Prime Minister Lord Palmerston laying the foundation stone of Bradford’s Wool Exchange on 9th August 1864. There was a ‘silent protest’ by Bradford’s workers (not shown) .Bradford Wool Exchange’s foundation stone marker in Pizza Pieces.
The Building opened in 1867 and was, literally, the centre of the wool’s unspun wool trade. Everything from raw, unsorted, fleeces to washed, combed and carded, and dyed wool fibre was bought and sold here.
The statues at the clock tower entrance are by James Tolmie. He has no Wiki, and died before the Wool Exchange was opened. The statues are of Bishop Blaise Patron Saint of wool combers, and Edward III a great supporter of England’s wool trade (which paid for him to spend his life winning battles, and even with wool money he bankrupted his own county. I am not a fan).
The rest of the outside busts of explores and famous men are by the Leeds firm of Mawer and Ingle I have only just discovered that, and their Wiki is making me wildly excited! Not just because one of the sculptures and business parterres was a woman.
The busts are:
Bank St
Christopher Columbus 1451-1506
Francis Drake 1540-1596
Walter Raleigh 1552-1618
George Anson 1697-1762
James Cook 1728-1865
Market St.
William Ewart Gladstone 1809-1898
Samual Cunliffe Lister 1815-1906
Richard Arkwight 1732-1792
James Watt 1736-1819
Robert Stephenson 1803-1859
Titus Salt 1803-1876
Richard Cobden 1804-1865. Also statue inside by Timothy Butler, unveiled 25 July 1877.
Finally I have 2 picture of the roof of the Wool Exchange. Before Waterstones put in the new entrance and glass wool the inside was dark and gloomy. Now you can see the shields of Yorkshire wool towns, and see that some of them are rubbish. The theory is that nobody bothered that they were rubbish, because nobody could see them.
Roof of Bradford’s Wool Exchange. Spot the shields.Bradford’s shield in the Wool Exhange’s roof. This is quite good. You can see the boar’s well and the 3 horns the slayer of the boar had to sound when his Lord of the Manor visited the land given as a reward.
Glyn Watkins will be spinning yarns on the anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone.
A walk of less than 30 mins. A collection will be made. Please keep a safe enough distance.
The walk may be filmed.
Bradford Woolly Heritage CIC
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The Story of the walk.
The Wool Exchange, on Market Street, was once the centre of the whole world’s wool trade: and while new businesses have given it new life; what it did for wool is a fading memory. Poet and showman Glyn Watkins, of Bradford Woolly Heritage Community Interest Company, is determined to re-spin the yarns of the building’s great wool days, on the anniversary of the laying of its foundation stone, on 9th August 1864, by the then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.
Glyn will be walking around the building and telling stories while dressed as Bishop Blaise, Patron Saint of the wool trade; who’s statue stands by the clock tower entrance. As he explains:
“Bradford used to have a massive celebration of Bishop Blaise’s day in February up until 1825, and we are reviving it. The Wool Exchange has some magnificent stone carvings and the Blaise statue is a great reminder of a once great occasion we can reweave. Last August 9th I filmed a live to Facebook walk because of Covid19. I told some of the many great stories of the building, people, trade when the Wool Exchange once wove the world together with wool. It got a good response so I am repeating it for anyone who’d like to walk around with me.”
Glyn will be doing a walk at 10.30 am and 2.30 pm. Starting at the clock tower and taking less than 30 minutes. People are asked to keep a safe enough distance. He will repeat a walk if too many people want to join. A collection will be taken.
The Glyn Watkins Show Page. 
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