Milligan and Forbes Warehouse

Milligan and Forbes Warehouse
Milligan and Forbes Warehouse, now the Telegraph and Argus headquarters on Hall Ings, Bradford.
General information
Architectural stylePalazzo style
Town or cityBradford
CountryUnited Kingdom
Current tenantsTelegraph and Argus
Named forMilligan and Forbes
Opened1853
DesignationsGrade II listed

The Milligan and Forbes Warehouse in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England is a grade II listed building[1] built as the eponymous stuff merchants' warehouse in the 19th century. It is considered the city's first building in the Palazzo style and was very influential on 19th century Bradford architecture.

History

Robert Milligan was born in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway on 10 October 1786. [2] He settled in Bradford in about 1810 and established a drapers shop in Kirkgate, [3] eventually beginning a career as a stuff merchant. He became head of the firm of Milligan, Forbes and Co that became synonymous with the stuff trade in Bradford. Milligan was the first Mayor of Bradford (1847–48) and subsequently Liberal M.P. for the borough in three successive Parliaments between 1851 and 1857. His partner, London traveller Henry Forbes was also mayor of Bradford in 1849–50.[2]

The firm decided to build a new warehouse for home trade and a site was purchased on Hall Ings next to the soon to be built St George's Hall. Andrew and Delauney, who would later build impressive structures in Bradford's Little Germany district, were the architectural firm chosen to design the building. The style is similar and perhaps based on the warehouses created by Edward Walters in Manchester around this time.[4] Both St George's Hall and Milligan and Forbes were completed in 1853, with the warehouse considered today as Bradford's first Palazzo building. It was intended to complement its neighbour and indeed it was described in the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (published 1870 - 72) as "not much inferior to that pile in magnificence".[5]

In the 1920s, Bradford's local newspaper company, the Telegraph and Argus moved into the building and is still operating, on a massively-reduced scale, from there today. Due to the increasing demands of newspaper production, a large extension was added to the original Victorian building. The Bradford architects Robinson Design Partnership, designed the smoked-glass press hall opened in 1981.[6] This is now a white elephant, standing disused and as the newspaper's connection with the city of its birth has become at best tenuous. It is printed in Greater Manchester, its advertising is typeset in India and for more than 20 years tens of millions of pounds from Bradford's economy have been sent to the USA to the shareholders of the owners, Gannett, while the management has cut staffing to a minimum, outsourcing many operations to places as far apart as Oldham and even south Wales to reduce costs and increase profits. As a result, sales have plummeted as the paper's reputation as a source of news has diminished.

See also

  • Listed buildings in Bradford (City Ward)

References

  1. ^ "The Yorkshire Sports, Telegraph and Argus Building, Bradford". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b James, John (1866). History of Bradford. Manchester: E.J. Morten. p. 15.
  3. ^ Ayers, John (1972). Architecture in Bradford. Watmoughs Ltd. p. 33.
  4. ^ Girouard, Mark (1990). The English Town: A History of Urban Life. Milan: Amilcare Pizzi. p. 239.
  5. ^ Wilson, John Marius (1870). "Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BRADFORD Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  6. ^ Duckett, Bob; John Waddington-Feather (2005). Bradford: History and Guide. Stroud: Tempus. p. 147.

External links

  • British Listed Buildings.
  • v
  • t
  • e
City of Bradford
Towns,
villages,
areas
and wards
Addingham
Allerton
Apperley Bridge
Baildon
Barkerend
Belle Vue
Ben Rhydding
Bingley
Bingley Rural
Bingley ward
Bolton and Undercliffe
Bowling and Barkerend
Bradford
Bradford Moor
Broomfields
Burley in Wharfedale
Burley Woodhead
Buttershaw
City of Bradford
City ward
Clayton
Cottingley
Craven ward
Crossflatts
Cross Roads
Cullingworth
Cutler Heights
Denholme
Dudley Hill
East Morton
East Bowling
Eastburn
Eccleshill
Egypt
Eldwick
Esholt
Frizinghall
Forster Square
Gilstead
Girlington
Great Horton
Greengates
Hainworth
Harden
Haworth
Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury
Heaton
Holme Wood
Idle
Idle and Thackley
Ilkley
Ingrow
Keighley
Keighley Central
Keighley East
Keighley West
Laisterdyke
Laycock
Little Germany
Little Horton
Long Lee
Longlands
Low Moor
Lumbfoot
Manningham
Menston
Oakenshaw
Oakworth
Odsal
Oldfield
Oxenhope
Queensbury
Ravenscliffe
Riddlesden
Royds
Ryecroft
Saltaire
Sandy Lane
Shipley
Silsden
Staithgate
Stanbury
Steeton
Steeton with Eastburn
Thackley
Thornbury
Thornton
Thornton and Allerton
Thorpe Edge
Toller
Tong ward
Tong village
Trident
Tyersal
Wharfedale ward
Wibsey
Wilsden
Windhill and Wrose
Worth Valley
Wrose
Wyke
GovernanceCulture
Leisure and
Tourism
Countryside
Buildings and
Listed buildings
Entertainment
Museums
and galleries
Clubs and
societies
Shopping
Parks
Events
Heritage
Services
Education
Health
Mass media
Publishing
Radio
TV
Organisations
Companies
Other
Sport
Clubs
Venues
Waterways
Rivers
Canals
Crossings
Transport
Air
Rail
Bus
Road
Miscellaneous
Crime
History
Military
Postcodes
Timeline
People
Geology
Aire Valley Fault
Denholme Clough Fault
Category