A LOCAL historian is shining a light on a series of decorative stained glass windows found within Bradford’s City Hall.

Janet Senior has turned detective to uncover the stories behind nearly 100 individuals and families commemorated with heraldic shields in the ornate Banqueting Hall.

Each shield was hand-painted by the stained glass relief artist Henry Gustave Hiller, at different points in the early 20th century.

Miss Senior, a retired special school teacher from Horton Bank Top, Bradford, has spent the past two years uncovering the stories behind the names, after a chance conversation during a tour of City Hall.

She said she was touring the building with the Victorian Society, when one of the party asked a member of council staff about the heraldic shields.

She said: “He said he couldn’t answer. I was standing next to him and couldn’t keep my mouth shut and explained why we had the Phillippa of Hainault shield there.

“She was wife of Edward III. They married at York Minster and she was given Bradford in a dowry.”

Miss Senior was invited to meet council staff and the idea of researching all the names and recording them in a booklet was born.

Some names, like founder of Saltaire, Sir Titus Salt, have well-known connections to the city of Bradford.

Others have taken a little more digging.

But one shield in particular still remains a mystery, Miss Senior said.

She said: “Every single person has something to do with Bradford except for the one I can’t work out - that’s the one to Charles, Prince of Wales. It’s not our Charles, Prince of Wales, it’s the Stuart Charles, Prince of Wales.

“When he was Charles II, he granted the charter to Bradford Grammar School in 1662 but he was king then, not prince.”

Miss Senior and photographer Steve Reeder, who provided the images for the booklet, were invited to City Hall to unveil their work yesterday.

They joined the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Cllr Geoff and Chris Reid, for lunch in the Lord Mayor’s reception rooms.

The booklet, Heraldic Shields in the Banqueting Hall of Bradford City Hall, is being sold at City Hall’s reception for £5.

All proceeds will go to the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, which this year is raising money for the children’s mental health charity Young Minds.