Little Horton

Coordinates: 53°47′06″N 1°46′37″W / 53.785°N 1.777°W / 53.785; -1.777

Little Horton (population 17,368 - 2001 UK census) is a Ward in Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the de Horton family, who were once Lords of the Manor.

As well as the area of Little Horton, the electoral ward includes the area of West Bowling, Marshfields and the Canterbury housing estate.

Introduction

Little Horton is located on gently sloping land to the south east of Bradford. The area has an ancient history and is a pre-industrial settlement. It was originally an area of farmland, but the soil was so poor that arable crop farming was nearly impossible. As a result the people in the settlement had to find other means of making a living from the earliest times through manufacture and trade.

The place-name Horton is a common one in England. It derives from Old English horu 'dirt' and tūn 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. The ‘Little’ part of the title only refers to the fact that ‘Little Horton’ covered a smaller area of land than ‘Great Horton’. The two areas together made up the Manor of Horton.