Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in west

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, near the border with

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The history of the town can be traced back to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

origins. It has several buildings dating from the 17th century, when the town grew due to the thriving English woollen textile industry.

Geography

The town lies partly in the Avon Valley, and partly on the hill that marks the Vale's western edge, southeast of Bath, in the hilly area between the Mendip Hills,

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

and the Cotswold Hills. The local area around Bath provides the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

known as

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

, from which the older buildings are constructed. The River Avon (the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Avon) runs through the town. The larger town of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...

is nearby to the southeast. The town includes the suburbs of Bearfield and Woolley; the parish includes the hamlets of Widbrook and Woolley Green. The Western Wiltshire

Green Belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

, which forms the eastern extent of the

Avon Green Belt The Avon Green Belt, also known as the Bristol and Bath Green Belt (or Bath and Bristol Green Belt), is a non-statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates urban expansion and development in the countryside surrounding ...

, 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 Winsley is a large village and civil parish about west of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Conkwell, Turleigh, Little Ashley and Great Ashley. History The area was probably farmed in Roman times, as ...

, and Westwood.

History

The earliest evidence of habitation is fragments of

settlements above the town. In particular,

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

digs have revealed the remains of a large

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

with a well-preserved

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

on the playing fields of

St Laurence School St Laurence School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. It became an Academy in August 2011. Besides Bradford on Avon, the school takes pupils from Atworth, Monkton Farleigh, Winsl ...

. The centre of the town grew up around the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across the river Avon, hence the origin of the town's name ("Broad-Ford"). This was supplemented in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times by the stone bridge that still stands today. The Norman side is upstream, and has pointed arches; the newer side has curved arches. The Town Bridge and Chapel is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was originally a

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low parapets so ...

, but widened in the 17th century by rebuilding the western side. On 2 July 1643 the town was the site of a skirmish in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, when Royalists seized control of the bridge on their way to the

Battle of Lansdowne The First English Civil War battle of Lansdowne, or Lansdown, was fought on 5 July 1643, at Lansdowne Hill, near Bath, Somerset, England. Although the Royalists under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller to re ...

. On the bridge stands a small building which was originally a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

but was later used as a town lock-up. The weathervane on top takes the form of a

gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...

(an early Christian symbol), hence the local saying "under the fish and over the water". 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 Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

industry. The best examples of weavers' cottages are on Newtown, Middle Rank and Tory Terraces.

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

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 '' quivalent to £1.3M to £5.3M in 2007', 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 Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron foundi ...

, the wool

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

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. Tithe Barn at Bradford on Avon

A notable feature of Bradford-on-Avon is the large Grade II* listed

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

, known as the Saxon 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 Stephen Moulton (7 July 1794 – 26 April 1880) was an Englishman who, as an agent of the American rubber pioneer Charles Goodyear, first brought samples of vulcanized rubber to the United Kingdom. Biography Moulton, who was born in Whorlton ...

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

. In 2000, the Millennium sculpture nicknamed "Millie" was unveiled. On 8 October 2003, Bradford-on-Avon was granted

Fairtrade Town The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...

status.

Religious sites

Early church

The

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

church dedicated to

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

may have been founded by

Saint Aldhelm Aldhelm ( ang, Ealdhelm, la, Aldhelmus Malmesberiensis) (c. 63925 May 709), Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, and a writer and scholar of Latin poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the s ...

around 705, and could have been a temporary burial site for King

Edward the Martyr Edward ( ang, Eadweard, ; 18 March 978), often called the Martyr, was King of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leader ...

. It was rediscovered by the Anglican priest, antiquarian and author William Jones in 1856, having been used for secular purposes (apparently becoming a house, a school and part of a factory). It is suggested that some of the building, containing the blind arcades at a higher level, may belong to a later period Taylor, H M; Taylor, Joan. ''Anglo-Saxon Architecture'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 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 In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

of two plain string-courses between which is a blind

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

of round-headed arches whose short vertical pilasters have trapezoidal capitals and bases, while on the eastern

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

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 In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

arch, are the carved figures of two flying

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

, 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".

Others

The Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More (geograph 3697272)

In addition to the Saxon church, the town has two

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

churches, two

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

chapels, a United Church (

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

), a free nonconformist church, a community church, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

(Society of Friends) meeting house and a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church. Holy Trinity Church is the original

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, and stands near the town centre by the river. The Grade I listed building is Norman in origin, and it is possible that the

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 A hagioscope (from Gr. ''άγιος'', holy, and ''σκοπεῖν'', to see) or squint is an architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an obliq ...

