Cartwright hall, Lister park, Bradford

One of my favourite buildings in Bradford (or anywhere!) is Cartwright hall in Lister park.

Interesting facts:

In 1983 Cartwright Hall was briefly used as part of the musical number 'every sperm is sacred' in the Monty Python movie, The Meaning of Life.

John Masefield was the man who created the museums art collection (starting in 1903) & had previously created Wolverhampton's art gallery but called Wolverhampton a 'soul-crushing abortion of a misbegotten city' (a sentiment many now express about Bradford itself!)

In 1902 preparations for the Bradford exhibition were put in place. The main attraction was a Somali village! There were about a hundred Somalis, with their chief, and they included, according to the Yorkshire Daily Observer, 'remarkably beautiful girls'. They arrived before the Exhibition opened, built their own huts and lived in them in the public gaze until the end, giving throughout this time daily demonstrations of dancing, spear throwing and arrow shooting. The official report says, 'they maintained their attractive character throughout, and under the trying conditions of the Yorkshire climate behaved in a most creditable manner'.

Happy humpday blippers!