Forster Square, Bradford
Encyclopedia
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
in central Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
that disappeared in the current (2006) Broadway development, but gives its name to Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
and a retail park.
History
Forster Square was built in the late 19th century at the bottom of Kirkgate, and named after the 19th-century politician William Edward ForsterWilliam Edward Forster
William Edward Forster PC, FRS was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman.-Early life:...
. Until 1958, it was a spacious city square, triangular in shape, with public gardens and a statue of Forster in the centre; it was also a busy hub for bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
services.
Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
fronted partly onto the square from 1924 until 1990, when the current small station of that name (originally intended to be temporary) was opened 300 metres (984.3 ft) to the north. The former station was then demolished.
In the 1950s and 1960s, much of central Bradford was redeveloped to the design of Stanley Wardley
Stanley Wardley
Stanley Gordon Wardley was City Engineer for Bradford during the major redevelopment of Bradford city centre in the 1950s and 1960s,-Biography:Wardley was appointed City Engineer and Surveyor for Bradford in January 1946....
. This included a new main road, Petergate, linking a completely remodelled Forster Square to Leeds Road at Eastbrook Well roundabout. Part of the gardens remained as a walled enclave in a busy traffic roundabout, accessible to pedestrians only by underpasses. Two large modern buildings were built on the west side: Central House and Forster House, a John Poulson
John Poulson
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling...
design. Apart from the station (see above), the only building fronting the square that survived that redevelopment was St Peter's House, which was for a long time the central post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
for Bradford.
On 18 March 2004, work began on clearing the site of Forster Square for new development as part of the Broadway project. Forster House was demolished in order to make room for the new development. A new road (Lower Kirkgate) was built linking the junction of Kirkgate and Cheapside with the junction of Canal Road and Bolton Road. There is no longer a through route from the north (Canal Road or Manor Row) to Leeds Road since then.
In late 2006, the site was empty and flat except for a large pile of rubble in one part of the site. For the first time for many years, St Peter's House and Bradford Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral , full name Cathedral Church of St Peter, is situated in the heart of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on a site used for Christian worship since the 8th century when missionaries based in Dewsbury evangelised the region...
behind it are visible from the centre of the city.
Construction work on the Broadway project was expected to be completed in 2007. Developers Westfield said that work would not commence until tenants were found.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/6335983.stm
Archaeological discoveries
Since the demolition, archaeologists have had a chance to excavate the area between Forster Square and Cheapside. They have found traces of what were most probably 16th-century buildings. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/04/28/archaeology_forster_square_bradford_feature.shtml. Smaller finds have also been found such as coins, pottery and clay tobacco pipes, a bone spoon and a bone toothbrush.Andrea Burgess, senior archaeologist at West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
Archaeology Advisory Service, said:
She also hoped that the findings would reveal more about life in Bradford during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
:
.
See also
- BradfordBradfordBradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
- Bradford Forster Square railway stationBradford Forster Square railway stationBradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
- Little Germany, BradfordLittle Germany, BradfordLittle Germany, Bradford is an area of particular historical and architectural interest in central Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.- History and information :The buildings within Little Germany date back to the 19th century....
External links
- Westfield current developers of the Bradford, Broadway scheme
- Bradford Regeneration Homepage
- Bradford City Metropolitian District Council Website
- Connecting the City Works to enable the Broadway project.