Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 167,446. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford on the River Great Ouse and is thought to have been the burial place of King Offa of Mercia, who is remembered for building Offa's Dyke on the Welsh border. Bedford Castle was built by Henry I, although it was destroyed in 1224. Bedford was granted borough status in 1166 and has been represented in Parliament since 1265. It is known for its large population of Italian descent.
History
Roman estates with associated villas are known in the outskirts of the town, one of which is of particularly high status with fine stucco decoration found only in 2 or 3 places in the Roman north-western provinces.The name of the town is believed to derive from the name of a Saxon chief called Beda, and a ford crossing the River Great Ouse. Bedford was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region from the early Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town in 796; this is believed to be in his new minster, now the Church of St Paul, or on the banks of the Great Ouse where his tomb was soon lost to the river. In 886 it became a boundary town separating Wessex and Danelaw. It was the seat of the Barony of Bedford. In 919 Edward the Elder built the town's first known fortress, on the south side of the River Great Ouse and there received the area's submission. This fortress was destroyed by the Danes. William II gave the barony of Bedford to Paine de Beauchamp, who built a new, strong castle.
Bedford traces its borough charter in 1166 by Henry II and elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons. The new Bedford Castle was razed in 1224 and today only a mound remains. From the 16th century Bedford and much of Bedfordshire became one of the main centres of England's lace industry, and lace continued to be an important industry in Bedford until the early 20th century. In 1660 John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years in Bedford Gaol. It was here that he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress. The River Great Ouse became navigable as far as Bedford in 1689. Wool declined in importance with brewing becoming a major industry in the town. The 19th century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub. The northern part of the town was badly damaged in the Great Fire of Bedford in 1802, which destroyed 72 properties in the St Loyes area. 21 years later, the Great Flood of Bedford swamped most of the town when the River Great Ouse burst its banks. The former Phoenix public house in St Johns Street has a stone marker in its wall almost two metres above ground level, representing the maximum height of the floodwater in 1823. In 1832 gas lighting was introduced, and the railway reached Bedford in 1846. The first corn exchange was built 1849, and the first drains and sewers were dug in 1864.
Bedford's first woman town councillor was Mary Milligan who, in 1919, was also the secretary of the local Women's Citizens League.
Governance
The contiguous Bedford built-up area forms the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Bedford. The borough council is led by a directly elected mayor who holds the title 'Mayor of Bedford', an office which was first held by Frank Branston, until his death in 2009. The current mayor of Bedford is Tom Wootton from the Conservative Party.The Bedford built-up area is divided into 10 wards for elections to the Borough Council: Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, Queens Park, Kempston East and Kempston West. Within the Bedford urban area, only Brickhill, Biddenham and Kempston elect their own parish councils, while the rest of the built-up area is unparished. Kempston is the only civil parish in both the built-up area and Borough of Bedford which has a town council.
Bedford is served by Bedfordshire Police The Chief Constable since January 2023 is Trevor Rodenhurst. The elected Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner of that force is John Tizard.
Bedford forms part of the Bedford constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament. The current Member of Parliament for Bedford is Mohammad Yasin, who is a member of the Labour Party.
Geography
Bedford is miles north-northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, west of Cambridge and east-southeast of Northampton.The town of Kempston is part of Bedford's built-up area, as is the village of Biddenham. Other villages adjacent to, but outside of, the built-up area include Bromham, Elstow, Renhold and Ravensden. Wixams is a new town which is being developed to the south of Bedford. Villages in the Borough of Bedford, outside of the built-up area, with populations of more than 2,000 include Clapham, Elstow, Oakley, Sharnbrook, Shortstown, Wilstead, and Wootton. There are also many smaller villages in the borough.
Climate
As with the rest of the United Kingdom, Bedford has a maritime climate, with a limited range of temperatures, and generally even rainfall throughout the year. The nearest Met Office weather station to Bedford is Bedford airport, about north of Bedford town centre at an elevation of. Temperature extremes at the site have ranged from in July 2022, down to in January 1982. However, such extremes would likely be superseded if longer-term records were available – Historically, the nearest weather station to Bedford was Cardington about south south east of the town centre with an elevation of. This location recorded a minimum of during January 1963.Rainfall averages around a year, with an excess of falling on 115 days.
Sunshine at around 1,550 hours a year is typical of inland areas of southern-central England.
Demographics
Bedford is home to one of the largest concentrations of Italian immigrants in the United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census, almost 30% of Bedford's population were of at least partial Italian descent. This is mainly as a result of labour recruitment in the early 1950s by the London Brick Company from Southern Italy. From 1954 to 2008 Bedford had its own Italian vice-consulate.In addition to Italian immigrants, Bedford has also been the recipient of significant immigration from India, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Albania, Turkey, The Middle East, East Asia, South East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, making it one of the most ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse towns in the United Kingdom outside of London in proportion to its size.
At the 2011 Census, the ethnic mix of the Bedford urban area was 74.4% white, 4% mixed, 15% Asian or Asian-British, 5% Black or Black-British, and 1% "other ethnic group". In terms of national identity, just over 50% identified as English only, 24% as British only and 15% only as a non-UK identity; just over 8% had a "British and other" identity.
In 2001, Bedford was 69% Christian, 24% Irreligious, 3% Muslim, and 2% Sikh. By 2021, Bedford was 48% Christian, 40% Irreligious, 7% Muslim, and 2% Sikh.
Landmarks
is the town's largest urban park and is located directly to the north of the town centre. The park retains many original features from its Victorian design and construction, including a cricket pavilion and bandstand which are both still in use. Priory Country Park is a large country park located on the northern bank of the River Great Ouse in eastern Bedford. Both parks have been awarded Green Flag status.Bedford's principal church is St Paul's, in the square of the same name at the historic centre of the town. It is the Civic Church of the Borough of Bedford and County of Bedfordshire and has a tall, iconic spire which is one of the dominant features of the town. There was an early Minster church on the site by 1066 and work on the present structure began in the early 13th century, but little remains from that period. John Bunyan and John Wesley both preached in the church. In 1865–1868 the tower and spire were completely rebuilt and the two transepts added and lesser alterations have been made since. From 1941 to the end of the Second World War the BBC's daily service was broadcast from St Paul's. Another notable local church is St Peter's, on St Peter's Street, which contains some of the oldest architectural remains in Bedford, the most ancient being the two monoliths. St Paul's Church also hosts the town's Visitor Information Centre.
Just outside the town lie the Cardington airship hangars. The hangars have been used to shoot scenes for movies such as Star Wars, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception. The hangars can be seen from the Bedford Bypass.
Despite being far upriver from the sea, seals have occasionally been reported as swimming as far inland as Bedford.
The Old Town Hall dates back to 1550 and the building was originally constructed as a school.