Bedford facts for kids

This page is about the town in England. For other uses, see Bedford (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Bedford
Town
Clockwise from the top left: Bedford Castle Mound, Westbourne Road Mosque in the Queens Park area, Shire Hall, Bedford Town Bridge, Priory Lake, St Paul's Church and Britannia Iron Works former entrance
Bedford
Population	106,940 (2011 built-up area including Biddenham and Kempston)
OS grid reference	TL055495
• London	46 miles (74 km) S
Unitary authority	Borough of Bedford
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Bedford
Postcode district	MK40–MK45
Dialling code	01234

Police	Bedfordshire
Fire	Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance	East of England

EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Bedford
List of places UK England Bedfordshire 52°08′06″N 0°28′12″W / 52.135°N 0.470°W / 52.135; -0.470

Bedford is a busy market town in Bedfordshire, England. In 2011, about 106,940 people lived in its main area, which includes nearby Kempston and Biddenham. Bedford is also the main town of Bedfordshire and the center of the Borough of Bedford, which is a local government area.

The town of Bedford started at a place where people could easily cross the River Great Ouse. It is thought that King Offa of Mercia, famous for building Offa's Dyke on the Welsh border, was buried here. King Henry I built Bedford Castle, but it was later destroyed in 1224. Bedford became an official town in 1166 and has had people representing it in Parliament since 1265. The town is also known for having a large number of people with Italian family roots.

History of Bedford

The name Bedford probably comes from a Saxon chief named Beda and a place to cross the River Great Ouse. From the early Middle Ages, Bedford was a market town for the farms around it. The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town in 796. His tomb is believed to have been near the Church of St Paul or by the river.

In 886, Bedford became a border town between Wessex and Danelaw. In 919, Edward the Elder built the town's first known fort. This fort was later destroyed by the Danes. Later, William II gave the area to Paine de Beauchamp, who built a new, strong castle.

Bedford got its town charter in 1166 from King Henry II. The new Bedford Castle was pulled down in 1224, and today only a mound of earth remains. From the 1500s, Bedford became a major center for making lace. Lace making was important in Bedford until the early 1900s.

In 1660, John Bunyan was put in Bedford Gaol for 12 years. While there, he wrote his famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress. The River Great Ouse became easy to travel on by boat as far as Bedford in 1689. Later, making beer became a big industry in the town. In the 1800s, Bedford grew into an important place for engineering.

A large fire in 1802, called the Great Fire of Bedford, badly damaged the northern part of the town. It destroyed 72 buildings. Twenty-one years later, the Great Flood of Bedford covered most of the town when the river overflowed. A stone marker on a building in St Johns Street shows how high the floodwater was in 1823. Gas lighting came to Bedford in 1832, and the railway arrived in 1846. The first corn exchange was built in 1849, and the first drains and sewers were put in in 1864.

Mary Milligan became Bedford's first woman town councilor in 1919.

How Bedford is Governed

The main area of Bedford is the largest town in the Borough of Bedford. The local council is led by a mayor who is chosen by the people. This person is called the 'Mayor of Bedford'. The first mayor was Frank Branston. The current mayor is Tom Wootton from the Conservative Party.

The Bedford area is split into 10 sections called wards for local elections. These include Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, Queens Park, Kempston East and Kempston West. Only Brickhill, Biddenham, and Kempston have their own small local councils called parish councils. Kempston is the only one with a town council.

Bedfordshire Police looks after safety in Bedford. The person in charge of the police force is the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Bedford is part of the Bedford area that sends a person to the UK Parliament. This person is called a Member of Parliament (MP). The current MP for Bedford is Mohammad Yasin from the Labour Party.

Geography of Bedford

Bedford is about 46 miles (74 km) north-northwest of London. It is also about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Birmingham, 25 miles (40 km) west of Cambridge, and 19 miles (31 km) east-southeast of Northampton.

The town of Kempston and the village of Biddenham are part of Bedford's main built-up area. Other villages close by include Bromham, Elstow, Renhold, and Ravensden. Wixams is a new town being built south of Bedford.

The River Great Ouse at Town Bridge, Bedford, with St Paul's Church and the Swan Hotel in the background.

People of Bedford (Demography)

Bedford has one of the largest groups of Italian immigrants in the United Kingdom. In 2001, almost 30% of people in Bedford had at least some Italian family background. This happened because the London Brick Company hired many workers from Southern Italy in the early 1950s. From 1954 to 2008, Bedford even had its own Italian office for visitors, called a vice-consulate.

Besides Italians, many people have moved to Bedford from other places. These include India (especially from the Punjab in the late 1950s), Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland, Greece, and many parts of Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. This makes Bedford one of the most diverse towns in the UK for its size, with many different ethnic groups, races, and languages.