, near the altar is claimed to be England's longest. The

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

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 bells, with the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

(heaviest bell) weighing . The other

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church, Christ Church, is entirely a Victorian construction. The

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 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 ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

tradition of Buddhism, and offers opportunities for both full-time residential and part-time practise and study.

Economy

Bradford-on-Avon panorama, Wiltshire, UK - Diliff

Bradford-on-Avon was the site of an early factory for rubber products, established at Kingston Mill by

in 1848 and later named George Spencer, Moulton and Co. The company was acquired by

Avon Rubber Avon Protection plc is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel. Its corporate headquarters are south of Melksham in Wiltshir ...

, a large manufacturer of rubber products for the automotive and other industries, and production continued until 1993. Today, the town is the headquarters of the

Alex Moulton Alexander Eric Moulton (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design. Early life and education Moulton's father, John Coney Moulton, was a naturalist working in the Far East. Alex ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

company and has several other small-scale manufacturing enterprises. 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 A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

, on the Elms Cross industrial estate, a short walk from the canal lock, and five

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

s. Local consumers founded Bradford-on-Avon Co-operative Society in 1861, which, in the 1960s, united with other

consumer co-operative A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a f ...

s in the district to merge with a national business. A mini outdoor

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

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 ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a symp ...

'', ''

Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

'' (a 2009 film about the life of Darwin), ''

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In th ...

'' and a 1972 film adaptation of ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...

''. In 2016, ''The White Princess'' TV series was filmed in the area.

Transport

Bradford-on-Avon is on the A363

to Bath road, which runs through the town from south to north, and crossed over by the B3109 linking Bradford-on-Avon with

Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...

and

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

. All other road routes are minor, affording access to local settlements. Bradford-on-Avon is about 15 miles from junction 18 of the M4 motorway at Bath and the same distance from junction 17 at Chippenham.

Bradford-on-Avon railway station Bradford-on-Avon railway station is a railway station on the Wessex Main Line in between and , serving the town of Bradford on Avon (the station name is hyphenated, unlike the name of the town), in Wiltshire, England. The station is south ea ...

is on what is now the

Heart of Wessex Line The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from to and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line a ...

. It is served by

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and South Western Railway services to Bath Spa,

Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

, Cardiff Central, Weymouth,

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...

and

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...

. The line opened in the mid-19th century and was built by the original

. 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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in the east.

Governance

Bradford-on-Avon

elects a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

with twelve members: six for the North

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and six for the South ward. From 2017 to 2021, the council consisted of seven councillors from the Ideal Bradford party platform, two independent councillors and three

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

councillors. After the May 2021 elections, there were seven Liberal Democrat and five Ideal Bradford councillors. The town council provides an increasing range of services in the town, building on its historically mostly consultative and ceremonial role. These include provision of youth services, management of significant and growing areas of green space and town facilities, and management of several premises within the town. Its chairman has the title of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Bradford. The Town Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019 and has committed to becoming

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

by 2030. Statutory local government functions (including schools, roads, social services, emergency planning, leisure services, development control, and waste disposal) are carried out by

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Since 2010, Bradford-on-Avon has been part of the Chippenham parliamentary constituency.

Education

The town has a secondary school,

, founded in 1980 as a result of the merger of

Fitzmaurice Grammar School Fitzmaurice is a Hiberno-Norman, Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman surname. It is patronymic as the prefix ''Fitz-'' derives from the Latin'' filius'', meaning "son of". According to Irish genealogist Edward MacLysaght: Fitzmaurice is uncommon ...

and Trinity

Secondary Modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

. There are two primary schools: in the north of the town is Christ Church CofE ( VC) Primary School, established as a National school in 1848 and on its present site since 1956, and in the south is Fitzmaurice Primary School, opened in 1928 as Bradford on Avon Council Junior Mixed and Infants' School.

Sport and leisure

Bradford-on-Avon has a non-League football club, Bradford Town F.C., who play at the Sports and Social Club on Trowbridge Road. In addition to a bowls club, tennis courts and a swimming pool, there is also the Bradford-on-Avon Rowing Club, catering for rowing and canoeing from their base opposite Barton Farm country park. Bradford on Avon

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

club, whose first team played in Dorset & Wilts 1 North in 2019–20, have their ground at

, just west of 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.

Notable people

Only notable people with entries on Wikipedia have been included. Their birth or residence has been verified by citations.

Historical figures

Diplomats

Donald Maitland Sir Donald James Dundas Maitland (16 August 192222 August 2010) was a senior British diplomat. He served as British Prime Minister Edward Heath's press secretary 1970 to 1974. Early life Donald was the son of Thomas Maitland. He was born i ...

