This medieval market town flourished in the nineteenth century as an international centre for the worsted trade, with such manufacturers as the Anglican Listers, Wesleyan Holdens, Baptist Illingworths and Congregationalist Titus Salt. It also attracting merchants from abroad such as the family of the composer Frederick Delius. Charles Antoine Federer (1837-1908), WM layman brought up in Switzerland as a Roman Catholic, eventually settled in Bradford. The area of former warehouses behind the former Eastbrook Hall is still known as Little Germany. Since 1919 Bradford has been an Anglican diocese, the ancient parish church being raised to cathedral status; and for both WMs and PMs it was a Conference town.

Charles Wesley visited the town in 1742, followed by John Wesley in May 1744, when he preached at Little Horton Hall and Sticker Lane. Pioneer preachers included John Nelson, John Bennet, William Grimshaw, William Darney and Thomas Mitchell. Although Nelson was imprisoned at Ivegate in 1744, the Methodists remained relatively unmolested by the mob and John Wesley had a good relationship with the evangelical incumbent, John Crosse, vicar from 1784 to 1816, who in his early years had been a member of the West Street society in London.

In 1756 'the Cockpit', previously used by the Baptists, was rented as a meeting place' the society moving to the Octagon on Horton Road in 1766. This was in turn replaced by Kirkgate chapel in 1811 (closed 1930). The gothic Eastbrook chapel, by the architect Joseph Botham, opened in 1825 (replaced by Eastbrook Central Hall, 1903). Another surviving early chapel, at Eccleshill, opened in 1775, mainly through the efforts of Thomas and ???; its successor, 1854-55, designed by James Simpson, became Ukranian Orthodox on closure. At Manningham, the gothic St. John's (1879) by C.O. Ellison of Liverpool, with chancel, regular liturgical services and surpliced choir of men and boys, was built with financial support from Isaac Holden. Bradford became the head of a circuit in 1769, probably formed from the Birstall Circuit, and at that time included Halifax.

Two separate PM advances met at Bradford. The work at Leeds and at Dudley Hill and Great Horton, south of Bradford, originated from the Hull Circuit. But the first Primitive Methodist to preach in Bradford itself was John Coulson (1777-1862; e.m. 1821), as part of the PM advance northwards from Sheffield to Wakefield, Huddersfield and Halifax. Bradford then came under the Leeds Circuit, but became a separate circuit in 1823. Ebenezer, Dudley Hill (1823) continues in use. The first PM chapel in Bradford itself was opened in Kent Street, Manchester Road in 1824, burned down in 1861 and replaced by Providence, which in turn was replaced by the Central Hall (1892-1893), one of the few in Primitive Methodism and predating the WM Mission by almost a decade. Among those who later joined the PMs in Bradford was Isaac Jefferson, of Quaker descent, a 'physical force' Chartist, known as 'Wat Tyler', who was imprisoned for his part in the 1848 Chartist agitation.

The origins and development of the Independent Methodist presence remain in part problematic. The Philadelphia Gospel Pilgrim chapel existed by 1833 and there is a Leeds and Bradford Gospel Pilgrims preaching plan for 1834, which indicates links with the IM annual Conference at Bolton of that year. By 1837 Philadelphia had passed to another group, but there was still a chapel at Little Horton. John Parkinson (1794-1860), originally a Skipton WM local preacher, may have been the founder; he later returned to the PMs with whom he had earlier been a preacher. Earlier, in 1833, Hugh Bourne noted a disturbance in the Bradford PM circuit, possibly caused by Robert Winfield and linked with the Birstall PM Revivalist Circuit and later with the Gospel Pilgrims. By 1849 IM work in Bradford seems to have ceased, but the 'Jumping Ranters', meeting in Wibsey and Dudley Hill, may possibly also have had IM links.

The MNC started in Bradford in 1836 in the house of William Ackroyd in Manchester Road. It led to the building of Ebenezer, Great Horton Lane, in 1839. Bradford became the head of a circuit the following year. Ebenezer was replaced by Manville (1879, by Hill and Swann; now part of Bradford College), but this probably proved too large for the congregation and was replaced by the smaller Shearbridge Road (now a mosque) in 1907.

The Bradford WMA Circuit was formed in 1836 with a chapel in Bridge Street (later a cinema and now demolished). The Eccleshill WMA chapel (1837, but now demolished) originated from the Yewdalls joining the Wesleyan Protestant Methodists.

There were considerable secessions from the Bradford Wesleyans to the Wesleyan Reformers; some later joined the UMFC, but many remained within the *Wesleyan Reform Union. The WRU was formed at Bethesda WR, Peckover Street, in 1860. Their tenure was short-lived and closure came c.1880, when it passed into Salvation Army hands, and later to the ILP. The WR society at Salem, Sticker Lane (no longer in Methodist use) later joined the MNC. One leading Wesleyan Reformer was James Drummond (1819-1891), worsted spinner and Liberal, with a mill in Lumb Lane.

The BC society originated in 1872 with migrant textile workers from Wellington, Som. It was established by Samuel Ley *Thorne and was the only BC mission in the north of England to have much success among the indigenous local population. It had a gothic chapel in Toller Lane (1886, by John *Wills; closed 1951 and now demolished), but was always a struggling cause.

The Bradford WM Mission was formed in 1901. As Eastbrook Chapel was becoming dangerous, it was replaced in 1904 by Eastbrook Hall (by W.J. *Morley & Son), now closed.. Under the Rev. H.M. Neild, 1903-1911, there were large congregations and the cause was numerically and financially strong, with the Brotherhood and social outreach. This continued until the late 1960s. Other older WM centres that came into the Mission were Bethesda, Southend Hall (which became an early centre for the Elim Four Square Gospel Church in the 1930s), and Prospect, Manchester Road, with a central Hall by W.J. Morley added in 1913 (now a Sikh Gurdwara). The spirit of the central mission is continued by Touchstone.

Bradford is probably unique in having had all the main branches of Methodism represented there at different times. Six WM, five PM and four Methodist Conferences have met there between 1853 and 1978.

Entry written by: DCD and SRV
Category: Place
Comment on this entry