Everything about Bradford On Avon totally explained
Bradford on Avon (sometimes
Bradford-on-Avon) is a
town in west
Wiltshire,
England with a population of about 9,326. It is the smallest of the five towns in
West Wiltshire. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists.
The history of the town can be traced back to Roman origins. It has several buildings dating to the 17th century, when the town grew due to the thriving wool textile industry.
Location
The town lies partly on the
Vale of Pewsey and partly on the hill that marks the Vale's western edge, eight miles southeast of
Bath, in the hilly countryside between the
Mendip Hills,
Salisbury Plain and the
Cotswold Hills. The local area around Bath provides the
Jurassic limestone (
Bath Stone) from which the older buildings are constructed. The
River Avon (the
Bristol Avon) runs through the town.
Bradford-on-Avon railway station lies on what is now the
Bath—Weymouth railway line. It opened in the mid-19th century and was built by the original (pre-grouping)
Great Western Railway. Northwards the line runs past
Avoncliff and
Freshford stations, and joins the Great Western main line east of Bath. Trains run to
Bristol Temple Meads and
Cardiff. Southwards, the line is joined by the minor
Melksham branch from
Chippenham shortly before
Trowbridge. At
Westbury the line crosses the main
London to
Plymouth line. From Westbury, trains run to
Southampton,
Portsmouth or
Weymouth, and occasionally to
Frome or
Castle Cary.
Running parallel to the railway through the town is the
Kennet and Avon Canal and
Bradford Lock. The use of this canal declined as the railways grew but it was restored to full working order during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The canal provides a link through to the Avon at Bath in the West, and the
Thames at
Reading in the East.
History
The earliest evidence of habitation is fragments of
Roman settlements above the town. In particular,
archaeological digs have revealed the remains of a large
Roman villa with a well-preserved
mosaic on the playing fields of
St Laurence School. The centre of the town grew up around the ford across the river Avon, hence the origin of the town's name ("Broad-Ford"). This was supplemented in
Norman times by the stone
bridge that still stands today. The Norman side is upstream, and has pointed arches; the newer side has curved arches. The Town Bridge and Chapel is a grade I
listed building. It was originally a pack horse bridge, but widened in l7th century by rebuilding the western side.
On the bridge stands a small building which was originally a
chapel but later used as a town lockup. The weather vane on top takes the form of a gudgeon (an early Christian symbol), hence the saying "under the fish but over the water".
The river provided the power for the wool mills that gave the town its wealth. The town has
seventeenth century buildings dating from the most successful period of the
textile industry.
A notable feature of Bradford on Avon is the huge grade II* listed tithe barn, The barn would have been used for collecting taxes, in the form of goods, to fund the church.
Several notable buildings in and around the town centre have been designated for renovation and redevelopment/regeneration by 2012.
In 1997 the Wiltshire Music Centre was opened in Bradford on Avon, on the grounds of
St Laurence School.
On
October 8,
2003, Bradford on Avon was granted
Fairtrade Town status.
Churches
Notable is the
Saxon church (dedicated to St. Laurence), which may have been founded by
St. Aldhelm around
700, and could have been a temporary burial site for
King Edward the Martyr. It was re-discovered by Canon Jones in the
19th century, having been used for secular purposes.
In addition to the
Saxon church, the town has four
Church of England churches, one Church of England chapel, two Baptist chapels, a
United Reformed Church (Methodist and United Reformed),
a free nonconformist church
,
a non-denominational charismatic Christian Fellowship, a
Quaker (Society of Friends) meeting house and a
Catholic church.
The original parish church has a dedication to the Holy Trinity, and is located near the town centre by the river. It is Norman in origin, and it's possible that the chancel was built over the remains of an older church. Several chapels were added on the north side, and the wall in between was later opened up and the chapels now form the north aisle. The
tower and
spire was built around 1480, replacing an older one, and the south wall was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. The church has a ring of eight
bells, with the
tenor (heaviest bell) weighing 30cwt (1.5 tons).
The other
Anglican church has dedication of
Christ Church, and is entirely a
Victorian construction. The
Catholic church, dedicated to
St. Thomas More, occupies the building that used to be the town hall.
Economy
Bradford is the headquarters of the
Alex Moulton bicycle company. It has several other small scale manufacturing enterprises. In the past Bradford was the headquarters of
Avon Rubber, a manufacturer of rubber products for the automotive and other industries.
The town's main business is shopping, tourism and day to day servicing of a population largely made up of families, commuters and the retired.
The town of Bradford-On-Avon has one main supermarket situated on the Elms Cross Industrial estate, a two minute walk from the Canal lock. Local consumers founded Bradford-on-Avon Co-operative Society in
1861, which, in the 1960s, united with other
consumer co-operatives in the district to merge with a national business. Though consumer co-operation since left, Bristol
workers' co-operative Bishopston Trading Company has a
Fairtrade clothing shop in Silver Street, that supports the village of
K.V. Kuppam in
Tamil Nadu, India.
Local government
The most significant local government functions (including schools, roads, social services, waste disposal and emergency planning) are carried out by
Wiltshire County Council.
The town also falls within the area of
West Wiltshire District Council, which deals with leisure services, development control, and waste disposal. At the last district elections in 2007, it elected four members, all
Liberal Democrats.
Bradford on Avon is a civil parish with an elected town council of 12, 2 Conservative and 10 Liberal Democrat. This has a mostly consultative and ceremonial role, and the chairman of the town council has the title of
Mayor of Bradford.
See also:
People
The origins of the band
Jesus Jones can be traced back to the town. In 1986 Mike Edwards, Simon Matthews and Alan Doughty formed the band
Camouflage, which later enjoyed million-selling success as
Jesus Jones in America and the UK. The indie rock band
Blackbud were also formed in the town, at
St Laurence Secondary School.
Other well-known residents or ex-residents include:
Peter Hammill, singer and songwriter
Henry Shrapnel, inventor of the 'shrapnel shell'
Miles Kington, journalist
NY Times Bestselling science-fiction/fantasy author Simon R. Green
Rugby union players Will Carling, Phil de Glanville, and Jon Sleightholme
Hugh Scully, television presenter
Jonathan Newth, actor
Rob Newman, ex-footballer and current football manager
Andy Pearce, ex-footballer
Stephen Volk, writer among whose many credits include the TV series Afterlife and a recent collection of short stories called Dark Corners
Stan Hey, Author, journalist and screenwriter. TV Credits include Agony, The Manageress, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Dalziel and Pascoe. Novels include the locally-set Frank Brennan series. Regular columnist for The Independent.
Lucy Schaufer, opera singer who has appeared at The Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Hamburg Opera and English National Opera.Further Information
Get more info on 'Bradford On Avon'.
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