Bidford-on-Avon

Coordinates: 52°09′52″N 1°51′24″W / 52.16438°N 1.85668°W / 52.16438; -1.85668

Bidford-on-Avon
Bidford-on-Avon  Bidford-on-Avon shown within Warwickshire
Population	4,830 (2001)
OS grid reference	SP099518
Parish	Bidford-on-Avon
District	Stratford-on-Avon
Shire county	Warwickshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Warwickshire
Fire	Warwickshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Warwickshire

Bridge over the River Avon

Village from bridge

Two villagers at the Bidford Mop (Michaelmas Fair) c. 1900

Bidford-on-Avon is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. In the 2001 census it had a population of 4,830.

Location

Bidford-on-Avon village is, as its name suggests, situated on the River Avon, some 7 miles (11 km) downstream of Stratford-upon-Avon and about the same distance upstream of Evesham. The village grew up around an ancient ford, (Byda's Ford) now replaced by a narrow stone bridge, on the Ryknild Street Roman road, now a minor country road to Honeybourne 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south. To the north Alcester is about 4 miles (6.4 km) away, Redditch 10 miles (16 km) away and Birmingham 25 miles (40 km) away. It also lies on the Heart of England Way.

Local government

Bidford-on-Avon is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It falls within the areas of Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwickshire County Council. The three councils are responsible for different aspects of local government.

Besides the village of Bidford itself, the civil parish includes the settlements of Barton, Broom and Marlcliff. Broom lies to the north of Bidford, whilst both Barton and Marlcliffe lie south of the river.^[1]

History

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) mentions "Drunken Bidford" in his writings and is believed to have been a frequent visitor to Bidford-on-Avon and the 13th century Falcon Inn was a favourite tavern. Shakespeare once had a drinking competition one summer, sleeping it off under a crab apple tree and then wrote a poem about 'Beggarly Broome, Drunken Bidford and Papist Wixford', all local villages.^{[citation needed]}

There is also an ancient Saxon burial ground under the free car park located just behind Spice Avon, formerly the pub "The Anglo-Saxon". Bidford was the birthplace and childhood home of the author Barbara Comyns Carr.

Transport

Bridge

lt is wider than a Packhorse bridge, suggesting that Bidford was an important river crossing. The bridge dates from the early 15th century but has been repaired many times; in the 16th century stone from Alcester's demolished priory was used. There are eight arches, with cut-waters on the upper side. In 1644 Charles I demolished the bridge to cover his retreat from Worcester to Oxford - this was repaired in 1650 by Quarter Sessions, for whom Bidford Bridge was a 'county bridge' under its control.The narrow stone bridge that replaced the ford underwent repairs as a combine harvester got stuck on the bridge and the sides had to be demolished for it to be freed.

Railway

Bidford no longer has an active railway line, but it once had a station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway, which ran east-west across country from Broom Junction on the Midland Railway's Barnt Green-Redditch-Alcester-Evesham-Ashchurch line, through Stratford-upon-Avon to Towcester and beyond. The Broom to Stratford section (including Bidford and also Binton), was an early casualty, with passenger services suspended in June 1947 and closure rubber-stamped as permanent in May 1949. The rest of the line closed just three years later.

Road

The village was featured on the BBC motoring programme Top Gear when the presenters resurfaced a local road in a single day, a task that would have usually taken an entire working week.

Churches

The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Lawrence and St. Joseph the Worker Church is the local Roman Catholic church. Bidford also has a Methodist church and a Baptist church.

References

External links

• Parish council website
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Bidford-on-Avon and surrounding area
• Bidford on Avon Baptist Church website
• Gallery and info on the fallen of Bidford WW1 website
• Map sources for Bidford-on-Avon

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