127-723: Dudley Hill is a village in the borough of City of Bradford , West Yorkshire , England and is in Tong ward. There are a few mentions of the name Dudley Hill prior to the Industrial Revolution . John Wesley (1703–1791) visited Dudley Hill in 1744. The Wesleyan Sunday School opened in 1816, the Wesleyan Chapel in 1823 and the Ebenezer Primitive Methodists Chapel opened in 1833 and in 1861 Salem Chapel opened on Sticker Lane. To
254-522: A Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ ( West Midlands conurbation ) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull and Walsall , along with the districts of Lichfield , Tamworth , North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove . Beyond this is
381-476: A Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons as of 2024 by one Conservative , one independent and eight Labour MPs . Originally part of Warwickshire , Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to
508-447: A UNESCO World Heritage Site . Central Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture , particularly wool . The area's access to a supply of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of Bradford's manufacturing base, which, as textile manufacture grew, led to an explosion in population and was a stimulus to civic investment. However, Bradford has faced similar challenges to
635-560: A conurbation with the borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering 59,972 ha (600 km ; 232 sq mi). Surrounding this is Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes
762-645: A high school situated on Tong Street. The Bradford Dudley Hill Rugby League Club is on Lower Lane. City of Bradford Bradford ( / ˈ b r æ d f ər d / ), also known as the City of Bradford , is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire , England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford , but covers a larger area which includes the towns and villages of Keighley , Shipley , Bingley , Ilkley , Haworth , Silsden , Queensbury , Thornton and Denholme . Bradford has
889-546: A medical centre . There is also a wide range of independent shops, a pub, Iceland , Wynsors World of Shoes , Poundstretcher , Pet City, Superdrug , a Gala Bingo , and a range of takeaways . The only listed building in Dudley Hill is the Grade II listed former Dudley Hill Picture Palace. The UK headquarters of Hallmark Cards Inc. is based in Dudley Hill after relocating from Bingley. Dudley Hill First School and
1016-604: A Bradford man whose car was set on fire following his conversion complained to police, but the officer advised him to "stop being a crusader and move to another place." In response to the Ouseley Report, approximately £3 million was provided by the Home Office and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to regenerate the city. A further £2 billion was invested in regenerating the city centre, building
1143-410: A Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments. Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. A major contributing factor is a £1.1b sum that has been paid out since 2010, for equal pay claims. There is still a bill for £760m, increasing by £14m a month. There are also problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19m but is now closer to £100m. In addition there
1270-538: A banqueting hall, new housing and leisure facilities. In December 2001, Saltaire was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . This means that the government has a duty to protect the site. The buildings belonging to the model village are individually listed, with the highest level of protection given to the Congregational church (since 1972 known as the United Reformed Church ) which
1397-503: A broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the English Civil War Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of social mobility and cultural pluralism , had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than
SECTION 10
#17327732519411524-578: A century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years. The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the Guild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of the de Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving
1651-534: A considerable urban heat island effect. During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at London Heathrow . Snow showers often pass through
1778-515: A constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly entrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops. This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the Industrial Revolution – Birmingham residents registered over three times as many patents as those of any other British town or city. The demand for capital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into
1905-412: A copy of the book. In July 2001, ethnic tensions led to rioting . The Ouseley Report , written shortly before the riots broke out, noted that Bradford had become deeply divided by segregated schooling, with communities deeply ignorant of each other, and there was widespread fear of crime and violence which West Yorkshire Police had insufficiently tackled for fear of being branded racist. In one case,
2032-591: A haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment . The town developed into a notable centre of literary , musical , artistic and theatrical activity; and its leading citizens – particularly
2159-543: A large influx of South Asian immigrants and the Bradford Council 's pursuit of a policy of multiculturalism in the 1980s, separatism between ethnic communities became an issue, an issue highlighted by Bradford headteacher Ray Honeyford . In 1989, a section of the Muslim community led a campaign against Salman Rushdie 's The Satanic Verses , and caught the attention of the international media by publicly burning
2286-556: A lower economic activity rate than West Yorkshire, the regional average for Yorkshire and the Humber and the national average. Conversely Bradford has a higher economic inactivity rate than all these areas and also has a lower employment rate. Manufacturing is still strong in Bradford and accounts for almost 12% of all jobs, and the city's service-sector economy accounts for 82% of the district's 192,000 jobs. The entrepreneurial spirit
