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Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 167,446. (This figure is also available from the ONS but requires figures from a large spreadsheet to be combined.) Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford on the River Great Ouse and is thought to have been the burial place of King Offa of Mercia, who is remembered for building Offa's Dyke on the Welsh border. Bedford Castle was built by Henry I, although it was destroyed in 1224. Bedford was granted borough status in 1166 and has been represented in Parliament since 1265. It is known for its large population of Italian descent.
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The name of the town is believed to derive from the name of a Saxon chief called Beda, and a ford crossing the River Great Ouse. Bedford was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region from the early Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town in 796;Simon Keynes, "Cynethryth", in Lapidge, Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England, p. 133. this is believed to be in his new minster, now the Church of St Paul, or on the banks of the Great Ouse where his tomb was soon lost to the river. In 886 it became a boundary town separating Wessex and Danelaw. It was the seat of the Barony of Bedford. In 919 Edward the Elder built the town's first known fortress, on the south side of the River Great Ouse and there received the area's submission. This fortress was destroyed by the Danes. William II gave the barony of Bedford to Paine de Beauchamp, who built a new, strong castle.
Bedford traces its borough charter in 1166 by Henry II and elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons. The new Bedford Castle was razed in 1224 and today only a mound remains. From the 16th century Bedford and much of Bedfordshire became one of the main centres of England's lace industry, and lace continued to be an important industry in Bedford until the early 20th century. In 1660 John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years in Bedford Gaol. It was here that he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress. The River Great Ouse became navigable as far as Bedford in 1689. Wool declined in importance with brewing becoming a major industry in the town. The 19th century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub. The northern part of the town was badly damaged in the Great Fire of Bedford in 1802, which destroyed 72 properties in the St Loyes area. Heritage gateway Secret Bedford, page 21 21 years later, the Great Flood of Bedford swamped most of the town when the River Great Ouse burst its banks. The former Phoenix public house in St Johns Street has a stone marker in its wall almost two metres above ground level, representing the maximum height of the floodwater in 1823. Great Flood marker In 1832 gas lighting was introduced, and the railway reached Bedford in 1846. The first corn exchange was built 1849, and the first drains and sewers were dug in 1864.
Bedford's first woman town councillor was Mary Milligan who, in 1919, was also the secretary of the local Women's Citizens League.
The Bedford built-up area is divided into 10 wards for elections to the Borough Council: Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe, Queens Park, Kempston East and Kempston West. Within the Bedford urban area, only Brickhill, Biddenham and Kempston elect their own parish councils, while the rest (and majority) of the built-up area is unparished. Kempston is the only civil parish in both the built-up area and Borough of Bedford which has a town council.
Bedford is served by Bedfordshire Police The Chief Constable since January 2023 is Trevor Rodenhurst. The elected Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner of that force is John Tizard.
Bedford forms part of the Bedford constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament. The current Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford is Mohammad Yasin, who is a member of the Labour Party.
Rainfall averages around a year, with an excess of falling on 115 days.
Sunshine at around 1,550 hours a year is typical of inland areas of southern-central England.
In addition to Italian immigrants, Bedford has also been the recipient of significant immigration from India (8.1% of Bedford's population; Indians began arriving from the late 1950s onwards from the Punjab region area, many of whom worked at the London Brick Company), Eastern Europe (particularly in the 2000s) and Scandinavia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Albania, Turkey, The Middle East, East Asia, South East Asia, Africa (3% of Bedford's population is of Sub-Saharan descenthttp://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/matt-kennard/inside-bedford-fragile-success-story-of-muliculturalism-home-of-yarls-wood inside-bedford-fragile-success-story-of-muliculturalism-home-of-yarls-wood), the Caribbean, and South America, making it one of the most ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse towns in the United Kingdom outside of London in proportion to its size.
At the 2011 Census, the ethnic mix of the Bedford urban area was 74.4% white, 4% mixed, 15% Asian or Asian-British, 5% Black or Black-British, and 1% "other ethnic group". In terms of national identity, just over 50% identified as English only, 24% as British only and 15% only as a non-UK identity; just over 8% had a "British and other" identity.
In 2001, Bedford was 69% Christian, 24% Irreligious, 3% Muslim, and 2% Sikh. By 2021, Bedford was 48% Christian, 40% Irreligious, 7% Muslim, and 2% Sikh.
Bedford's principal church is St Paul's, in the square of the same name at the historic centre of the town. It is the Civic Church of the Borough of Bedford and County of Bedfordshire and has a tall, iconic spire which is one of the dominant features of the town. There was an early Minster church on the site by 1066 and work on the present structure began in the early 13th century, but little remains from that period. John Bunyan and John Wesley both preached in the church. In 1865–1868 the tower and spire were completely rebuilt and the two transepts added and lesser alterations have been made since. From 1941 to the end of the Second World War the BBC's daily service was broadcast from St Paul's. Another notable local church is St Peter's, on St Peter's Street, which contains some of the oldest architectural remains in Bedford, the most ancient being the two . St Paul's Church also hosts the town's Visitor Information Centre.
Just outside the town lie the Cardington . The hangars have been used to shoot scenes for movies such as Star Wars, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception. The hangars can be seen from the Bedford Bypass.
Despite being far upriver from the sea, seals have occasionally been reported as swimming as far inland as Bedford.
The Old Town Hall dates back to 1550 and the building was originally constructed as a school.
