BRADLEY is a village now rapidly undergoing a vast transformation. In the next eighteen months a new Bradley will have shot up in our midst.
And while parts of old Bradley will remain, there is no doubt that the great new Corporation housing estate now being built there will be a means of bringing many changes to the place.
Not a great deal is known about Bradley historically; it is, however, mentioned in Domesday Book, which records; “In Bradeleia Godwin and Welfin held two carucates of land to be taxed, and two ploughs might be used there. Now Chetel holds it of Ilbero but it is waste.”
Well, Bradley is not waste today; not only industrial premises and houses have been built there, but the main Leeds Manchester Road passes through as also do main railway lines, rivers and canals.
Colnebridge
There are not a great many relics of the past to be seen there. If one wants to see the older houses one must visit Colnebridge. So far, this section of Bradley seems to have been passed over by the house-builders of recent years.
All around Bradley and Colnebridge, however, are links with past ages. There is the Dumb Steeple, there is Kirklees Nunnery and there is the reputed grave of Robin Hood.
But just now Bradley is more concerned about new houses. And to link the past with the present some suggested names for the new streets are Couford Avenue, Tudor Close, Stuart Close, Windsor Close and Friary Avenue.