2413-624: A major financial centre with extensive international connections. Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765, and Ketley's Building Society , the world's first building society , in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at
2540-485: A major tool for regeneration, cultural development and social inclusion. The cinema connections in the city (which is also the home of the National Science and Media Museum ) are both historical and contemporary, with ongoing efforts to preserve, promote and enrich the city's heritage of film. Bradford has been a film location since the beginning of cinema, with its indigenous film industry being traced back to
2667-463: A population of 1.145 million in the city proper . Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms the West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it
SECTION 20
#17327732519412794-694: A population of 528,155, making it the fourth-most populous metropolitan district and the ninth-most populous local authority district in England. It forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation which in 2011 had a population of 1,777,934, and the city is part of the Leeds-Bradford Larger Urban Zone (LUZ), which, with a population of 2,393,300, is the fourth largest in the United Kingdom after London, Birmingham and Manchester . The city
2921-589: A record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak , two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive T6/F3 tornado occurred in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area. The tornado took an almost parallel path to that of
3048-505: A shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in -ingahām are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest. Surrounding settlements with names ending in -tūn ('farm'), -lēah ('woodland clearing'), -worð ('enclosure') and -field ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by
3175-492: A single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale . The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from
3302-549: A tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate ( Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification ), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 21.3 °C (70.3 °F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F). Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and
3429-663: A well head. The stag is derived from the device of the Denholme Urban District Council and the arms of the former Borough of Keighley, but represents the District as a whole. The white angora goat is retained from the former arms, recalling that the wool of this animal was used in the local industries. The roses on the collars refer to the Yorkshire rose and the compartment resembles the area's hills and dales . The original Bradford Coat of Arms had
3556-442: A wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain ,
3683-495: A year, with an estimated 8.6 million day trips within the district. The impact of this is more than 13,500 jobs supported by the tourism and retail sector. The economy of Bradford is worth around £9.5 billion, contributing around 8.4% of the region's output, and making the district the third largest after Leeds and Sheffield in Yorkshire & Humber. Traditionally based on the wool and textile industries, manufacturing
3810-581: Is a projected £87m deficit for the financial year 23/24. Birmingham City Council has 101 councillors representing 77 wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square . As of 2023 , the council has a Labour Party majority and is led by John Cotton. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of
3937-533: Is an area including Western parts of the city as well as the area to the west. The City of Bradford includes the town of Haworth and the village of Thornton , the birthplace of the Brontë sisters . Keighley and Worth Valley Railway , Ilkley's Cow and Calf Rocks , Bradford's National Science and Media Museum , Bradford City Park , Cartwright Hall , Saltaire village (a UNESCO World Heritage Site ) and Salts Mill are key attractions that draw visitors from across
Dudley Hill - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-470: Is higher in Bradford than in the UK as a whole, whilst £1.5 billion of construction work is transforming Bradford in a bid to attract further investment. At the 2001 UK census, Bradford had 326,774 residents aged 16 to 74. 2.5% of these people were students with jobs, 7.6% looking after home or family, 6.1% permanently sick or disabled and 4.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The City of Bradford has
4191-603: Is listed grade I. The village which includes Salts Mill (pictured right) has survived remarkably complete with Roberts Park on the north side of the river recently restored by Bradford Council. In October 2007, Bradford was voted the greenest city in the United Kingdom. In the Sustainable Cities Index, compiled by Forum for the Future , the city was revealed to have the lowest environmental impact of any British city. In spite of its undeniably large role in
4318-668: Is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres) above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent . To the immediate south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills , Clent Hills and Walton Hill , which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over
4445-494: Is more present in Bradford than generally in the UK, with start-ups accounting for 12% of the business community. Bradford's GVA is over £6 billion. Education in the city is provided for by a number of schools and colleges . State schooling is managed by Bradford local education authority . There are also a number of independent (private) and free schools, such as Bradford Grammar School , Woodhouse Grove School and Bradford Girls Grammar School . Bradford College and
