Back in the 19th century right up to the early 20th century there must have been some sort of special influence at work along the stretch of Toller Lane that runs between Ashwell Road and Smith Lane.

That small pocket of Bradford produced no fewer than ten Mayors and Lord Mayors.

They lived in big houses which have either been demolished long ago or are now changed to modern commercial use. Woodlands, for instance, was flattened and the land used for the building of streets such as Woodlands Road and Fairbank Road.

But the house had originally been built, surrounded by parkland, for Angus Holden, who was connected with the woolcombing firm founded by his father, Isaac.

Historian Wade Hustwick reported in the T&A in 1962 that Angus was Mayor for three years between 1878 and 1881 and in 1886/87. He went on to become MP for Buckrose in the East Riding. It was he who in 1887 built the much-lamented Swan Arcade in Market Street.

William Edward Aykroyd, a dyer who was Mayor in 1898-99, lived at Ashwell House for a quarter of a century.

Manningham Lodge, which was later flattened and the land turned into allotments, was where Sir Matthew William Thompson was born. He served as Mayor in 1852/63 and again in 1872/74. In the meantime he had sold the Lodge to Charles Semon, a merchant who built the Semon Convalescent Home at Ilkley and was Mayor of Bradford from 1864-65.

The Lodge was later enlarged into two houses occupied by Quaker brothers John and Alfred Priestman. Although neither of these became mayor, John was an alderman on the borough council and Alfred was a member of the School Board.

The house Pierremont was occupied for about half a century by Frederick Priestman, son of John Priestman, who had a corn mill which stood in Millergate. Frederick was Mayor from 1882-83.

But it was the now-demolished Oakwood which held the record for civic occupants. It was home to two Mayors and a Lord Mayor. One of the former was John Hill, Mayor of Bradford in 1881-82 when the Prince of Wales came to open the Technical College. The other was Alderman David Wade (Mayor for two years, 1902-4).

Oakwood was also home to Lieut-Col Sir Athony Gadie, who was Lord Mayor in 1920-21 and an MP from 1924-29.

Wade Hustwick was unable to track down the precise homes of the two other Mayors who lived in Toller Lane. One of them was John Farrar, who was a member of the Board of Commissioners which looked after the affairs of Bradford before the formation of the Corporation in 1847 and a founder of the Mechanics' Institute. He was Mayor in 1863-64. Edward West's turn was five years later (1868-69). He was a Quaker and partner with John Priestman at the Old Soke Mill in Millergate.

What an illustrious lot they were, those big names from Bradford's Past Times clustered together in a small part of the city