BEDWORTH

'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 km (3 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^[1]. 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.

Contents

Features

History

Transport

Suburbs and districts

Schools

Notable residents

References

External links

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^[2], having been funded by the local benefactor Nicholas Chamberlaine (1632-1715). The main venue in Bedworth is the Bedworth Civic Hall which has an attached Arts Centre. The St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church is also a prominent building in the town centre.
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 ^[2]. Some of these are still used as shops, although most 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, Woolworth's, New Look, Boots, and Iceland, as well as many charity shops and card shops.

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.
Bedworth has a large range of pubs and working mens clubs. These include, but are not limited to: The Bear and Ragged Staff (commonly referred to as Wetherspoons), The Swan, The White Horse, Legends (used to be The Engine), The Miners Arms, The Mount, The Black Horse, The Blank Bank, Saunders Hall, Collycroft Working Mens Club, Bedworth Labour Club, and The Griffin Inn.
Bedworth also has an excellent skate park built in the Miners Welfare Park in 2001 after campaigning by local youngsters. Previous to this, most youngsters would skate in the town centre, or in the market area, much to the annoyance of residents and the local police.

History

Originally a small market town with Saxon origin ^[2], 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 ^{[5] [6]}. The opening of the Coventry Canal in 1769 and later, the railway in 1850 enhanced the town's growth ^[5]. Until quite recently Bedworth was primarily a coal mining town, but the last colliery was closed in 1994 ^[6].
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 ^[9] In 1974 the Bedworth Urban District was merged with the borough of Nuneaton to create the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Transport

Bedworth has good transport links being situated immediate north of the M6 motorway at junction 3, and being served by the Coventry to Nuneaton railway line. The current Bedworth railway station was opened in 1988 after the original station was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching Axe.
The Coventry Canal also runs through the town.
Bus services to the city centre of Coventry are operated competitively by Stagecoach and Travel Coventry. Stagecoach also provides direct services to Nuneaton, Bulkington, Keresley, Atherstone and Hinckley and a direct service to the University Hospital in Walsgrave, Coventry is provided by Travel De Courcey.

Suburbs and districts

Bedworth has six main suburban districts, namely 'Collycroft', 'Exhall', 'Mount Pleasant', 'Bedworth Heath', 'Coalpit Field' and 'Goodyers End'. 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.

Schools

★ Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College

★ Canon Maggs

★ Canon Evans

★ Race Leys Infant School

★ Race Leys Junior School

Notable residents

The locally born author George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) lived at "Griff House" just north of Bedworth between 1819 and 1841^[2]. "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.

★ Mark Albrighton, A Football player who has played for various clubs in the football league and non league divisions. Most notably with Doncaster Rovers, helping them gain promotion from the football conference to League 1 in consecutive seasons.

References

1. 2001 urban areas headcounts
2. Allen, Geoff, (2000) ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', ISBN 1 85058 642 X
3. Allen, Geoff, (2000) ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', ISBN 1 85058 642 X
4. Allen, Geoff, (2000) ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', ISBN 1 85058 642 X
5. Slater, Terry (1981) ''A History of Warwickshire'', ISBN 0-85033-416-0
6. The Bedworth Society - About Bedworth
7. Slater, Terry (1981) ''A History of Warwickshire'', ISBN 0-85033-416-0
8. The Bedworth Society - About Bedworth
9. Visionofbritain.
10. Allen, Geoff, (2000) ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', ISBN 1 85058 642 X

External links

★ The Bedworth Society

★ Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough council

★ Bedworth United FC

★ The Civic Hall, Bedworth