4572-513: Is now dominated by the service sector . The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $ 121.1bn (2014 ). Its five universities, including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions –
4699-507: Is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from the Commonwealth , and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony of Hong Kong . Birmingham also has an older Irish connection, with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter, Digbeth . In Birmingham, 65.9% of
4826-642: Is represented by Philip Davies (Conservative), and Keighley is represented by Robbie Moore (Conservative). The city played an important part in the early history of the Labour Party . A mural on the back of the Priestley Centre For The Arts (visible from Leeds Road) commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in 1893. In 1974, City Of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
4953-545: Is situated on the edge of the Pennines , and is bounded to the east by the City of Leeds , the south by the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees and the south west by the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale . The Pendle borough of Lancashire lies to the west whilst the unitary authority of North Yorkshire lie to the north west and north east of the city. Bradford is the 4th largest metropolitan district in
5080-466: Is situated on the edge of the Pennines , and is bounded to the east by the City of Leeds , the south by the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees and the south west by the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale . The Lancashire Borough of Pendle lies to the west, whilst North Yorkshire districts of Craven and Harrogate lie to the north west and north east respectively. Bradford district has 3636 hectares of upland heathland, including Ilkley Moor where
5207-471: Is still strong, accounting for around 1 in 5 jobs. The city's service-sector economy accounts for 77% of the district's 195,000 jobs, with today's fastest-growing sectors including information technology , financial services , tourism and retail headquarters and distribution. The district is home to a number of large businesses with recognised brands operating on a national and international scale such as Morrisons , Pace Plc and Hallmark Cards . Three of
Dudley Hill - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-800: The Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: St Chad's , seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew . The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in
5461-687: The Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. Lord Durham , who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken
5588-423: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes. Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in
5715-521: The Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional IRA . The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two pubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted , who became known later as
5842-531: The County Borough of Bradford was merged with the borough of Keighley , the urban districts of Baildon , Bingley , Denholme , Ilkley , Shipley and Silsden , along with the Queensbury parts of Queensbury and Shelf Urban District and the parishes of Addingham , and Steeton with Eastburn from Skipton Rural District . Kildwick was part of Bradford at this time, but has since been moved into
5969-644: The Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron , the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens , was invented by John Randall and Henry Boot . Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby , were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in
6096-412: The Industrial Revolution , Bradford's rivers were not polluted beyond redemption, and the streams surrounding the city are now a haven of wildlife . The City of Bradford has areas of green space , and recycling schemes. Bradford became the world's first UNESCO City of Film in 2009. The designation recognises Bradford's aim to use this history and the local popularity and accessibility of film as
6223-403: The Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society . By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising
6350-608: The River Aire . The River Wharfe runs through Ilkley and Burley in Wharfedale , and tributaries of the River Calder run through the district. Unusually for a major settlement, Bradford is not built on any substantial body of water. The ford from which it takes its name (Broad-Ford) was a crossing of the stream called Bradford Beck . While most of Bradford is unparished , there are parish and town councils for most of
6477-652: The River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations . Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during
SECTION 50
#17327732519416604-549: The Soho Manufactory , pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the factory system . Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the industrial steam engine by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. Freeing for
6731-464: The University of Bradford are the main further and higher education providers. Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with
6858-536: The Victorian era , the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria . Joseph Chamberlain , mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain , who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of
6985-634: The largest outside London. Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden , and is the most inland major city in the country, and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly
7112-517: The 112-mile (180 km) London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first human-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During
7239-574: The 16th, 18th and 20th Battalions, The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment. On the morning of 1 July 1916, an estimated 1,394 young men from Bradford and District The Bradford Pals, the 16th and 18th Battalions of the Prince of Wales Own West Yorkshire Regiment left their trenches in Northern France to advance across No Man's Land. It was the first hour of the first day of the Battle of
