Bedford, Greater Manchester facts for kids

Bedford is a part of Leigh, Greater Manchester. It was one of three old areas, called townships, that joined together in 1875 to create the town of Leigh. The other two townships were Pennington and Westleigh. Long ago, Bedford was part of Lancashire.

Bedford's Story: A Look Back

What Does "Bedford" Mean?

The name Bedford means "the ford of Beda." A ford is a shallow place in a river or stream where you can cross. This ford likely crossed Pennington Brook, close to Beaston Bridge on Warrington Road. The name was written as Beneford in the early 1200s and Bedeford later in the 1200s.

The Old Manor and Its Owners

A "manor" was like a large estate or area of land. The manor of Bedford was once owned by the Boteler family from Warrington. Over time, the land was split up.

Bedford Hall was a building in the area, but it was never really a main "manor house" where the lord of the manor lived. Instead, it was rented out to people by the Kighley family. The Kighleys owned the land but did not live there themselves. By 1301, the Kighleys owned half of the manor. The Sale family, who lived at a house called Hopecarr Hall (which had a moat!), owned a quarter. The rest belonged to John Waverton.

Bedford was mostly a farming area. A small village grew at a place called Butts. This was where the road to Warrington met the road from Leigh to Manchester. There were several inns (like old hotels or pubs) there. In 1641, a shop at Butts sold many different things, including cheese, gunpowder, and tobacco. There was also a mill that ground corn near the Breaston Brook.

How Bedford Grew: Industry and Work

For a long time, people in Bedford mainly worked in farming. They also wove a type of cloth called fustian and dug for coal in small mines. These mines were near the borders of Astley and Tyldesley.

Things changed a lot when the Bridgewater Canal was built. This canal helped industries grow and caused the population to increase quickly in the 1800s.

• Brewery: Bedford Brewery started making drinks in 1823.
• Corn Mills: In 1831, large mills that used steam power were built by the canal. They processed wheat that came from America through the Port of Liverpool.
• Silk Mills: In 1833, Bickham and Pownall built a silk mill on Duke Street. Later, in 1859, a French immigrant named Richard le Mare opened another silk weaving factory.
• Foundry: After 1845, the Bedford Foundry made farm machines and cooking ranges near the canal.

In 1858, a company called Fletchers built a private railway. This railway connected their coal mines to Bedford Basin, a special dock they built on the canal. This made it easier to move coal. Later, after the main railway line was built, John Speakman opened Bedford Colliery. Sadly, there was a serious accident at this mine in 1886.

How Bedford Was Governed

Bedford was historically part of a larger area called the West Derby hundred in Lancashire. A "hundred" was a way of dividing land for legal reasons. Bedford was one of six villages that made up the old church area of Leigh. These townships existed even before the church parish.

In 1837, Bedford became part of the Leigh Poor Law Union. This group was set up to help people who were poor or needed support. It covered the whole old parish of Leigh and parts of Winwick. The old workhouses (places where poor people lived and worked) were replaced by a new one in the 1850s.

In 1875, a group called the Leigh Local Board of Health was formed. It looked after Bedford, Pennington, and Westleigh. In 1894, this area, plus part of Atherton, became the Leigh Urban District. In 1899, it was given the special title of a "borough," becoming the Municipal Borough of Leigh.

However, in 1974, the borough was changed. Its area became part of Greater Manchester and joined with other areas to form the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.

Bedford's Location and Land

Bedford is crossed by four small streams or brooks. These brooks come from the north, west, and east. They all join together south of Bedford Hall to form the Glaze Brook. This brook forms part of Bedford's southwestern border.

Astley and Bedford Mosses are areas of marshy land that are part of a larger area called Chat Moss. Here, the land is very flat, only about 50 feet above sea level. The land gently rises to 125 feet on the northern border.

The township covered about 2,826 acres. The land is mostly clay, and much of it was used for meadows and pastures.

In 1923, a mile-long road called Holden Road was built. In 1952, the Leigh Borough Council started building a large area of council housing (public housing) called Higher Folds. This new area was planned to house about 7,000 people.

Neighbouring towns, villages and places

	Westleigh	Atherton	Tyldesley
	Pennington		Astley
		Bedford
	Culcheth	Glazebury	Chat Moss

Getting Around: Transport

The main road from Manchester to Leigh goes through Bedford from east to west. Another road, which goes south to Warrington, joins it at Butts Bridge. The A580 "East Lancashire" Road, a major highway, opened in 1934 and crosses Bedford south of the Bridgewater Canal.

In 1864, the London and North Western Railway opened a railway line called the Tyldesley Loopline. This line went from Manchester through Eccles and Tyldesley to Kenyon Junction. It also connected to Leigh and Pennington. The train station that served the town was originally called Bedford Leigh. The railway crossed the town on a large bridge structure called a viaduct, which has mostly been taken down now. The station and the railway line closed in May 1969.

Places of Worship

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church

After the English Reformation (a time of big changes in the church), some people in Leigh continued to follow the Catholic Church. They would attend religious services in secret at places like Hopecarr. Priests from nearby areas would visit them from the late 1600s.

In 1778, before laws against Catholics became less strict, a chapel was built. This allowed public worship to start again. Chapel Street was named after this building. A new church, St Joseph's Church, was built on the same spot in 1855. It was designed by an architect named Joseph Hansom.

St Thomas's Church was first built in 1840. However, a new church was built on the same site in the early 1900s. This church is made of red brick and sandstone. It was designed by J. S. Crowther. Another church, called All Saints, was built on Manchester Road. It was officially opened on October 29, 1938, by the Bishop of Manchester.