Bedworth, United Kingdom
Bedworth is a town of 31,090 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Bedworth
Townapedia lists 5 museums and landmarks, 8 parks and trails, 30 places to eat, 4 places to stay and 3 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Bedworth Civic Hall, Abbey Theatre, Arbury Hall and Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery.
Weather in Bedworth
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Bedworth
Bedworth is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, England. It is situated between Coventry, 5 miles (8.0 km) to the south, and Nuneaton, 3 miles (5 km) to the north. In the 2021 census the town had a population of 31,090. The town is pronounced locally as "Beduth", but as "Bedworth" almost everywhere else.
From the Wikipedia article Bedworth (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Bedworth on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Photos of Bedworth
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Things to do3
Bedworth Civic Hall
Cinema and theater
Arts centre in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England
Museums and landmarks5
Arbury Hall
Museum · 2.2 mi
Grade I listed historic house museum in Warwickshire, England, UK
Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery
Museum · 2.8 mi
Museum and gallery in Riversley Park, Nuneaton, England, United Kingdom
Parks, trails and playgrounds8
Restaurants and cafes30
The Boat Inn
Bar and pub · 1.4 mi
Blackhorse Road
Mo-Th 10:00-23:00, Fr 10:00-24:00, Sa 10:00-24:00, Su 10:00-22:30
Newdigate Colliery & District Sports and Social Club
Bar and pub · 1.4 mi
Smorrall Lane, Bedworth
18 more on the map.
History
The name Bedworth derives from the Old English Bedaworð meaning 'Beda's enclosure'.
Originally a small market town with Saxon origins, Bedworth was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bedeword. The first record of a priest at Bedworth was from 1297. The town suffered great decline as a result of the Black Death in the 14th century. In 1590, the town was described as being home to just 14 families. By 1730, Bedworth had recovered somewhat as a result of local coal mining, and was described as containing 260 houses.
Following the passage of the Five Mile Act 1665, which forbade Nonconformist church goers from assembling for worship and preaching within five miles of a corporate town such as Coventry. Bedworth, being exactly five miles from Coventry became a local centre for Nonconformists who assembled at the town. In 1686 the Reverend Julius Saunders established the Old Meeting congregation just north of the five-mile post. An old plaque that was on the mile-post can still be seen on a gate post of the Almshouses. In 1726, a Presbyterian Nonconformist chapel now of the United Reformed Church was built here which still stands, and was restored in 2012.
Read more of the history
Bedworth developed into an industrial town in the 18th and 19th centuries, due largely to coal mining and the overspill of ribbon weaving and textile industries from nearby Coventry: Located on the Warwickshire coalfield, coal mining in the area was recorded as early as the 13th century, but grew to a large scale as a result of the Industrial Revolution. The industry peaked in 1939 when there were 20 pits in the area producing over 5.8 million tons of coal. The last colliery in Bedworth, Newdigate Colliery closed in 1982 and Coventry Colliery on the edge of the town closed in 1991. The ribbon weaving industry had been introduced to the area by French Huguenot immigrants in the 18th century; it thrived for nearly a century, until it was largely wiped out in the 1860s following the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty which removed tariffs on imported French silks, causing enormous hardship to the town. Hat making however grew and largely replaced the ribbon trade, and lasted until the 1950s.
The opening of the Coventry Canal in 1789 and later the Coventry to Nuneaton railway in 1850 enhanced the town's growth. More recently, the M6 motorway was opened just south of the town in 1971.
From 1894, Bedworth was a civil parish within the Foleshill Rural District. In 1928, Bedworth was incorporated as an urban district in its own right. In 1932, the urban district was enlarged by the addition of Exhall and parts of Foleshill, Astley and Walsgrave on Sowe parishes. It was further enlarged in 1938 by the addition of Bulkington. In 1974, the Bedworth Urban District was merged with the Municipal Borough of Nuneaton to create the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.
From the History section of Bedworth on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Bedworth
Geography
Bedworth lies 101 miles (163 km) north-west of London, 19 miles (31 km) east of Birmingham and 17 miles (27 km) north-north-east of the county town of Warwick.
Bedworth has six main suburban districts, namely: Collycroft, Mount Pleasant, Bedworth Heath, Coalpit Field, Goodyers End and Exhall. Exhall is a generic name for the area surrounding junction 3 of the M6 motorway, comprising parts of both Bedworth and Coventry. Around 1.5 miles (2 km) to the east of Bedworth is the large village of Bulkington, and around 2 miles (3 km) to the south-west, separated by a short gap is the village of Ash Green.
