Last month, we met up with a couple of friends to go to the Bolling Hall Museum in Bradford. Now, long time readers of this blog will know that I lived in Bradford between 2002 and 2010, and still work there, so surely I must have been here loads of times.
Nope. This was the first time I’ve been.
Bolling Hall is an old stately home that has been altered many times over the years. Parts of it date back to the 14th century, and in the early 20th century it was passed to what would eventually become Bradford Council, who run it as one of their museums. As various parts of the building date from different times, there is a variety of architectural styles on show.
Bolling Hall overlooks Bowling Park, to the south of the city centre, and is in what is now mostly the residential area of West Bowling.
Inside, the rooms have been mostly laid out as they would have been in Georgian times, including the kitchen and several bedrooms. There’s also a small exhibition about Bolling Hall’s role in the English Civil War; its owners at the time supported the Royalists, whereas the wider Bradford area backed the Parliamentarians.
As with most council-run museums, Bolling Hall is home to various objects in Bradford Council’s collection. This includes the first piano owned by Bradford-born composer Frederick Delius.
It’s not a big museum, and we spent about an hour there. Whilst there are gardens outside, these were mostly roped off when we went.
Amusingly, it was me who created its listing on Foursquare, thirteen years ago, so it was nice to be able to finally check in there.
Accessibility
Being a very old building that has been altered several times, accessibility is not great. If you’re unable to manage stairs, then you can use an accessible entrance to see some of the ground floor rooms, but there isn’t a lift and the upstairs rooms are on different levels.
Bolling Hall Museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Entry is free. Parking is available on site, and it’s well-signposted. It’s served by bus 635 from Bradford city centre.
