6. JOHN BOYNTON PRIESTLEY (1894-1984)

Unveiled 3 1 st October 1986 by Jacquetta Hawkes (J.B. Priestley's widow)

Sculptor: Ian Judd (contemporary b. 1947)

The bronze figure of Bradford born writer, J.B. Priestley stands before the National Museum of Film, Photography and Television with his coat flapping behind him, in a typical Bradford breeze. After an education at Belle Vue School, Bradford, Priestley worked as a clerk in the Bradford wool firm, Helm & Co. He served in the First World War, after which he went to Trinity College, Cambridge where he graduated in 1922. A journalist, critic, dramatist, and most well remembered in Yorkshire as a novelist, Priestley was offered many honours, but accepted only two, the freedom of the City of Bradford in 1973 and the Order of Merit in 1977.

The sculptor, Ian Judd wanted to convey an image of Priestley as depicted by close friends, of a shy humorous man, with a characteristic Yorkshire bluntness and sureness of mind. Judd was born in London and worked as a graphic designer before changing careers and going to Art College. In 1984 he moved to Yorkshire to set up a workshop in Leeds.

The over life-size bronze figure stands overlooking the centre of Bradford on a granite plinth with a mounted bronze plaque with a quotation from J.B. Priestley's novel Bright Day 1946, chapter 2, describing an industrial city named 'Bruddersford' based on Bradford.

Now retrace your steps back to Centenary Square. From the Square look ahead towards a distinctive red brick building.