuilding) sprang up in the north-eastern counties, and they continue to thrive today. During the 1930s, the Great Depression and foreign competition both contributed to a decline in manufactured goods production and an increase in unemployment in the industrial north, which contributed to the Great Depression. Residents of these northern counties who were out of work were forced to relocate south to London and its environs. Because of urbanization and industrialization, the southeast has become dominated by industries such as automotive, chemical, electrical, and machine tool manufacturing. Despite the fact that population growth and urbanization significantly reduced farmland in England during the twentieth century, the geographical counties of Cornwall, Devon, Kent, Lincolnshire, Somerset, and North Yorkshire have retained a significant proportion of their agricultural land.

Another period of industrial decline occurred in the late twentieth century, during which coal mining was virtually phased out and job losses in industries such as iron and steel production, shipbuilding, and textile manufacturing were particularly severe. The decline of these industries had a disproportionately negative impact on the economies of the north and the Midlands, while the economies of the south remained relatively prosperous. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the service sector had taken over as the dominant sector of the English economy, with banking and other financial services, retail, distribution, media and entertainment, education, health care, and hotels and restaurants among the leading sectors.