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Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had a population of 10,405 at the 2021 census.
The history of the town can be traced back to Roman Britain origins. It has several buildings dating from the 17th century, when the town grew due to the thriving English woollen textile industry.
On the bridge stands a small building which was originally a chapel but was later used as a Village lock-up. The weathervane on top takes the form of a gudgeon (an early Christian symbol), hence the local saying "under the fish and over the water". The gilded fish is a perch; Bradford gudgeon is a local term.
The river provided power for the wool mills that gave the town its wealth. The town has 17th-century buildings dating from the most successful period of the local textile industry. The best examples of weavers' cottages are on Newtown, Middle Rank and Tory Terraces. Daniel Defoe visited Bradford-on-Avon in the early 18th century and commented: "They told me at Bradford that it was no extra-ordinary thing to have clothiers in that country worth, from ten thousand, to forty thousand pounds a man equivalent, and many of the great families, who now pass for gentry in those counties, have been originally raised from, and built up by this truly noble manufacture."
With improving mechanisation in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, the wool weaving industry moved from cottages to purpose-built woollen mills adjacent to the river, where they used water and steam to power the looms. Around thirty such mills were built in Bradford-on-Avon alone, and these prospered further until the English woollen industry shifted its centre of power to Yorkshire in the late 19th century. 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 large grade I listed tithe barn, 180 feet long and 30 feet wide, which was constructed in the 14th century and is now part of Barton Farm Country Park. The barn was used for collecting taxes, in the form of goods, to fund the church.
There are several notable buildings in and around the town centre. Many of the old textile factories have been converted into modern flats and apartments; however, few of the buildings are still used today in their original roles. One of the few is The Swan, a public house and hotel set in the centre of town; the building is 17th century and retains many original features, in particular the stone flag floors. Records show that there has been a public house on the same site since the 1500s. The Hall, on the eastern edge of the town, is a Jacobean mansion built for John Hall, a wealthy mill-owner, in about 1610. It was bought by Stephen Moulton in 1848, and is now managed by the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust.
In 1998 the Wiltshire Music Centre was opened in Bradford-on-Avon, on the grounds of St Laurence School. In 2000, the millennium sculpture nicknamed "Millie" was unveiled.
On 8 October 2003, Bradford-on-Avon was granted Fairtrade Town status.
The town includes the suburbs of Bearfield and Woolley; the parish includes the hamlets of Widbrook and Woolley Green.
The Western Wiltshire Green belt, which forms the eastern extent of the Avon Green Belt, completely surrounds Bradford-on-Avon. It helps to maintain the setting and preserve the character of the town by maintaining separation from nearby settlements such as Trowbridge, Winsley, and Westwood.
It is suggested that some of the building, containing the blind arcades at a higher level, may belong to a later periodTaylor, H M; Taylor, Joan. Anglo-Saxon Architecture, Cambridge University Press, 1980. while a leaflet available at the church in February 2012 seems to prefer the period 950–1050 for the whole building. The elaborate ornamentation of the exterior consists of pilaster-strips, a broad frieze of two plain string-courses between which is a blind arcade of round-headed arches whose short vertical pilasters have trapezoidal capitals and bases, while on the eastern gable and the corners adjacent there is a series of mouldings as vertical triple semicylinders.
Inside the church, high in the wall above a small chancel arch, are the carved figures of two flying angels, the right-hand figure reportedly "intended to be clothed in transparent drapery ... the legs from the knee downward are depicted as showing through the transparent robe" which is referred to as a "quaint fancy".Home, Gordon; Foord, Edward. "Bristol, Bath and Malmesbury, with a Short Account of Bradford on Avon" in the series Cathedrals, abbeys and Famous Churches, J.M.Dent, London, 1925
Holy Trinity Church is the original parish church, and stands near the town centre by the river. The grade I listed building 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 so that the chapels now form the north aisle. A squint, or hagioscope, near the altar is claimed to be England's longest. The tower and spire was built around 1480, replacing an older one, and the south wall was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. The church has a ring of eight Church bell, with the tenor (heaviest bell) weighing .
The other Anglican church, Christ Church, is entirely a Victorian construction. The Catholic church, dedicated to St. Thomas More, occupies a grade II listed building, dating from 1854, that used to be the town hall.
There is also a Buddhist monastery in the town, under the auspices of the Aukana Trust; it comprises a monastic building each for men and for women, and a meditation hall. There are also workshops, gardens and a library, and the elegant buildings look down upon the town from a hill. The monastery practises the Theravadin tradition of Buddhism, and offers opportunities for both full-time residential and part-time practise and study.
The town's main business is 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 on the Elms Cross industrial estate, a short walk from the canal lock, and five convenience stores.
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. A mini outdoor shopping centre of independent shops, Weavers Walk, which describes itself as an "ethical trading centre", is in the town centre.
The town is an increasingly popular location for films, television adaptations and more; it has played host to Wolf Hall, Creation (a 2009 film about the life of Darwin), Robin of Sherwood and a 1972 film adaptation of The Canterbury Tales. In 2016, The White Princess TV series was filmed in the area.
Bradford-on-Avon railway station is served by Great Western Railway on the Wessex Main Line and Heart of Wessex Line routes. The line opened in the mid-19th century and was built by the original Great Western Railway. The main station building by Brunel is grade II listed.
Running parallel to the railway through the town is the Kennet and Avon Canal. 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.
Statutory local government functions – including schools, roads, social services, emergency planning, leisure services, development control, and waste disposal – are carried out by Wiltshire Council, a unitary authority. The North and South wards each elect one member of Wiltshire Council.
For Westminster elections, Bradford-on-Avon is part of the Melksham and Devizes constituency, which was created following a boundary review and first contested at the 2024 general election when it was won by Brian Mathew for the Liberal Democrats. From 2010 to 2024, the town was in the Chippenham constituency.
In 1894 Bradford on Avon became an urban district, the district contained only the parish of Bradford on Avon. On 1 April 1974 the district and parish were abolished and became part of West Wiltshire district. A successor parish was formed covering the same area as the former district and its parish. In 2009 Bradford-on-Avon became part of Wiltshire district.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Wiltshire on 104.3 FM, Heart West on 102.2, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 107.7 FM and West Wilts Radio, a community based radio station that broadcast online.
The Wiltshire Times is the local newspaper that serves the town.
Wiltshire Music Centre is a purpose-built, 300-seat concert hall within the grounds of St Laurence School that attracts internationally renowned musicians.
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