De Parys is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

and area within the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The boundaries of De Parys are approximately Bedford Park and Stancliffe Road to the north, the Bedford campus of the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

to the east, Goldington Road to the south, with De Parys Avenue to the west. The Devon Park and Saints neighbourhoods are within De Parys ward, as is the Bedford campus of the University of Bedfordshire. De Parys is the smallest ward (in terms of population) in Bedford.

History

Bedford's

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

was established in the area in the 18th century. The west and central parts of De Parys were urbanised by the end of the 19th century. It was during this time that

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

located to the area, and Bedford Park was established. The Bedford Training College for Teachers (later, Bedford College of Education) was established on Polhill Avenue in 1882. The eastern part of De Parys was developed later, in the 1960s. It was at this time that the old workhouse building became part of

Bedford Hospital Bedford Hospital is a 400-bed district general hospital located in the English town of Bedford, serving north and mid Bedfordshire run by Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded by Samuel Whitbread, the ...

. In 1976 Bedford College of Education merged with other colleges to form

Bedford College of Higher Education Bedford College of Higher Education was a higher education institution in Bedford, England, specializing in teacher training. History Until 1976, three separate institutions offered tertiary education in Bedford: Bedford College of Physical Edu ...

. This in turn became

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

in 1994.http://www.beds.ac.uk/aboutus/history 'History' In 2006 the Bedford arm of De Montfort University and the University of Luton formed the

. The Bedford Campus has seen significant investment since then, including new student accommodation, a new

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and new

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. There has now been a college of

Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

on Polhill Avenue in the De Parys area for over 125 years. The university campus was an official training site for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and Paralympics, and was a main hub for other training sites in the Bedford area. The Maldives National Olympic Committee based its competing athletes at the campus, while Paralympic athletes from

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

were also be based at the Bedford campus in De Parys. With the exception of Weymouth (which hosted various sailing events) Bedford accommodated more Olympic teams in 2012 than any other town or borough in the United Kingdom.

Governance

De Parys is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...

, with all community services under the direct control of

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the direct ...

. De Parys elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council, both of whom are currently from the Liberal Democrats.

Economy

There is a small

Budgens Budgens Stores Ltd, trading as Budgens, is a chain of grocery stores in the United Kingdom. The business was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first shop in Maidenhead, Berkshire and was incorporated as a private limited company o ...

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 ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

located on Kimbolton Road. This is also where the old workhouse building is located.

is currently re-developing the site to become the Bedford Health Village. There is a shopping parade on Chiltern Avenue which includes a small

, an off-licence, a

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...

s, a hairdresser and a

laundrette A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Uni ...

. The Bedford Blues Rugby Club is situated on Goldington Road in the area. There are also offices,

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, and convenience stores along Goldington Road. Bedford campus

There are more offices, shops, restaurants and clubs located on St Peters Street which form a small part of Bedford's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Education

St John Rigby Primary School is located on Polhill Avenue. The school is

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 ...

, and does not have a catchment area. other

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

age children in De Parys usually attend schools in the nearby

Putnoe Putnoe is an electoral ward on the northern side of Bedford, England. The boundaries of Putnoe are approximately Mowsbury Park and golf course to the north, Church Lane and Haylands Way to the east, Polhill Avenue to the south, with Kimbolton Ro ...

Brickhill Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The boundaries of Brickhill are approximately Kimbolton Road to the east, Bedford Park and the old Bedford cemetery to the south, with Cemetery Hi ...

Harpur Harpur is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, England. The boundaries of Harpur are approximately Manton Lane to the north, De Parys Avenue to the east, Bromham Road to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line to t ...

areas. Also on Polhill Avenue are Castle Newnham School and

Goldington Academy Goldington Academy (formerly Goldington Middle School) is a mixed secondary school located in the Goldington/Putnoe area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. History The school on Haylands Way was established in 1965, and was designated as Gold ...

, both of which educate

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

age pupils. There are two

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in the area -

located on De Parys Avenue, and

Bedford Greenacre Independent School Bedford Greenacre Independent School is a co-educational independent day school located in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The school was formally created in May 2021 from a merger of Rushmoor School and St Andrew's School. History Rushmo ...

situated on Kimbolton Road. The Bedford campus of the University of Bedfordshire is situated on Polhill Avenue on the edge of the neighbourhood. The

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

attracts students from all over the United Kingdom as well as local and international students, with many choosing to live in De Parys as well as study there.

Religious sites

* St Andrew's Church (

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 ...

), located on Kimbolton Road * First

Church of Christ, Scientist The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word an ...

, also on Kimbolton Road *

St Peter's Church, Bedford The Parish Church of St Peter de Merton with St Cuthbert is an Anglican church on St Peter's Street in the De Parys area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. History The site has been used for Christian worship for more than a millennium. Althou ...

(Church of England), located on St Peters Street

Community facilities

Bedford Park is located in the north-west of De Parys. It is the main open space for the area. There is also the old Bedford

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located next to the park. Robinson Pool, a municipal

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

is situated on Park Avenue. There is a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

situated on Goldington Road. De Parys is the location of the Goldington Road Stadium, where

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

Club are based. Bedford Blues currently play in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

league. The

University of Bedfordshire Theatre The University of Bedfordshire Theatre is a theatre situated on the Polhill Campus of the University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The venue The venue serves the population of Bedford. The 280-seat arena stage theatre is one ...

is a located in the area. The venue hosts a variety of plays and productions, and is one of the largest

theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

in Bedfordshire. The Quarry Theatre is also located in the area on St Peters Street. This theatre is operated by Bedford School.http://www.quarrytheatre.org.uk/ Quarry Theatre

References

External links

History of Bedford & the De Parys area

University of Bedfordshire
{{Areas of Bedford Areas of Bedford