Bradford on Avon

infobox UK place
country= England
official_name= Bradford on Avon
population= 9,326
latitude= 51.34690833
longitude= -2.251063889
shire_district= West Wiltshire
shire_county= Wiltshire
os_grid_reference= ST823605
region= South West England
post_town= Bradford-on-Avon
postcode_district= BA15
postcode_area= BA
dial_code= 01225
constituency_westminster=Westbury

Bradford on Avon (sometimes Bradford-on-Avon) is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326.Cite web|url=http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcensus.php?id=32|title=Bradford on Avon Census Information|accessdate=2006-12-19|publisher=Wiltshire County Council|author=Wiltshire Community History] 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 English woolen 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 Packhorse bridge, but widened in l7th century by rebuilding the western side. [cite web | title=The Town Bridge and Chapel | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=312478 | accessdate=2006-08-24]

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 local 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 local textile industry. The best examples of weaver's cottages are on Newtown, Middle Rank and Tory Terraces. Daniel Defoe visited Bradford in the early 1700s and commented : "They told me at Bradford on Avon that it was no extra-ordinary thing to have clothiers in that county worth £10,000 to £40,000 per man" (Equivalent to £1,327,480 to £5,309,720 in 2007 [http://www.measuringworth.com/index.html] ).

With improving mechanisation in Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution the wool weaving industry moved from cottages to purpose built woolen mills adjacent to the river Avon where they used water and steam to power the looms, around 30 such mills were built in Bradford on Avon alone and prospered further until the English woolen industry shifted its centre of power to Yorkshire in the late 19th century and the last local mill closed in 1905. Many have since stood empty and some became derelict. A notable feature of Bradford on Avon is the huge grade II* listed tithe barn, now part of Barton Farm Country Park [cite web | title=Tithe Barn | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=312625 | accessdate=2006-08-24] 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 (apparently becoming a house, a school and part of a factory).

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), [http://www.bearfield.org a free nonconformist church] , [http://www.boacf.org.uk a non-denominational charismatic Christian Fellowship] , a Quaker (Society of Friends) meeting house and a Roman 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 is 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. [cite web | title=Holy Trinity Church | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=312518 | accessdate=2006-08-24] 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. [cite web | title=Christ Church | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=312619 | accessdate=2006-08-24] The Catholic church, dedicated to St. Thomas More, occupies the building that used to be the town hall. [cite web | title=Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=312585 | accessdate=2006-08-24]

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 retail shopping, tourism and day to day servicing of a population largely made up of families, commuters and the retired.

The town has one mid-sized supermarket, Sainsbury's situated on the Elms Cross Industrial estate, a two minute walk from the Canal lock, and five convenience stores. [Cite web
url=http://www.yell.com/ucs/UcsSearchAction.do?keywords=convenience+store&companyName=&location=BRADFORD-ON-AVON&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=SEARCH&scrambleSeed=90543387&searchType=advance&M=0&lastKeyword=supermarket&lastClarifyIndex=&lastClarifyOptions=&lastSearchall=&lastSearchallTax=&lastbandedclarifyResults=&bandedclarifyResults=&ssm=0
title=Gocers and convenience stores
publisher=Yell.com Yellow Pages directory
accessdate=2008-08-11] 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. [Cite web
url=http://www2.co-operative.com:8080/Ext_1/ShHistory.ns4/$WebSharebook/Bradford-on-Avon?OpenDocument
title=Coop Online Share Book search: Bradford-on-Avon
accessdate=2008-05-21] [Cite web
url=http://www.avoncda.coop/localcoops4.htm
quote=Its five shops in Bristol, Stroud, Glastonbury, Totnes and Bradford-on-Avon sell clothes for adults and children
title=Listing of co-operatives in the ACDA area
publisher=Avon Co-operative Development Agency] [Cite web
url=http://www.bishopstontrading.co.uk/company/contact.php
title=Contact us
publisher=Bishopston Trading Company
accessdate=2008-05-21]

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 Democrats. This has a mostly consultative and ceremonial role, and the chairman of the town council has the title of Mayor of Bradford.

See also:
*West Wiltshire Council election 2003
*West Wiltshire Council election 2007

Education

The town has one secondary school, St Laurence School, a specialist Arts College.

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 music rock band "Blackbud" were also formed in the town, at St Laurence Secondary School.

Other well-known residents or ex-residents include:
*Nigel Vile,the UK's foremost writer of walking guidebooks www.geocities.com/vilewalks/nigel
*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.

References

External links

* [http://www.bradfordonavon.com Community Website]
* [http://www.bradfordonavon.co.uk Bradford on Avon Tourism Association]
* [http://www.bradfordonavontown.com Bradford on Avon Town Council]
* [http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/bradfordnews/ Bradford on Avon news from the Wiltshire Times.]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/image_galleries/historic_bradford_on_avon_photos_gallery1.shtml Historic Bradford-on-Avon photos] at [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire BBC Wiltshire]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/08/19/day_out_bradford_on_avon_1878_film_feature.shtml "Day Out: Bradford-on-Avon"] - A 30 minute BBC TV programme made in 1978 of a day spent exploring Bradford-on-Avon

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3332234 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Bradford on Avon and surrounding area]

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