Cauldwell 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 of Bedford, England. The boundaries of Cauldwell are approximately Rope Walk to the north, Redwood Grove and Willow Road to the east, with the Midland Main Line railway line to the south. The area is sometimes known as St John's.

History

Cauldwell derives its name from Cauldwell Priory which was built to the north of the area by Franciscan Friars in 1238. ''Cauldwell'' comes from the Old-English ''Cauldwella'' meaning cold well or spring. The priory included a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...

dedicated to

St Leonard Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559), is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Hau ...

. The 19th Century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub. Many large industries located to the Cauldwell area, including Bedford Igranic on

Elstow Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan was born here at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street. History Countess Judith, niece of ...

Road. The Britannia Iron Works were opened on Kempston Road in 1859, and General

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

visited the works in 1864. Bedford

Infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications) *A clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...

was established in Cauldwell in 1803, becoming Bedford Hospital in 1897.

Bedford Lunatic Asylum The Bedford Lunatic Asylum was a mental health facility. It opened in 1812 and closed in 1860. History Samuel Whitbread headed the committee which commissioned the asylum. The Bedford Lunatic Asylum, designed by John Wing, was opened in April ...

was built on Ampthill Road in 1812, but closed in 1860. After the Second World War, the Cauldwell area was significantly redeveloped and expanded, and new residential estates were constructed to the south of the existing area.

Governance

Cauldwell is an unparished area, 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 ...

. Cauldwell elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council, both of whom are currently from the Labour party.

Economy

Technology House is an office complex located on Ampthill Road, which is next to a Morrisons

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 then an Aldi supermarket. Bedford Hospital is also located on Ampthill Road, as is

Bedford St Johns railway station Bedford St Johns is one of two railway stations in Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, on the Marston Vale Line linking and . It is unstaffed and is operated by London Northwestern Railway. St Johns was Bedford's first station, on the Varsity ...

. A small rail depot (

Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot,Also referred to as Bedford Cauldwell depot, Bedford depot, Cauldwell depot.. also .. EMU depot, .. E.M.U.D, .. Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) etc is an electric multiple unit maintenance depot located on the Mi ...

) servicing passenger trains opened in 2004. Most of the shops and services in Cauldwell are located on Ampthill Road. These include small convenience stores, a post office and a variety of take away restaurants. Bedford-Hospital-Britannia-Road

There are more local shops located on

Road and Gostwick Road.

Education

There are two primary schools in Cauldwell – Shackleton Primary School located on Pearcey Road, and Cauldwell School situated on Edward Road. There is no

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) ...

in the area. Cauldwell is in the catchment area for

Bedford Academy Bedford Academy (formerly John Bunyan Upper School) is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Kingsbrook area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The school mainly attracts pupils from the Kingsbrook, Cauldwell and Newnham ar ...

which is situated in the nearby area of Kingsbrook. The University of Bedfordshire operates a nurse-training site at Bedford Hospital.

Religious sites

* South Bedford Islamic Cultural Centre & Masjid, located on Elstow Road * The Wesleyan Holiness Church, located on Offa Road * Southend Methodist Church, also on Offa Road * The Living Word Tabernacle holds meetings at the community centre on Faraday Square and Kelvin Avenue * The Potters House Christian Fellowship Church also holds meetings at the community centre on Faraday Square and Kelvin Avenue * The King's Arms Church (

Newfrontiers Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a neo-charismatic church network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s co ...

), on Ampthill Road * Bhagwan Valmik Sabha, on Muswell Road * Daarul Huda Madrasa &

Masjid A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

(Bedford Islamic Education Centre), on Offa Road

Community facilities

There are two

community centres Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

in Cauldwell. The Faraday Community Centre located on the corner of Faraday Square and Kelvin Avenue, and the Cauldwell Community Centre located just off Ampthill Road, on Althorpe Street. There are two open spaces in the area located on Miller Road and Moor Lane.

References

External links

Kingsbrook and Cauldwell Urban Community Council

{{Areas of Bedford Areas of Bedford