I'm not keen on the term 'city hall' for a british local government headquarters. It sounds too american. Bradford has one - it was promoted from town hall in 1974, even though Bradford had been a city since 1897. You sense an attempt to apply some american glamour to a fading textile town. Manchester obviously didn't feel the need for such vanity, as our town hall followed the city charter.
Bradford's town - city - hall beats ours on two counts, though. It's got statues of English monarchs, thirty-five of them, from William the conqueror to Victoria. They line the walls in chronological order, gazing down on the peasants below, except Elizabeth and Victoria, who flank the main doors. Even Oliver Cromwell is there.
And the bells play tunes. Pretty much any tune, they reckon, thanks to some fancy software. When I was there, 'For those in peril on the deep' was echoing around the town, which must be at least forty miles from the coast. Wierd.
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