
Sunbridge Wells is a leisure and shopping facility and tourist attraction built in tunnels in
Bradford,
West Yorkshire, England. The centre was opened in 2016.
History
The tunnels where the leisure and shopping facility is now was a quarry in the thirteenth century. It was also used as prison cells and during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
was used as an
air raid shelter.
In the 1960s it was a location for dancing.
[Bradfords Underground Shopping Centre opens]
ITV, Retrieved 25 February 2017 This was when ''The Little Fat Black Pussycat'' nightclub was based there - it was owned by the wrestler
Shirley Crabtree who was known as ''Big Daddy''.
The unusual underground development involved the removal of hundreds of tonnes of rubble
and it cost £1.9 million to develop and it includes bars and shops. It had originally had a budget of £1 million but this was nearly doubled when the internal area was increased to 24,000 square feet. The stairwells and corridors are decorated in a Victorian style with displays by the
Bradford Museums and Art Galleries
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a p ...
.
The leisure and shopping facility was opened after some delay
by the parents of developer Graham Hall, on 9 December 2016. A further extension to Sunbridge Wells, the Rose and Crown craft beer pub, opened later, and a steak house is planned to open in 2017.
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References
{{City of Bradford
Buildings and structures in Bradford
Shopping centres in West Yorkshire