7366-454: The 1931 tornado. Notable tornadoes have also struck the city in 1923, 1946, 1951, 1998 and 1999, most of which being of T2-T4/F1-F2 intensity. There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and 250 miles (400 kilometres) of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park , which covers 2,400 acres (971 ha) in
7493-400: The 19th and 20th centuries. In the 1840s Bradford's population was significantly increased by migrants from Ireland, particularly rural County Mayo and County Sligo , and by 1851 around 18,000 people of Irish origin resided in the town, representing around 10% of the population, the largest proportion in Yorkshire . Around the same time there was also an influx of German Jewish migrants to
7620-403: The 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar. St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when
7747-547: The Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal . The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and
SECTION 60
#17327732519417874-421: The Borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. Birmingham Town Police were established the following year. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile (132 km) Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and
8001-440: The Craven District (part of North Yorkshire). The National Science and Media Museum (formerly the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television) was established in the city in 1983. One of the first cinema shows outside London took place on the site where the museum now stands, in a music hall known as the People's Palace. Today, the National Science and Media Museum hosts the annual Widescreen Weekend film festival. With
8128-408: The Latin words ' LABOR OMNIA VINCIT ' below it, meaning Work conquers all. At the 2011 UK census, the City of Bradford had a population of 522,452. Of the 180,246 households in Bradford, 36.5% were married couples living together, 28% were one-person households, 10.8% were lone parents and 8.4% were co-habiting couples, following a similar trend to the rest of England. The population density
8255-450: The Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries. To the north and west of the fault, between 150 and 600 feet (46 and 183 metres) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone . The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits , with prominent erratic boulders becoming
8382-679: The Somme . Of the estimated 1,394 men who left the trenches 1,094 were either killed or injured during the ill-fated attack on the village of Serre . Other Bradford Battalions involved in the Battle of the Somme were 1st/6th Territorial Battalion of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment, based at Belle Vue barracks in Manningham and the 10th Battalion of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment. The 1st/6th Territorial Battalion of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment first saw action in 1915 at Neuve Chapelle before moving north to Yser Canal near Ypres. The 10th Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment
8509-416: The South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England . These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and
8636-407: The UK by people from foreign nations. The name Birmingham comes from the Old English Beormingahām , meaning the home or settlement of the Beormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration. Beorma , after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement,
8763-586: The UK's biggest financial institutions are based in Bradford: Yorkshire Building Society , Santander Group and Vanquis Banking Group . It is also home to nationally outstanding cultural businesses, a strong group of new media companies, and a significant national institution in the National Science and Media Museum . Tourism is worth over £400 million to the local economy, and employs over 10,000 people. Bradford's exports are worth almost £700 million. The city's working-age population has risen by 3.3% since 2000, faster than any UK city outside London, whilst
8890-429: The Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park , Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park , Kings Heath Park , and Cannon Hill Park ,
9017-576: The Welsh capital Cardiff , 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Nottingham , 70 miles (110 km) south of Manchester , and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east of Bristol . Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered by oak in a large number of districts such as Moseley , Saltley , Yardley , Stirchley and Hockley . These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving from Old English - lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after
9144-499: The age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40. Religion in Birmingham (2021) Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the 2021 Census . The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Muslim , Sikh and Buddhist communities; its second largest Hindu community; and its seventh largest Jewish community. Between
9271-639: The area during the Bronze Age , when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area. During the 1st-century Roman conquest of Britain , the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large Metchley Fort in the area of modern-day Edgbaston in AD ;48, and made it
9398-470: The borough are designated as green belt , as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield land . Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by
9525-442: The cinema closed in 1967 and became a Bingo club then a carpet and bedroom furniture salesroom. In 2016 it was designated a Grade II listed building by Historic England . The UK headquarters of Hallmark Cards .is in Dudley Hill having moved from Bingley . The Bierley National School was built in 1870, Lorne Street School in 1874 and Dudley Hill School in 1878. Dudley Hill has a police station , call centre , post office and
