13th OCTOBER 2012
PRUK
BRIEF HISTORY OF BRADFORD
Originaly known as Broad Ford. Bradford was first settled by the Saxons. Around the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, its population was approx 400. The Manor of Bradford was first held by the De Lacy Family until 1311 and then by the Earls of Lincoln, John Gaunt and then to the Crown. It then passed into private hands in 1620.
After the Norman conquest around 1070, Bradford was a waste land. But it grew slowly. By the Medieval era, it was given the title of a town and a weekly market was held. By the Middle Ages, a wool and leather tanning industry was growing. In 1461, it was granted the right to hold 2 fairs a year.