Bolling Hall offers visitors a fascinating journey through the lives and times of the Bradford families for whom it provided a home over 500 years.

Situated just a mile from Bradford city centre and situated in a quiet, leafy garden, Bolling Hall was for many years the seat of two important land-owning families, the Bollings and the Tempests.

With parts of the building dating from medieval times, Bolling Hall is a rambling mixture of styles with every nook and cranny packed with history.

During the Civil War the household supported the Royalist cause, and the house provided a stronghold during the ‘siege of Bradford’.

Rooms are furnished and decorated to give an accurate taste of life at different periods of the house’s history, and the fascinating furniture on display includes a superb bed made for Harewood House by Thomas Chippendale.

Bolling Hall has recently had a major revamp, with walls painted, electrics replaced, antiques restored and the grounds improved.

It has also seen a nearby public library move into the house, bringing a fresh set of visitors.

The East Bowling library, formerly in Flockton Road, re-opened in its new home in January.

Its architectural style ranges from medieval to Georgian, with the earliest part of the building, the pele tower (now the reception area) dating back to the 1370s.

Extensions were added in the 1520s and 1600s, and a Georgian wing was added in 1779 to 1780.

It even has its own ghost, who is said to appear in a bedroom known as the Ghost Room.

There is a legend that she appeared to the Royalist com-mander, the Earl of Newcastle, who was staying there before the siege, to tell him to ‘pity poor Bradford’ and spare the lives of its inhabitants.

Bolling Hall opened as a museum in 1915 and is now owned by Bradford Council. It is Bradford’s oldest public building.

  • Bolling Hall, Bowling Hall Road, Bradford, BD4 7LP, telephone (01274) 431814 or 431826. Website: bradford museums.org Opening times: Wednesday to Friday 11am-4pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday noon-5pm. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Monday and Tuesday except Bank Holidays. Admission free, How to find it: Bolling Hall is on Bowling Hall Road one mile south of Bradford city centre and is signposted with heritage ‘brown signs’ from A650 Wakefield Road. Buses to Bolling Hall from Bradford Interchange weekdays, 624, weekends 634. Access and facilities: Partial access for wheelchair users; restricted to ground-floor level. Ground-floor toilet. Some Braille room labels. Handbook in large print, braille and tape available to borrow or to buy.