9652-475: The city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry . The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Since the turn of the 21st century, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre , the construction of
9779-575: The city via the Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes . On 14 June 1931, an extremely damaging T6/F3 tornado struck the city, carving an 11-mile damage path through Hollywood, Hall Green, Sparkbrook, Tyseley, Greet and Small Heath, causing extensive damage and killing 1 woman. On 23 November 1981, during
9906-481: The city, representing around 26.83% of the city's population. An estimated 352,317 of all White ethnic groups reside in the city which includes people of Polish and Irish origin, representing around 67.44% of the city's population. In 2025, Bradford will become the UK City of Culture having won the UK City of Culture designation on 31 May 2022. Bradford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1847, covering
10033-528: The city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the Cole and the Rea . Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is at Liverpool Bay . It lies at the same latitude as Lowestoft , Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, at Cardigan Bay . The City of Birmingham forms
10160-557: The coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F). Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature recorded at the Edgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on 19 July 2022 . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has
10287-405: The country, and the contiguous urban area to the north which includes the towns of Shipley and Bingley is heavily populated. The spa town of Ilkley lies further north, whilst the town of Keighley lies to the west. Roughly two thirds of the district is rural, with an environment varying from moorlands in the north and west, to valleys and floodplains formed by the river systems that flow throughout
10414-479: The creation of a planned market town and seigneurial borough within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring . This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land. Within
10541-501: The district as a whole were among the least deprived in the country. Bradford has one of the highest unemployment rates in England, with the economic inactivity rates of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups standing at over 50% of the working age population. The crime rate in the City of Bradford is significantly higher than the national average, but lower than that of similar cities such as Manchester or Leeds . Brontë Country
10668-689: The district. More than half of Bradford's land is green open space, stretching over part of the Airedale and Wharfedale Valleys, across the hills and the Pennine moorland between. The Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District are both in close proximity. The City of Bradford has architecture designated as being of special or historic importance, most of which were constructed with local stone, with 5,800 listed buildings and 59 conservation areas . The model village of Saltaire has been listed as
10795-534: The early history of the Labour Party . A mural on the back of the Priestley Centre For The Arts in Little Germany commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford in 1893. The Bradford Pals were three First World War Pals battalions of Kitchener's Army raised in the city. When the three battalions were taken over by the British Army they were officially named
10922-463: The exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution that would follow. Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the North of England , and
11049-626: The fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation , dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and
11176-458: The first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry . In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746 John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process , enabling the large-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid , and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture of alkali , together marking the birth of the modern chemical industry . In 1765 Matthew Boulton opened
11303-426: The first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entire Industrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century. Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and
11430-647: The focus of a network of Roman roads . Birmingham was then later established by the Beormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forested Arden region in Mercia . The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle , and followed this with
11557-518: The former city council's crest, refers to the legend of the boar of Cliffe Wood. This was a ferocious wild boar that terrorised the populace and caused much damage to land and property; so much so that the Lord of the Manor offered a reward for anyone brave enough to slay the boar and bring its head to the Manor House. The mural crown is a frequent symbol of local government, but here also suggests
11684-592: The former forest. Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston and the Bull Ring, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone , interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of
11811-530: The globe. The City of Bradford has also become the first UNESCO City of Film . Annual events such as the Bradford Literature Festival , Bradford Film Festival , Bradford Festival , Bradford Mela , Bingley Music Live , Ilkley Literature Festival , Haworth's 1940s weekend, Saltaire Festival and special Christmas events take place across the district. The value of tourism to the district's economy stands at more than £500 million
11938-550: The heart of the emergence of industrial society . In 1709 the Birmingham-trained Abraham Darby I moved to Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and built the first blast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore with coke , transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce cast iron . In 1732 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt invented roller spinning , the "one novel idea of
