Broomfields & East Bowling

Broomfields and East Bowling sit immediately east of Bradford city centre and show the imprint of 19th‑century industry. Streets are laid out in straight runs of terraced housing giving onto narrow ginnels, with larger mill and warehouse buildings set along former routes used for coal and cloth transport. Railway lines and the course of Bradford Beck shaped road patterns and property boundaries; you can still see brick-built loading arches and hoist doors on some former mill façades where goods were once lifted to upper floors.

Today the area is a mix of homes, small workshops and local shops, with pockets of allotments and community greens tucked between terraces. Several former industrial buildings have been repurposed for light industry or housing while long rows of back‑to‑back terraces remain in everyday use. Local groups use church halls and community centres for events, and short, direct routes link residents to the city centre for work and services, preserving the practical street pattern laid down during the town’s industrial expansion.