Wool Exchange Birthday Walk extras.

The building was designed by Bradford architects Lockwood and Mawson The foundation stone was laid 9th August 1864 by Lord Palmerston

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)
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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.

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