12065-500: The industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of forges and furnaces stretching from South Wales to Cheshire and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the West Indies . These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards
12192-536: The later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier British sites. There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with Stone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many burnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate that modern humans first intensively settled and cultivated
12319-538: The latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park . The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded. It is the 27th largest city in Europe by population within its city boundary. Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone ,
12446-472: The members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation of philosophical and scientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for
12573-425: The most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900. The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II 's " Birmingham Blitz ". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in
12700-618: The new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace , The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre , as well as the rationalisation of the Inner Ring Road . In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit . The city successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games . On 5 September 2023 Birmingham city council issued
12827-584: The north Bowling Iron Works was founded in 1788. Terry's Mill opened in 1823, and Albion Mill, and Perseverance Mill appeared after 1850. Industry Mill was destroyed in a fire in 1890 but rebuilt in brick. In 1935 Jubilee Mills opened. Dudley Hill was at the junction of three turnpikes : the Cutler Heights to Bradford turnpike (1740) down Rooley Lane; the Bradford to Wakefield turnpike (1752) and Dudley Hill, Killinghall and Harrogate turnpike (1804) along Sticker Lane. Dudley Hill railway station
12954-612: The north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county . A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority , was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a directly elected mayor , similar to the Mayor of London . Birmingham
13081-544: The north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserve . Birmingham Botanical Gardens , located close to the city centre, retains the regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in Edgbaston reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within
13208-484: The outlying towns and villages in the District. From 2009, the parishes are: The residents of Bradford are represented in the British Parliament by Members of Parliament (MPs) for five separate parliamentary constituencies. Bradford East is represented by Imran Hussain (Labour), Bradford West is represented by Naz Shah (Labour), Bradford South is represented by Judith Cummins (Labour), Shipley
13335-497: The parishes of Bradford, Horton and Manningham. It became a county borough with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888 . The County Borough of Bradford was granted city status by Letters Patent in 1897. Bradford was expanded in 1882 to include Allerton, Bolton, Bowling, Heaton, Thornbury and Tyersall. In 1899 it was further expanded by adding North Bierley, Eccleshill, Idle, Thornton, Tong and Wyke. Clayton
13462-440: The peat bogs rise to 402 m (1,319 ft) above sea level. Less than 5% of the Bradford district is woodland. Greenspace accounts for 73.8% of the City of Bradford's total area, domestic buildings and gardens comprise 12.1%, and the rest is made up of roads and non-domestic buildings. Three river systems serve the City of Bradford, along with 23 km of canal. The Airedale towns of Keighley, Bingley and Shipley lie on
13589-486: The population of the city itself is growing by twice the national average. Bradford has a younger age profile than the Yorkshire & Humber regional average and the national average, with the younger age groups forming a greater proportion of the population in comparison. Bradford has been named by research group OMIS as one of the top six cities in the UK equipped for future growth, and the CBI reports that business confidence
13716-420: The population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged under 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below
13843-537: The population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White , 37.7% were Asian , 12.6% were Black , 9.7% were Mixed race and 8.4% were Other. There
13970-487: The rest of the post-industrial area of northern England, including deindustrialisation , housing problems, and economic deprivation. Wool and textiles still play an important part in the city's economy, but today's fastest-growing sectors include information technology , financial services, digital industries, environmental technologies, cultural industries, tourism and retail headquarters and distribution. Bradford has experienced significant levels of immigration throughout
14097-399: The rigid paternalism and deference of feudal society , and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the established church and aristocracy were weak. The town's reputation for political radicalism and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by Royalist forces in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643, and it developed into a centre of Puritanism in the 1630s and as
14224-607: The town of Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the city of Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton , Bedworth , Whitnash , Kenilworth , Rugby, Atherstone , Coleshill , Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east in Warwickshire and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west of London , 85 miles (137 km) north-east of