In 2011, the people in Bedford's urban area were mostly white (74.4%). About 15% were Asian, and 5% were Black. When asked about their national identity, just over half said they were only English. About 24% said they were only British, and 15% said they were only from another country.

In 2001, most people in Bedford were Christian (69%). About 24% said they had no religion, 3% were Muslim, and 2% were Sikh. By 2021, the number of Christians was 48%, those with no religion grew to 40%, Muslims were 7%, and Sikhs were 2%.

Famous Places (Landmarks)

Bedford Park is the town's biggest urban park. It is just north of the town center. The park still has many of its original features from when it was built in the Victorian era, like a cricket pavilion and a bandstand. Both are still used today. Priory Country Park is another large park by the River Great Ouse in eastern Bedford. Both parks have won a special award called Green Flag status.

Bedford's main church is St Paul's, which is in the town's historic center. It is the main church for the Borough of Bedford and Bedfordshire. It has a tall, famous spire that stands out in the town. The church has been there since at least 1066, and the current building started in the early 1200s. John Bunyan and John Wesley both preached here. From 1941 until the end of the Second World War, the BBC broadcast its daily church service from St Paul's.

Another important church is St Peter's, which has some of the oldest parts of buildings in Bedford. St Paul's Church also has the town's Visitor Information Centre.

Just outside the town are the Cardington airship hangars. These huge buildings have been used to film scenes for movies like Star Wars, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception. You can see the hangars from the Bedford Bypass.

The Old Town Hall was built in 1550 and was first used as a school.

View of the Bedford skyline, taken from Renhold in 2013

The River Great Ouse

The River Great Ouse flows through the middle of Bedford. Along its banks are beautiful gardens called the Embankment. In these gardens, you can find a war memorial for the men from Bedford who died in the First World War. The memorial was designed in 1921 and shows an Anglo-Saxon lady named Athelflaed fighting a dragon.

Bedford Castle Mound

Bedford Castle Mound is what's left of Bedford's old castle. It's near the town center, close to Bedford Bridge. Around the year 2000, the local council built a wall on the river side of the mound. This wall includes some old stone pieces. A path goes up the side of the mound to the top, which is a flat, grassy area.

Getting Around (Transport)

Trains

Bedford has two train stations. The main Bedford railway station is on the Midland Main Line. From here, you can catch trains to London St Pancras and the East Midlands, run by East Midlands Railway. Other trains, run by Thameslink, go through London to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.

Bedford's other station is Bedford St John's. This station is on the Marston Vale Line. Trains from here, run by London North Western Railway, go between Bletchley and Bedford's main station.

Roads

You can get to and from Bedford by the A6 and A421 roads. The A6 connects Bedford to Kettering in the northwest and Luton in the south. The A421 connects Bedford to Milton Keynes and the M1 (a big highway) to the west. It also connects to the A1 to the east, near St Neots, using a bypass road. Both highways are about 10 miles (16 km) away. Other roads around the town include the A422 and the A428.

There are also car parks in the town center, like Greyfriars and Allhallows, where you pay when you leave.

Buses

Bedford bus station serves the town. It was reopened on March 29, 2015, after a big upgrade that cost £8.8 million. The main bus companies in Bedford are Stagecoach East and Stagecoach Midlands.

Learning in Bedford (Education)

Bedford used to have a special school system with lower, middle, and upper schools. This system was changed to a more common two-tier system, where children go from primary school straight to secondary school. All schools in the borough have now switched to this two-tier system. Some of the secondary schools in Bedford are Bedford Academy, Bedford Free School, Biddenham International School, and St Thomas More Catholic School.

Bedford is also home to four private schools run by the Harpur Trust charity. This charity was started by Sir William Harpur in the 1500s. These schools are:

Bedford School for boys aged 7–18
Bedford Modern School, which used to be only for boys but now teaches both boys and girls aged 7–18
Bedford Girls' School for girls aged 7–18 (This school was formed by combining two older girls' schools.)
Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School

Smaller private schools include Bedford Greenacre Independent School and Polam School.

Bedford has a campus of the University of Bedfordshire. For older students, there is Bedford College and The Bedford Sixth Form. Stella Mann College is a private college for students who want to study performing arts.

Places of Worship

Bedford has many different places of worship. These include the main churches like St Paul's and St Peter's. There are also many different Christian churches, including Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, and Anglican churches.

The town also has four Islamic mosques. There are Buddhist and Hindu temples too.

Bedford has the largest Sikh gurdwara (place of worship) in the United Kingdom outside of London. There are two other Sikh gurdwaras, one in Kempston. Bedford also has Guru Ravidass and Valmiki temples.

There are also Quaker, Jehovah's Witness, and Wiccan groups that meet in the town. While there is no longer a synagogue in Bedford, the Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue meets in Bedford once a month for the town's Jewish community.

Bedford was once the main home of the Panacea Society, a religious group started in 1919. They believed that Bedford would be very important in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and that Bedford was the original Garden of Eden.