, senior diplomat, lived in Bradford-on-Avon. * John Methuen was born in Bradford-on-Avon, as was his son Sir Paul Methuen. They were successively British Ambassadors to Portugal.

Sportspeople

* Edgar Ford, cricketer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon.

Writers and artists

* Eric Derwent Walrond,

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

Harlem Renaissance writer and journalist, lived from 1939 to 1952 at 9 Ivy Terrace, Bradford-on-Avon. * E. H. Young, novelist, children's writer and mountaineer, lived in Bradford-on-Avon.

Others

* Shadrack Byfield,

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

infantryman and memoirist, was born in Woolley, Bradford-on-Avon. *

, engineer and inventor, lived at

The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon The Hall, at times known as Kingston House and The Duke's House, is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England. History The Hall was built around 1610 for John Hall, a wealthy mill owner, and is at the east end ...

. *

Hugh Scully Michael Hugh Scully (5 March 1943 – 8 October 2015) was an English journalist, radio and television presenter. He was the host and longest-serving presenter of the BBC programme ''Antiques Roadshow'' from 1981 to 2000. Education and early li ...

, television presenter, was born in Bradford-on-Avon.

Living people

Sportspeople

Hannah Brown Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994) is an American television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder. She starred as the lead in season 15 of '' The Bachelorette''. Brown had previously placed in the top seven in season 23 ...

, canoeist, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Jazmin Carlin Jazmin Roxy "Jazz" Carlin (born 17 September 1990) is a former British competitive swimmer, who previously represented Wales and the Great Britain swimming team. She competed primarily in endurance freestyle events, and was based at the Univer ...

, Olympic medallist in swimming, lived in Bradford-on-Avon while training at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. *

Will Carling William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five ...

, rugby union player, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *

David Constant David John Constant (born 9 November 1941) is a former English professional cricketer and cricket umpire. He played first-class cricket from 1961 to 1968 for Kent County Cricket Club and Leicestershire County Cricket Club. He later became an int ...

, Test cricket umpire, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Phil de Glanville Philip Ranulph de Glanville (born 1 October 1968 in Loughborough) is a former English rugby union player who played at centre for Bath and England. Rugby career de Glanville played for Durham University while an Economics and Politics stude ...

, rugby union player, has lived in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Paddy Edwards Patrick Gervase Edwards (born 21 October 1965) is an English former first-class cricketer. Edwards was born at Bradford-on-Avon in October 1965. He later studied at Christ Church, Oxford where he played first-class cricket for Oxford Universi ...

, cricketer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Ed McKeever Edward Daniel McKeever MBE (born 27 August 1983) is a British kayak athlete. He is a former European, World and Olympic champion. McKeever won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in the K-1 200m event. He won two medals ...

, Olympic canoeing champion, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Lewis Moody Lewis Walton Moody MBE (born 12 June 1978 in Ascot) is an English retired rugby union player. He played for Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. Moody is known for the enthusiasm with which he pla ...

, rugby union player, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. * Rob Newman, footballer, and later football manager, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Andy Pearce Andrew Pearce (born 20 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. As a player he notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon, as well as non-league sides ...

, footballer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. * Fitzroy Simpson, footballer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon.

Writers and artists

* Paul Emsley, artist, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. * Simon R. Green, science-fiction/fantasy author, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Stephen Volk Stephen Volk (born 3 July 1954) is a Welsh screenwriter and novelist who specializes in the horror genre.

, screenwriter, lives in Bradford-on-Avon.

Others

Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...

, singer-songwriter, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *

Jonathan Newth Jonathan Newth (born 6 March 1939) is an English actor. Early life Newth trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Newth's theatre work includes appearances with the RSC, in the West End and on Broadway. His television cre ...

, stage and television actor, lives in Bradford-on-Avon.

Twin towns

Bradford-on-Avon is twinned with: * Sully-sur-Loire, France *

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vi ...

, Germany

References

External links

Bradford on Avon Town CouncilExplore BOA, Official Visitor Information Centre
*
Historic Bradford-on-Avon photos
a
BBC WiltshireEnglish Towns: Bradford-on-Avon''
– A 35-minute BBC TV programme made in 1981 examining Bradford-on-Avon's Georgian buildings and architecture
''Day Out: Bradford-on-Avon''
– A 30-minute BBC TV programme made in 1978 of a day spent exploring Bradford-on-Avon {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford-on-Avon Civil parishes in Wiltshire Kennet and Avon Canal Towns in Wiltshire