Goitside Conservation Area

The Goitside Conservation Area is situated on a south-westerly slope to the west of Bradford’s City Centre. Its visual connections with the city centre, both along Thornton Road and further north, are essential to Bradford as a place.

The area has three main thoroughfares; Westgate, Sunbridge Road and Grattan Road which open up wide vistas through Goitside. Small narrow, steep, sometime cobble setted streets connect the major thoroughfares and open up impressive views within and beyond the Goitside.

There are few landscaped spaces. The internal yards of the past industrial buildings are important spaces, as they were instrumental to the functioning of the buildings and businesses in the area. Where they are cobble setted, a fuller historic image of the place is ascertainable.

The Goit itself is largely hidden, concealed by the buildings that have grown up along its banks. It is now enclosed under large, rectangular stone flags. The most characteristic view of the Goit is visible from Lower Grattan Road, eastward along the narrow corridor created by the flanking buildings.

Areas of diverse character surround the Conservation Area. To the west, the character of the City Centre Conservation Area gradually blurs into that of Goitside. To the north, the more modern retail function of the city predominates. To the east, the industrial 19th century character of Goitside stretches further along Thornton Road and Listerhills Road offering continuity in form. To the south, the rising ground that forms the backdrop to many views through the Goitside Conservation Area, incorporates a mix of late 19th century / early 20th century structures that harmonise with the Conservation Area and later 20th century buildings of the University and College. New blocks, for student accommodation are currently being constructed on Thornton Road which, while modern in approach, harmonised well with the built environment.

There are a number of architecturally significant buildings in the area, five of which are grade II listed. The buildings of Goitside record the changes in architectural tastes and construction techniques, particularly in relation to industrial buildings, through the 19th and 20th centuries. The Italianate Style, which became the accepted norm for this building type during the second half of the 19th century, is well represented within the Conservation Area.

Characteristic features of the industrial buildings, which dominate the area include; sandstone for walls, blue slate for shallow pitched roofs, chimneys, rows of upright rectangular windows, timber taking in doors, panelled entrance doors, arched vehicular entrance to yards, architecturally treated entrances and splayed corners. The heights and plot sizes of the buildings are extremely irregular but this adds to the character of the area.

Listed Buildings Within Goitside Conservation Area

51 and 53 Gratton Road - Grade II

Includes no. 4 Vincent Street. Dated 1893 warehouse/offices. Four-storeys sandstone "brick" with ashlar dressings. Broad window bays to both fronts, plain lintels on ground floor, cornices on upper floors. The corners are splayed on ground and first floors but on the top 2-storeys they re bowed out as turrets from oriel bases. Large bracket cornice below attic storey. On Vincent Street the attic is mansarded between the tower. Corner doorway with aslar dressing and round headed doorway to Vincent Street with shaped segmental pediment capping. Effective corner treatment.

126 Sunbridge Road - Grade II

Corner site and includes no. 9 Vincent Street. Dated 1892 a small warehouse and office premises. A subtly modelled elevation of finely dressed sandstone "brick" and ashlar. Three-storeys with semi-basement rock faced. Six bays, the window reveals carried right down from segmental heads on second floor to the platband over basement, giving the effect of narrow applied arcade. Inswept ends to ashlar frieze and moulded eaves cornice. The reveals of the left hand window bay are swept out inversely in the same form as the ends of the frieze, to allow for the 2 light ground floor left hand windows. Architrave doorway, surmounted by small square architrave framed light with ashlar flat console supports and small pediment over. Similarly framed light over wagon entrance to right hand.

135,137 and 139 Sunbridge Road- Grade II

Circa 1880 long warehouse / office range, 2 and a half-storeys to front and 3 to rear. Fine quality sandstone "brick" with ashlar dressings.   Twenty three close set window bays. Splayed south corner. Rock faced semi-basement. Pilaster strips to corners. Mounded cornice with spaced brackets, parapet with long stone carved name panel to centre surmounted by ram's head crest. The narrowness of the window bays gives the impression of a pilastrade. Chamfered window heads with slightly curved corners. Doorways each end of elevation have large console brackets supporting aediculed lights, at upper ground floor level, with enriched scrolled pediments. This long front is an important element in the street picture.

147,149 and 151 Sunbridge Road - Grade II

Circa 1905-10 large block of 2 showroom/warehouses with offices. Apparently steel framed at least for the front elevation. Sandstone "brick" faced giant pilasters articulate giant arcade to first and second floors. Rock faced stonework, including ironstone, to arches and spandrels. Rock faced banding throughout to no. 149. Splayed corners. Balustraded parapets. Ground floor of no. 147 has polished granite columns, dividing window bays. This front retains original steel framed fenestration and dividing floor panels. Glazing altered to no. 149, mosaic facing to floor panels. The latter has large columned portal with pediment.

102,104 and 106 Thornton Road - Grade II

Circa 1850 built as the Soho Mills. Four-storeys, sandstone "brick" with ashlar dressings. Eleven close set window bays. Sill bands,spaced dentils to eaves. Hipped slate roof, flanking corniced chimneys set above eaves. Windows have cast iron glazing bars. To left hand the ground and first floor windows are combined in paired round-headed arches. Large, semi-circular, voussoir and keyed archway to centre of front.