Bedworth is almost contiguous with Coventry; it is defined as being part of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area.
The River Sowe rises in Bedworth flowing through Exhall, northern and eastern Coventry, Baginton and Stoneleigh, before joining the River Avon south of Stoneleigh.
Economy
With most of its historic industries gone, there is still some specialist manufacturing that continues in the town; one firm in Bedworth, Toye, Kenning & Spencer, specialises in producing items such as hats and caps, banners, flags, medal ribbons and Masonic regalia.
At the Bayton Road industrial estate in Exhall is a manufacturing firm, Premiere Group, which specialises in producing sheet metal products, primarily for the automotive sector. The firm won the contract to produce 12,000 Olympic torches for the 2012 Olympic Games. The German mechatronic car component manufacturer Brose that supplies 80 vehicle manufacturers worldwide has its UK factory in the estate. The estate was also the home of Abbey Panels which prior to 2002 produced prototype vehicle bodies for many car manufacturers including the first run of alloy bodied Jaguar XK120s in 1948. They also produced aluminium alloy racing car bodies for Jaguar's Le Mans winning cars of the 1950s, along with Formula 1 car bodies in the same era. The company continues as Loades Limited with a site on Bayton Road, but oriented to steel buildings for commercial properties named after their founder Edward Loades.
The domestic appliance insurer Domestic & General has offices in the town centre,
From the Wikipedia article Bedworth, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Bedworth
Nick SkeltonBritish equestrianPhoto: Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK, CC BY 2.0- Brian LockingBritish musician
- Diane ElsonBritish academic
- Brian HillEnglish footballer, born 1941 (1941–2016)
- Geoff Colemanassociation football player (born 1936)
- Dean Thomasfootballer; football manager (born 1961)
- Harry Kentfootball player and manager (1879-1948)
- Keith OakesEnglish footballer (born 1956)
- Chris CamwellEnglish association football player (born 1998)
- William Hallcricketer (1878-?)
- Jack Randlefootballer (1902-1990)
- Dennis OakesCricketer, footballer (born 1946)
Born in Bedworth, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay4
Churches and places of worship18
Shopping7
Gas and EV charging3
Schools, colleges and libraries12
Healthcare3
Map of Bedworth
93 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Birmingham Airport (BHX) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 12 miles away.
- Coventry 5 mi south, about 9 min by car
- Hartshill 5 mi northwest, about 8 min by car
- Kenilworth 10 mi southwest, about 16 min by car
- Knowle 13 mi southwest, about 21 min by car
- Solihull 14 mi west, about 22 min by car
- Glen Parva 15 mi northeast, about 23 min by car
- Sutton Coldfield 16 mi northwest, about 25 min by car
- Braunstone 16 mi northeast, about 25 min by car
- Birmingham 18 mi west, about 29 min by car
- Leicester 18 mi northeast, about 29 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Bedworth
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Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Bedworth civic hall 30s07, Snowmanradio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Celebrating Bedworth's Heritage - sculpture in Bedworth (38240780954), Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Celebrating Bedworth's Heritage - sculpture in Bedworth (38920739352), Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Celebrating Bedworth's Heritage - sculpture in Bedworth (38920712812), Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Celebrating Bedworth's Heritage - sculpture in Bedworth (38240846574), Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Arbury Hall 01, David Stowell, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery Riversley Park, © Copyright Stephen Pointer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence., CC BY-SA 2.0
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church, Nuneaton, JThomas, 5313233, JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0
- St francis of assisi RC bedworth 3u07, Snowmanradio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Nuneaton, Riversley Park (1) 6.19, G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0
- View from the bench (OpenBenches 8352-2), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Long shot of the bench (OpenBenches 8351-1), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Long shot of the bench (OpenBenches 8352-1), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Close-up of the inscription (OpenBenches 8352), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- View from the bench (OpenBenches 8351-2), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Close-up of the inscription (OpenBenches 8351), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- View from the bench (OpenBenches 8350-2), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Close-up of the inscription (OpenBenches 8350), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Long shot of the bench (OpenBenches 8350-1), Anonymous Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Nick Skelton's gold postbox at Bedworth Civic Hall, Warwickshire, Oosoom (original), cropped by User:Ultra7, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gness, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, tallguy, CC BY-SA 4.0
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