Bedworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bedworth is a market town in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It is situated between Coventry, 9 km (5.5 miles) to the south and Nuneaton, 5.5 km (3.5 miles) to the north. London is 163 km (101 miles) to the southeast. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 32,268. Residents are sometimes known as "Bedites"
Bedworth is often pronounced 'Bed-uth' by many (but not all) residents of the town and inhabitants of nearby Coventry and Nuneaton, though the common 'Bed-worth' pronunciation is used virtually everywhere else.
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[edit] Features
The most notable buildings in Bedworth are the Nicholas Chamberlaine's Almshouses on All Saint’s Square in the town centre, which are built in Tudor style and date from 1840. The main venue in Bedworth is the Bedworth Civic Hall which has an attached Arts Centre [1]
A new and interesting building in Mill Street is the martial arts academy with a Chinese Canopy at the front. Along Mill Street can be seen rows of former weavers' cottages which were once inhabited by Huguenot weavers, but althouh some are still used as shops they have fallen into a derelict state. The majority of the town centre was built in the postwar period, and has all the hallmarks of such a development. The town centre itself contains some of the usual high street names such as Tesco and Iceland.
Domestic appliance insurer Domestic & General has offices in the town centre and provides substantial employment for the community.
After the recent closure of the Bedworth Kwik Save (known Locally as the Hypermarket). The site is set to be regenerated into a new Aldi store. The main type of outlets in Bedworth are charity shops which leaves local residents very little in way of retail therapy.
Bedworth also has an excellent skate park built in the Miners Welfare Park after campaigning by local youngsters.
[edit] History
Originally a small market town with Saxon origin, Bedworth developed into an industrial town in the 18th and 19th centuries, due largely to coal mining and the overspill of ribbon weaving and textile industries from nearby Coventry. The opening of the Coventry Canal in 1769 and later, the railway in 1850 enhanced the town's growth. Until quite recently Bedworth was primarily a coal mining town, but the last colliery was closed in 1994.
Due to its good transport links, and proximity to major cities such as Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester, Bedworth is now growing rapidly as a dormitory town.
From 1894 Bedworth was a civil parish within the Foleshill Rural District. In 1928 Bedworth was incorporated as an urban district in its own right [2]. In 1974 the Bedworth Urban District was merged with the borough of Nuneaton to create the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.
Bedworth was once in the Guinness book of records for the most amount of pubs per head of population. Although many of the pubs are now, gone there is still a large drinking culture in the town.
[edit] Transport
Bedworth is situated to the immediate north of the M6 motorway at junction 3, and is served by the Coventry to Nuneaton railway line. The present railway station was opened in 1988 after the original station was closed in the 1960s was part of the Beeching axe.
The Coventry Canal also runs through the town.
[edit] Suburbs and districts
Bedworth has six main suburban districts, namely Collycroft, Mount Pleasant, Bedworth Heath, Coalpit Field, Goodyers End and Exhall. Exhall is a generic name for the area surrounding junction 3 of the M6 motorway, comprising parts of both Bedworth and Coventry. Much of what is now considered Exhall within south Bedworth is also referred to as Hayes Green by locals and on older maps of the area.
[edit] Schools
- Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College
- Canon Maggs
- Canon Evans
[edit] Notable residents
The locally born author George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) lived at "Griff House" just north of Bedworth between 1819 and 1841. "Griff House" still stands today as a Premier Travel Inn Hotel and Beefeater Restaurant. Other famous people associated with the town are:
- Former Libertines front-man Pete Doherty, who attended Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College.
- Musician Steven Venables from the band The BlackLies attended Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College.
- Bill Maynard from TVs Heartbeat and Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
- Mike Softley #72 local Motocross Rider who recently gained a sponsorship from Olympia Motocross Park. The owner of which also runs the Bedworth Lawnmower shop.
Lee Hurst, a Coventry City F.C. footballer in the 1990s, used to reside in Leas Close in the Mount Pleasant area. He retired due to injury caused during a training exercise at an assault course, Organised by then manager Bobby Gould, He also appeared on They think its all over as the mystery guest as a joke due to one of the show residents of the same name.. He was an unsung local hero on the terraces of the Highfield Road stadium, who lined up alongside the likes of Roy Wegerle, Peter Ndlovu, Steve Ogrizovic, Brian Borrows, Kenny Sansom, Micky Quinn, Robert Rosario, Brian Hill and many famous Coventry City footballers.
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