Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/239

Rh a most comprehensive and systematic work on the laws of England in five volumes, entitled DC. Lcyibns et Consuetu- dinibus Anyliiu, which is modelled after the Institutes of Justinian, and is supposed, from internal evidence, to have been completed about the time when he was appointed chief justiciary, as it contains references to changes in the law made shortly before that time, but takes no notice of the statute of Maryborough passed in 52 Henry III. A Latin abridgment of Bracton s work was written by Gilbert de Thornton, who was appointed Chief-Justice of the King s Bench in the 17th year of the reign of Edward I., of which Selden possessed a copy, but no copy of it is at present known to exist. There are numerous MSS. extant of Brae- ton s work, but only two editions of it have been printed, the first in folio in 15G9, the second in quarto in 1G40. The text of these editions is identical, as well as the paging.  BRADFORD, a parliamentary and municipal borough of England, situated in the northern division of the West Riding of Yorkshire and the wapentake of Morley, on an affluent of the Aire, 34 miles S.W. of York, 9 miles W. of Leeds, and 192 miles from London by rail. The borough comprises 7220 acres, and is divided into five townships Bradford, Manningham, Horton, Bowling, and Bolton. Bradford has returned two members to parliament since 1832, was incorporated in 1847, and is governed by a mayor, lf&amp;gt; aldermen, and 45 councillors. The parish includes the thirteen townships of Allerton, Bowling, Bradford, Clayton, Eccleshill, Haworth, Heaton, Horton, Maimingham, North Bierley, Shipley, Thornton, and Wilsden, and comprises 3t,14G acres. The population of the borough in 1871 was 145,830, 68,905 males and 7G,925 females. During the Saxon period Bradford was included in the parish of Dewsbury ; but William the Conqueror, who mentions it in Domesday Book, included it in the barony of Pontefract, which he granted to llbert de Lacy. The manor of Bradford remained in the hands of the De Lacies until the beginning of the 14th century, when it passed by marriage to the family of the earl of Lancaster, John of Gaunt holding it at the time of his death in 1399. The manor was held by the Crown from that time down to the reign of Charles I., who sold it for a small yearly rent to the corporation of London. Afterwards it passed into the possession of the Marsdens of Hornby Castle, but since 1795 it has been held by the Ilawson family, from whom the cor poration have recently purchased all manorial rights. In the struggle between Charles I. and the Parliamentarians, Bradford adhered to the cause of the latter, and twice successfully resisted the royal forces that besieged the town. Subsequently the earl of Newcastle defeated Lord Fairfax at Atherton Moor, a few miles distant, and the Parliamen tarian general retreated upon Bradford, giving the defence of the town over to his son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, who, however, was ultimately compelled to yield to the supe rior numbers of the Royalists. From that time the caresr of Bradford has been almost entirely a commercial one. Situated in a populous, well-watered valley, abundantly supplied with iron, coal, and stone, Bradford has, since the introduction of steam, made exceedingly rapid progress. During the Plantagenet and Tudor periods the manufacture of woollen cloth was carried on in Bradford, the trade being greatly assisted by the settlement of a number of Flemish weavers in the district. About the end of the 17th century, however, the worsted trade, which till then had been chiefly confined to Norwich, was introduced into Bradford, and in course of time became the staple trade of the town. In 1773 a piece hill was erected, and for many years served as a market-place for the manufacturers and merchants of the district. On the introduction of steam- power and machinery the worsted trade advanced with great rapidity. The first mill in Bradford was built in 1798 ; there were 20 mills in the town in 1820, 34 in 1833, and 70 in 1841 ; and at the present time there are between 200 and 300, of much greater magnitude than the earlier factories. In the seventy years between 1801 and 1871 the population of the town increased tenfold, during which period the worsted trade has been developed to an astonishing extent. In 1833 Mr (now Sir Titus) Salt developed the alpaca manufacture in the town ; mohair was shortly afterwards introduced; and more recently Mr S. C. Lister has introduced the silk and velvet manufacture, having invented a process of manipulating silk waste, whereby what was previously treated as refuse is made into goods that will compete with those manufactured from the perfect cocoon. In the Bradford staple trade alone it is estimated that there is now an annual turn-over of between 60,000,000 and 70,000,000. Bradford has been greatly improved in appearance during the last few years, many important public buildings having been erected, and new and spacious thoroughfares opened out where narrow and ungainly streets formerly existed. Amongst the more prominent public buildings may be mentioned St George s Hall, used for public meetings, concerts, &c., and capable of accommodating nearly 4000 persons, built in 1853 ; the Exchange, built in 18G7, at a cost of 40,000 ; the market buildings, opened in 1872 ; and the Town-Hall, opened in 1873, and built at a cost of 100.000. The town is built entirely of the freestone which is so plentiful in the district. Many of the ware houses are large and of considerable architectural beauty, and the factories are mostly of great extent, some single establishments giving employment to between 3000 and 4000 workpeople. The parish church, built in 1485, on the site of an old Norman chuvch, is dedicated to St Peter. The living is valued at 1300 per annum. There was no other church in the town until 1815, when Christ Church was built. In 1838 St James s Church was erected, and between that date and 1853 five others were built. More recently ten additional churches have been built by the Bradford Church Building Society, the last of the ten (St Bartholomew s) being opened in 1 872. There are now over twenty churches in the town. The dissenters have upwards of forty places of worship in Bradford, many of which are large and handsome edifices. The Roman Catholics likewise possess several churches. The educational facilities of the town are considerable. The Airedale College, for the education of students intended for the Independent ministry, is situated here, and has a large annual revenue. Until a few years ago there was also a Baptist college here, but it has been removed to Rawdon, six miles distant. The Bradford Grammar School existed in the IGth century, and in 16G3 received a charter of incorporation from Charles II. Latterly, the Endowed Schools Commissioners have reconstituted the school ; a new building, giving accommodation to between 300 and 400 scholars, was erected in 1873, and Mr Forster M.P.. Mr Henry Brown, and others, have pres nted a number of scholarships to the school. Since 1832 there has been a Mechanics Institute in the town, and in 1871 a new one was erected at a cost of 32,500. There are several other educational institutions, including a Church Literary Insti tute and a Female Educational Institute, and a Free Library was established in 1872. Under the direction of the school board eight or ten handsome and commodious schools have been erected. Bradford possesses a general infirmary, a fever hospital, an eye and ear hospital, an institution for the blind, and several other charitable institutions. It has two theatres and several music halls. There are two public parks, Peel 