14351-430: The town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. The importance of the manufacture of iron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed
14478-459: The town, and by 1910 around 1,500 people of German origin resided in the city. In the 1950s there was large scale immigration from South Asia and to a lesser extent from Poland . Bradford has the second highest proportion in England and Wales outside London , in terms of population (behind Birmingham ) and in percentage (behind Slough , Leicester , Luton and Blackburn with Darwen ). An estimated 140,149 people of South Asian origin reside in
14605-454: The whole metropolitan district. The city was granted the right on 18 September 1907 to elect a Lord Mayor . The city is divided into 30 Electoral Wards , each ward electing three Councillors . Elections are held in May, where one third of the 90 seats (one for each ward) are contested and the successful candidate is elected for a period of four years. The Metropolitan District is divided into 30 electoral wards. Between 2020 and 2022 there
14732-817: The wider metropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat. Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 were foreign-born , making it a city with one of the largest migrant populations in Europe . According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White (42.9% White British , 1.5% White Irish , 4.0% Other White , 0.2% Roma , 0.1% Irish Traveller ), 31% were Asian (17.0% Pakistani , 5.8% Indian , 4.2% Bangladeshi , 1.1% Chinese , 2.9% Other Asian ), 10.9% were Black (5.8% African , 3.9% Caribbean , 1.2% Other Black ), 4.8% of Mixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7% Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of
14859-654: The years around the First World War . By then the residents of Bradford had already witnessed important contributions to cinema development, such as the invention of the Cieroscope in Manningham in 1896. In April 2021, Little Germany was one of the areas where scenes for the second series of All Creatures Great and Small were being filmed. Some child and adult actors from the theatre school Articulate were to appear in some episodes. The City of Bradford
14986-414: Was 1,290 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,300 inhabitants/sq mi) and for every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. Of those aged 16–74, 24.5% had no academic qualifications, lower than the 28.9% in all of England. 11.8% of Bradford residents were born outside the United Kingdom, higher than the England average of 9.2%. In the 2011 census, it stated that 67.44% (352,317) of the city's population
15113-456: Was White (All White ethnic groups), 2.48% (12,979) (Mixed ethnic groups), 26.83% (140,149) (All Asian ethnic groups), 1.77% (9,267) (All Black ethnic groups) and 1.48% (7,740) (all other ethnic groups). The ONS Regional Trends report, published in June 2009, showed that most of the urban core and 41% of the district as a whole were among the most deprived in the country, it also showed that 11% of
15240-501: Was a campaign led by Philip Davies and Robbie Moore , the Conservative MPs for Shipley and Keighley , for their constituencies to break away from Bradford. They claimed the council's focus was too much on Bradford urban area, to the detriment of the smaller centres of Bingley, Ilkley, Keighley, and Shipley, which they said suffered a lack of investment and service cuts as well as council tax hikes. The move for independence
15367-516: Was added in 1930. The Brontë sisters , Emily, Anne and Charlotte were born along with their brother Branwell at 74 Market Street in Thornton , now in Bradford , before moving to the parsonage at Haworth in the heart of West Yorkshire's Brontë Country where they wrote a range of classics of English literature including "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre". The city played an important part in
15494-614: Was created to administer the newly formed metropolitan borough. The County Borough of Bradford was merged with the Borough of Keighley, the Urban Districts of Baildon, Bingley, Denholme, Ilkley, Shipley and Silsden, along with part of Queensbury and Shelf Urban District and part of Skipton Rural District by the Local Government Act 1972 . The council, which is based at Bradford City Hall in Centenary Square, governs
15621-435: Was criticised by Bradford City Council. Moore promoted a private member's bill which would have allowed a referendum to be held on the matter, but it did not proceed beyond its second reading in the House of Commons in 2022. The coat of arms of Bradford City council is based on that of the former City and County Borough Council, with additions to indicate the merger of eleven Yorkshire councils. The boar's head, as in
15748-418: Was driven by different factors. Instead of the economies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk commodity such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strong division of labour , practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing
15875-610: Was involved in the attack on Fricourt , the 10th West Yorks suffered the highest casualty rate of any battalion on the Somme on 1 July and perhaps the highest battalion casualty list for a single day during the entire war. Nearly 60% of the battalion's casualties were deaths. In 1919 the Diocese of Bradford was founded, the Church of Saint Peter was then elevated to cathedral status. The current city boundaries date from 1 April 1974, when
16002-513: Was opened in 1856 with a new larger station in 1875. The passenger service ended in 1952 and it was closed to freight in 1979. In 1903 electric trams came to Dudley Hill. In 1911 Britain's first trolleybus service commenced operation between Laisterdyke and Dudley Hill. The service stopped in 1972, the last trolleybus service in the UK. The 600 seat Picture Palace cinema on Tong Street was designed for Walter Goodall (1868–1933) by architects Howorth & Howorth of Cleckheaton and opened in 1912 –
16129-624: Was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy
#940059