Bewdley is a
compact rural community in the
township municipality
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canada ...
of
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Northumberland County,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
with a population of about 650 people. The community was founded by William Bancks, whose ancestral home was
Bewdley
Bewdley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...
in England. It is located on the western end of
Rice Lake about north of
Port Hope.
History
The area was inhabited by native settlers before the town's foundation. The first land grant was in 1794 to Nellie Grant, the daughter of a colonial administrator. The early local name for Bewdley was Black's Landing, named for local tavern owner William Black. Early on, there were sawmills which drove settlement in the area.
William Bancks came to the area in 1833 and tried to organize the creation of a gentlemen's colony and a sawmill. The town is known for its monument to
Joseph M. Scriven, writer of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". He preached upon the village streets around the 1860s, and is buried nearby.
References
Communities in Northumberland County, Ontario
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