Bradford Secret River Plaque Trail

A culvert beneath the Broadway shopping centre was rebuilt in the 1950s in brick and again in concrete 20 years later.
Flowing under Bradford is a secret river often unknown and un-noticed as it makes its way from the old Odeon cinema, under centenery square and Broadway emerging at Queen's Road after which it runs mostly in an open channel to Shipley.
Organised by the Friends of Bradford’s Becks group, 15 pavement plaques carved out of stone have been placed in pavements between Thornton Road, by the former Odeon, through to Lower Kirkgate, past the Midland Hotel.
You can follow the trail of 15 plaques along the route of Bradford Beck as it flows hidden beneath the centre of Bradford. Each one of the dark slate-coloured paving stones bears two lines of a poem, the sponsor’s name and an arrow showing the beck’s direction of flow. The poem was the winning entry in a public poetry competition held in 2015.
PLAQUE 1


Plaque 1
This plaque is sponsored by Bradford Live
On westerly moors
Rise Chellow, Pinch, Pitty
PLAQUE 2


Plaque 2
This plaque is sponsored by Safe Style
Energy once harnessed To power this wool city
PLAQUE 3


Plaque 3 This plaque is sponsored by Anchor Housing
Goit and beck in parallel
Power in, waste out
PLAQUE 4


Plaque 4 This plaque is sponsored by British Land
Spectral Saxon elders
Mourn memory of trout
PLAQUE 5


Plaque 5 This plaque is sponsored by Yorkshire Water
In pure flow below Sunbridge
Fish once chased
PLAQUE 6


Plaque 6
This plaque is dedicated to
The 56 who died in the fire at
Bradford City FC in 1985
Disregarded water
In gothic vaults encased
PLAQUE 7


Plaque 7 This plaque is sponsored by
Bradford Cinderella Club
Culverted, covered Forced underground, hidden
PLAQUE 8

Plaque 8 This plaque is sponsored by
Rimmington’s
Cherished sparkling beck
Degraded to a midden
PLAQUE 9


Plaque 9 This plaque is dedicated to
Jackie Emmott
Fouled by industry detritus
Sky just a dream
PLAQUE 10


Plaque 10 This plaque is sponsored by
Grattan
Under our city lies
A misused, abused stream
PLAQUE 11


Plaque 11 This plaque is sponsored by
Feature Radiators.
Whispering in the dark,
Awaiting a rebirth
PLAQUE 12


Plaque 12 This plaque is sponsored by
The Broadway
Water sighs, eddies, races
Unseen, unremarked
PLAQUE 13


Plaque 13 This plaque is sponsored by
The Broadway
So small a waterway For Bradford dale drained
PLAQUE 14


Plaque 14 This plaque is sponsored by
The Broadway
Beck fed the canal basin its miasma ill-famed
PLAQUE 15


Plaque 15 This plaque is sponsored by
Napoleon’s Casino
Skip across the broad ford
Bradford is named