Preserving the History of Community Activity in Bradford
The task of sorting through all the material left in the Chapel Street building was enormous - what had been the Bradford Resource Centre (BRC) library had been moved into the basement alongside the BRC archive. There were piles of files, newsletters, books, flyers, folders on the floor between shelves stacked high with files of newspaper cuttings and boxes of magazines, reports, financial records etc. Apart from the ground floor which was occupied by the Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank, there were cupboards, filing cabinets, shelves, and desks full of all sorts of written material on every floor. On the top floor which had been occupied by Community Arts, there was lots of artwork, banners, posters etc.
​With the help of volunteers we spent several days going through this material to retrieve anything of archival value. We consulted with the Bradford-based archivists from the West Yorkshire Archive and from the University Special Collections and the Commonweal Library at the University of Bradford and from the Feminist Archive North about what they would be interested in preserving.
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We had two workdays when bins from Waste Chasers were filled and three days when large skips were filled with material that had to go. Then on July 30th 2025 we had a meeting of archivists in the building when they took away material of interest to them.
A list of the Archives that were represented is given below along with broad descriptions of the material that they took. The bulk went to the Bradford-based archivists from the West Yorkshire Archive who filled a van with boxes and bags of material and then came back on a second day to fill another one!​
With so much material to process, it’ll be some time before the archives make it available to the public. We have scanned some of the material and will be uploading it onto this website as soon as possible.
West Yorkshire Archive Service, Bradford
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Files, newsletters, reports, financial records etc from:
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Bradford Resource Centre
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Bradford Trades Council (including some dating from early 20th Century
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Various Bradford community groups
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Various local trade union branches including MSF and ASTMS branch for volunteers
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BIASAN
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Voluntary Sector Forum
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Bradford Community Arts
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Advice Centre network
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As well as:
Copies of Bierley Bugle
Papers of Rueben Goldberg, socialist councillor and activist, including a lot on Traveller and Romani people.
West Yorkshire Archive Service Bradford, Margaret McMillan Tower, Prince’s Way, Bradford BD1 1NN
Working Class Movement Library, Salford
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Race Today
Troops Out
Resource Centre National Network Material
Race & Class
Miners Strike Support
SERA
Worker's Control
WEA
Tisma Project (local solidarity with Nicaraguan region)
Center for Non Racist Benefits
African National Congress
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Feminist Archive North (Leeds University)
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Journals including Women’s News, Spare Rib, Women’s Review
Irregular Periods (zine)
Minutes of sex equality groups
Women’s Guides Bradford and Leeds
Various papers on homelessness and homeworking
Minutes of national abortion campaign meetings and other material on abortion rights.
Information on facilities for parents and pre-school children
Web: https://feministarchivenorth.org.uk/
Commonweal Library (Bradford University)
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Copies of the journal Radical Statistics
Various peace/race related material
Material relating to Valid (Bradford based disability rights group) including Access to Image publication
Web: https://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/library-resources/commonweal-collection/
Archive of local LGBTQ+ material
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This archive is in the process of being set up.
Material was taken relating to HIV/AIDS, Clause 28, Gay Switchboard etc.
