Bradford City Hall

Before its relocation, between 1847 and 1873, the town hall had been the Fire Station House in Swain Street. In 1869, a new triangular site was purchased, and a competition held for a design to rival the town halls of Leeds and Halifax. It was first extended in 1909 to a design by Norman Shaw and executed by architect F.E.P. Edwards, with another council chamber, more committee rooms and a banqueting hall. It was extended again with a new entrance and staircase in baroque marble by William Williamson in 1914. After the bells stopped in 1992 due to decay of the bell frame, they were repaired with National Lottery funds in 1997. and in October 2006, the building was illuminated for Bradford Festival by artist Patrice Warrener. In 2007 the City Hall filled in for Manchester Crown Court for the duration of the trial of the character Tracy Barlow in Coronation Street. In December 2007 the City Hall turned the city's nine Christmas trees into woodchips as fuel for its new heating boilers. An access tunnel was dug from the roadway to install the boilers in early 2008. == Description ==

Exterior The building was designed in the Venetian style. There are a series of statues of past monarchs on the façade; There is a flush bracket on the building with a code number once used to log the height above sea level. The bell tower was inspired by Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The top of the tower is high. but were chimed using an automatic carillon machine which could play 28 different tunes. The quarter-chiming clock, installed in 1872 at a cost of £2,248 5s was in operation until 1947; in that year it was replaced by a more modern mechanism. The original clock and carillon machine were manufactured by Gillett & Bland of Croydon; the bells were by Taylor of Loughborough. The two flagpoles carry the flag of Wales on Saint David's Day and the flag of Australia on Australia Day. Flag use in response to major world disasters is made according to Government guidelines. Interior In the banqueting hall is a 19th-century overmantel and frieze carved by C. R. Millar. The frieze carries the Bradford city motto: Labor omnia vincit (Hard work conquers all), reflecting the ethos of an industrial city, and the work ethic of the Evangelical movement represented by many local chapels. The figures on the frieze represent the wool trade between Bradford and the world, besides architecture and the arts. However the bells normally play happier tunes, and in 2001 there was talk of replacing the old computer application which controlled the bells, so that they could play pop music. The bells can now be programmed to play any tune, subject to musical arrangement and technical limitations. The bells have played No Matter What several times in 2001, when Whistle Down the Wind was playing at the Alhambra; the operator of the bells was able to see the theatre steps from the bell tower, and timed the peals with the audience's exit. This meant that the superintendent had to undertake the long climb up the tower at 10.30 pm every day for a week, as the bell system was still under repair. In 2010, the bells played the theme tune from Coronation Street when the cast was filming in the area. ==See also==