Bedford,a suburb ofLeigh,in theWigandistrict, in the county ofGreater Manchester,England. It was one of three ancienttownships,Bedford,PenningtonandWestleigh,that merged in 1875 to form the town of Leigh.Historically,Bedford was inLancashire.
| Bedford | |
|---|---|
 The Parish Church of St Thomas with All Saints | |
  Bedford Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
History
editToponymy
editBedford means the "ford of Beda", which crossed Pennington Brook, probably near Beaston Bridge on Warrington Road. It was recorded as Beneford in 1200–21 and Bedeford in 1200 and 1296.[1]
Manor
editThemanor,held by the Botelers ofWarrington,was divided before the time when records survived.Bedford Hallnever assumed the role of amanor houseand was occupied by tenants of the Kighleys who were absentee landlords. In 1301 half of the manor was held by the Kighleys, a quarter by the Sales who lived at themoatedHopecarr Hall and the rest by John Waverton of Brick House. Thomas Shuttleworth lived at Sandypool which was taken from the Kighley share.[2]
The area was rural and a small settlement grew at Butts where the road to Warrington branched from the Leigh to Manchester road. Several inns were built near the junction and in 1641 there was a shop selling "cheese, gunpowder, hops, tobacco and a variety of other goods". A corn mill was built by the Breaston Brook.[3]
Industry
editAgriculture,fustianweaving and mining from small coal pits near theAstleyandTyldesleyborder were the chief occupations until theBridgewater Canalpromoted the development of industry and rapid increases in population during the 19th century.[2]Bedford Brewery was founded in 1823.[4]Corn mills powered by steam were built at the canal basin by Butts Bridge in 1831 to process wheat imported from the prairies of America through thePort of Liverpool.[5]Bickham and Pownall built asilkmill in Duke Street in 1833[6]and Richard le Mare, a FrenchHuguenotimmigrant, opened a silk weaving shed in Brewery Lane in 1859.[7]After 1845 the Bedford Foundry made agricultural machinery and fire ranges in premises near the canal.[8]
In 1858 theFletchersbuilt a private railway linking their collieries atHowe Bridgeto Bedford Basin which the company built to facilitate the transport of coal. After theLondon and North Western Railwayline was built in the north of the township, John Speakman sankBedford Collierywhere there was adisasterin 1886.
Governance
edit| Bedford | |
|---|---|
 St Thomas's Church | |
| History | |
| • Created | Middle Ages |
| • Abolished | 1875 |
| • Succeeded by | Leigh Urban District |
| Status | Township |
Historically, Bedford was in theWest Derbyhundred,a judicial division of southwest Lancashire where the township was one of six vills that made up the ancientecclesiastical parishof Leigh. The townships existed before the parish.[1]Bedford was also a chapelry.[9]
Under the terms of thePoor Law Amendment Act 1834Bedford became part of the LeighPoor Law Union,established on 26 January 1837 and responsible for an area covering the whole of the ancient parish and part ofWinwick.Theworkhousesin Pennington, Culcheth, Tyldesley and Lowton were replaced by theLeigh Union workhouseatAtherleighin the 1850s.[10]
In 1866 Bedford became a separatecivil parish,on 29 September 1894 the parish was abolished to form Leigh.[11]In 1891 the parish had a population of 9455.[12]
In 1875, the Leigh Local Board of Health was established, covering Bedford, Pennington and Westleigh. In 1894 the area of the Local Board, together with part of theAthertontownship, became LeighUrban District,which was granted honorificborough statusin 1899 becoming theMunicipal Borough of Leigh.[13]In 1974 the borough was abolished by theLocal Government Act 1972and its former area transferred toGreater Manchesterto be combined with others to form theMetropolitan Borough of Wigan.
Geography
editThe township was crossed by four brooks from the north, west and east which united to the south of Bedford Hall to form theGlaze Brookforming part of the township's south western boundary.Astley and Bedford Mossesare a surviving part ofChat Mosswhere the elevation of the land is barely 50 feet above mean sea-level. The land rises gently to 125 feet on the northern boundary. The township had an area of 2,826 acres, and lay partly on the new redsandstoneand to the north east on the middlecoal measuresof theManchester Coalfield.There is alluvium in the ground crossed by the Glaze Brook and its tributaries. The soil is largely clay and the land consisted of meadow and pasture.[1]
The mile-long Holden Road was constructed at a cost of £53,000 in 1923.[14]In 1952 Leigh Borough Council began building a largecouncil housingestate with facilities for 7,000 people atHigher Folds.[15]
Transport
editThe main road fromManchesterto Leigh crosses the township from east to west and a road leading south toWarringtonjoins it at Butts Bridge.[1]TheA580 "East Lancashire" Road,which opened in 1934, crosses the township south of theBridgewater Canal.
In 1864 theLondon and North Western Railwayopened theTyldesley LooplinefromManchesterviaEcclesandTyldesleytoKenyon Junctionon the Liverpool to Manchester Line via Leigh andPennington.[16]The station originally namedBedford Leighserved the town. The railway crossed the town on a viaduct which has since been largely demolished.[17]The station and the railway closed in May 1969.
Religion
edit
Recusantsin Leigh adhered to theCatholic Churchafter theReformation.They heardMassin secret at Hopecarr, the home of the Sales or Hall House where theJesuitfathers ofCulchethand Southworth served from the late-17th century. In 1778, before the relaxation of the penal laws against recusants, a chapel was built and public worship resumed. The chapel, from which Chapel Street was named, was replaced on the same site bySt Joseph's Churchdesigned byJoseph Hansomin 1855.[18]
St Thomas's Church was built in 1840 but was replaced in the early-20th century by a new church on the old site. The church is built ofAccrington brickwith Runcorn red sandstone facings, it was designed byJ. S. Crowther.A mission church dedicated to All Saints was built on Manchester Road and consecrated on 29 October 1938 by the Bishop of Manchester.[19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdFarrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1907),"Bedford",A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3,British History Online, pp. 431–435,retrieved26 August2010
- ^abLunn 1958,p. 187
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 215
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 252
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 255
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 256
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 262
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 259
- ^"History of Bedford, in Wigan and Lancashire".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved30 October2024.
- ^Leigh,workhouses.org.uk,retrieved16 August2009
- ^"Relationships and changes Bedford CP/Tn through time".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved30 October2024.
- ^"Population statistics Bedford CP/Tn through time".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved30 October2024.
- ^Greater Manchester Gazetteer,Greater Manchester County Record Office, archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2011,retrieved3 June2010
- ^Lunn 1958,p. 295
- ^Leigh Borough Council 1953,p. 26
- ^Sweeney 1996,p. 63
- ^Ashmore 1982,p. 103
- ^Historic England,"Bedford St Joseph RC (1068480)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved27 August2010
- ^St Thomas History,St Thomas Leigh, archived fromthe originalon 5 May 2013,retrieved10 January2013
Bibliography
edit- Ashmore, Owen (1982),The Industrial Archaeology Of North-West England,Manchester University Press,ISBN0-7190-0820-4
- Leigh Borough Council (1953),Leigh Official Guide,Leigh Borough Council
- Lunn, John (1958),History of Leigh,Leigh Borough Council
- Mills, A.D. (1998),Dictionary of English Place-Names,Oxford,ISBN0-19-280074-4
- Sweeney, D.J. (1996),A Lancashire Triangle Part One,Triangle Publishing,ISBN0-9529333-0-6