Culture and Fun

The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford, is located in the old home of the Higgins family, who were brewers in the Victorian times, and in a new building. The museum shows local history and has collections of art, ceramics, glass, and lace.

Bedford has several pieces of public art, like the Statue of John Bunyan and the Statue of John Howard.

The Panacea Museum tells the story of the Panacea Society, a religious group from the early 1900s.

The Bedford Corn Exchange is the biggest entertainment place in town. It hosts many shows, meetings, concerts, and private events. Famous people like Glenn Miller and Bob Hope have performed here.

The University of Bedfordshire Theatre is the largest theater in Bedford. It puts on big shows and projects from the university. There are also many local theater groups that perform plays and musicals at places like the Place Theatre and the Corn Exchange. The Bedford Pantomime Company puts on a traditional pantomime show every Christmas. Esquires, a popular live music venue, often has bands from all over the UK and local musicians.

Every two years, a big event called the "Bedford River Festival" takes place by the river in early July. It lasts for two days and brings in about 250,000 visitors. The festival includes sports, funfairs, and live music. It is the second-largest regular outdoor event in the United Kingdom, after the Notting Hill Carnival. The Bedford Regatta in May is Britain's largest one-day river rowing race.

Other yearly events include "Bedford by the Sea" (where sand is brought to the town center), the "Bedford International Kite Festival," and the "Bedford Festival of Motoring" in June. "Proms in the Park," held in early August, is a popular music event.

Bedford has appeared on TV and radio shows, like an episode of Mark Steel's in Town. It was also featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in a segment called "Bedford of Bedfordshire's Community Calendar," where John Oliver, who grew up in Bedford, described the town.

Things to See (Tourism)

In December 2023, Universal Destinations & Experiences announced that they bought a large piece of land near Stewartby, just outside Bedford. The company is thinking about building a theme park and resort there. They chose this area because it's close to London and Luton Airport.

In 2024, Universal Studios United Kingdom was announced. Plans are being made, and building might start as early as January 2025. The park could be finished around 2030.

New Technology

In July 2022, a company called Starship Technologies started using self-driving robots to deliver groceries in Bedford. These robots deliver from three Co-op stores in Goldington, Queens Drive, and Kempston. This service covers about 45,000 people and 20,000 homes. Similar robots are already used in nearby Milton Keynes and Northampton.

Media (News and Entertainment)

Television

Local news and TV shows for Bedford are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. These come from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter.

Radio

Local radio stations include BBC Three Counties Radio on 95.5 FM, Heart East on 96.9 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts on 96.2 FM, In2beats on 106.5 FM, and Bedford Radio, which is the local station.

Newspapers

The town has two local newspapers: the Times & Citizen and the Bedford Independent. Both are given out for free across the Borough of Bedford and nearby areas.

Sports in Bedford

Bedford has a long history of sports, with old rugby and football clubs. The town has four rugby union teams: Bedford Blues, Bedford Queens, Bedford Swifts, and Bedford Athletic. Since 2004, Bedford also has a rugby league team, Bedford Tigers.

For its size, Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a fully professional football (soccer) team. Bedford Town F.C. plays at the seventh level of English football, and Real Bedford F.C. plays at the eighth level.

The Bedford Rowing Club boathouse.

Rowing is also a big sport here. Many rowing events are held throughout the year. The most important is the Bedford Regatta, which is the second largest one-day river rowing race in the country. Olympic rower Tim Foster learned his skills on Bedford's River Great Ouse. Many other sports champions, like Stephanie Cook, Gail Emms, Liz Yelling, and Paula Radcliffe, have come from Bedford.

Viking Kayak Club organizes the Bedford Kayak Marathon and national canoe slalom events at the Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC). This was the first man-made whitewater course in the UK. CASC also hosts the UK's biggest canoe slalom event each year. Etienne Stott, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, was part of this club.

Bedford Borough was a major training place for national teams getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Many countries, including the Maldives, Angola, Ghana, Jamaica, and Pakistan, had their athletes train in Bedford.

Filming Locations

The popular BBC TV series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was filmed in and around Bedford in the 1970s.
In 2017, a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert called "Bedford of Bedfordshire's Community Calendar" featured the town. John Oliver, who grew up in Bedford, described it as 'scrappy'. The segment showed places like the Shuttleworth Collection, the Forest of Marston Vale, the Place Theatre, and the Bedford Corn Exchange.

Public Services

Bedford Hospital is a general hospital with two locations in the town. It offers many services, but patients needing very special care are sent to other hospitals, like Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Bedford Hospital serves the Borough of Bedford and parts of Central Bedfordshire.

Bedfordshire Police is in charge of policing in Bedford. They have a main police station in the town center. Fire and rescue services are handled by the Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service. Bedford's fire station is in the Newnham area and is open 24 hours a day.