Year 2 – Lister & Forster

Samuel Cunliffe Lister was born in Calverley Old Hall near Bradford in 1815.  Son of a politician he became a successful inventor and industrialist.

He started his working life in Liverpool and then, in 1838, he and his brother started as worsted spinners and manufacturers at a mill his father built for them in Manningham. The mill produced wool, silk and velvet.

Lister’s Mill, also known as Manningham Mills, played a key role in the Bradford wool industry during industrialization. They employed 11,000 people at the height of their success.

During World War II, Lister’s mills produced fabrics for the war effort – 284 miles of flameproof wool, 1,300 miles of parachute silk and 4,430 miles of parachute cord!

Lister invented the Lister nip comb which separated and straightened raw wool. This has to be done before it can be spun into yarn and had previously been a dirty and slow job. The new machine transformed the wool industry.

The textile industry turned Bradford from a small town in to a rich and famous city.  Samuel Lister went on to become a multi millionaire.  He donated Lister Park to the people of Bradford, and his statue can be seen there.

The Lister artwork is mostly in shades of grey, representing the smoky industrialist Bradford of the 19^th Century. The warm bright colour windows are spreading out success and wealth across the city.

William Forster was born in 1818 in Dorset and was raised as a Quaker. On leaving school he was put into business but instead of working in the family Brewery, he worked in woollen manufacture in Bradford.

Forster married but they had no children. Sadly Mrs. Forster’s brother died leaving 4 children, so the Forster’s adopted them as their own.

In 1859 he moved into politics and stood as a Liberal Party candidate in Leeds but lost. Two years later his popularity meant he was appointed as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Bradford.

Forster played a big part in Parliamentary reform, in Education Bills and in the setting up of school boards. He was a politician for a number of years and during this time became involved in issues affecting other countries such as America and Ireland. He was a very outspoken man and campaigned for many causes in the House of Commons in London.

William died in 1886; Forster Square and Forster Square railway station in Bradford are named after him.

The artwork has a bright yellow background, as this is the party colour of the Liberal Party. The images represent the link between Bradford in the north and London in the south; with the railway arches, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.