The new Greyfriars surface car park and the refurbished Allhallows multi-storey car park both implement a pay on foot system. Greyfriars occupies 142 parking spaces, including 7 designated disabled spaces, although there is a 2-hour per day parking limit.
Bedford is home to four private schools run by the Harpur Trust charity, endowed by Bedfordian William Harpur in the 16th century. These are:
Smaller private institutions include Bedford Greenacre Independent School (boys and girls aged 3–18), and Polam School (boys and girls aged 12 months to 9 years), neither of which are part of the Harpur Trust.
Bedford hosts a campus of the University of Bedfordshire, which prior to a merger with the University of Luton in 2006 had been a campus of De Montfort University (itself now solely based in Leicester). For further education, the town is served by Bedford College and The Bedford Sixth Form. Additionally, Stella Mann College is a private college, which offers a range of further education courses relating to the performing arts.
Bedford has the largest Sikhism gurdwara in the United Kingdom outside London, alongside two other Sikh gurdwaras; one of which is in Kempston. Bedford has Guru Ravidass and Balmiki sect temples.
There are Quaker, Jehovah's Witness and communities who meet and have their own places of worship in the town. There is no longer a synagogue in Bedford, but Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue, based in Luton, meets in Bedford once a month for the town's Jewish community. The nearest Orthodox Judaism synagogue is the Luton United Synagogue, a Lubavitch synagogue in Luton. Bedford is the former headquarters of the Panacea Society, founded in 1919, who believed that the town would have an important role in the Second Coming of Jesus, and that Bedford was the original location of the Garden of Eden.
Bedford contains several works of public art, most notably the Statue of John Bunyan, the Statue of John Howard, and Reflections of Bedford, a statue by British sculptor Rick Kirby.
The Panacea Museum tells the story of the Panacea Society, a religious community formed in the early twentieth century.
The Bedford Corn Exchange is the largest entertainment venue in the town and plays host to a variety of performances, meetings, conferences, concerts and private functions. The venue has been host to many great entertainers such as Glenn Miller and Bob Hope.
The University of Bedfordshire Theatre is the largest theatre in Bedford and hosts many larger productions as well as projects from the university. There is an active amdram (community theatre) scene, with groups such as the Swan Theatre Company, Bedford Drama Company (formerly Bedford Dramatic Club), Bedford Marianettes and ShowCo Bedford producing plays and musicals in venues like the Place Theatre and the Corn Exchange. The Bedford Pantomime Company produces a traditional pantomime at the Bedford Corn Exchange each Christmas. Esquires (one of the town's premier live music venues) regularly plays host to many notable bands and acts from all over the United Kingdom as well as showcasing local live music.
Every two years, an event called the "Bedford River Festival" is held near the river in Bedford during early July. The event lasts for two days and regularly attracts about 250,000 visitors. The event includes sports, funfairs and live music. It is the second-largest regular outdoor event in the United Kingdom, beaten in numbers only by the Notting Hill Carnival. The Bedford Regatta each May is Britain's largest one-day river rowing regatta.
Other annual events include "Bedford by the Sea" (when large quantities of sand are deposited in the town centre), the "Bedford International Kite Festival" and "Bedford Festival of Motoring" in June. "Proms in the Park", held in early August, is a popular musical event.
Bedford's special brand of the ordinary has resulted in regular small TV and radio appearances, for instance the upbeat episode of Mark Steel's in Town, contrasting with the less enthusiastic treatment in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The "Bedford of Bedfordshire's Community Calendar" segment of this US show featured Bedford-bred John Oliver.
In 2024, Universal United Kingdom was announced to be in the planning and approval phases, with construction potentially beginning as early as January 2025, and the park itself slated for completion around 2030.
Taking into account the size of its overall urban area, Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a fully professional football team. Bedford Town F.C. currently plays at the sixth level of the English football league system and Real Bedford F.C. play at the eighth level.
Rowing is also a major part of the sports scene with a number of regatta events hosted throughout the year from February to October; the most significant of these being Bedford Regatta which, in terms of numbers of crews participating, is the second largest in the country. It was on Bedford's River Great Ouse that Olympic rower, Tim Foster, honed his skills as a student of Bedford Modern and member of star club; indeed the borough has produced many other champions of sport past and present including Stephanie Cook, Gail Emms, Liz Yelling and Paula Radcliffe who is Life Vice-President of Bedford & County Athletic Club
Viking Kayak Club organise the Bedford Kayak Marathon with canoe racing held along the Embankment on Bedford's riverside and organise national ranking canoe slalom events at the Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC), which was the first artificial whitewater course in the United Kingdom. CASC is also the venue each year for the United Kingdom's National Inter Clubs Slalom Finals, the largest canoe slalom event by participation in the United Kingdom. Etienne Stott – 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist's Club.
Bedford Borough was a major host of national teams preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The Maldives National Olympic Committee based its competing athletes in the borough, while Paralympic athletes from Angola, the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Lesotho, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda were also based in the area. With the exception of Weymouth (which hosted various sailing events), Bedford Borough accommodated more Olympic teams in 2012 than any other local authority area in the United Kingdom.
Bedfordshire Police is responsible for policing in Bedford, and operates a main police station in the town centre. Fire and rescue services in Bedford are coordinated by the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Bedford's fire station is in the Newnham area of the town and is staffed 24 hours a day.
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