Bewdley is a small town in Worcestershire, England. It lies on the River Severn, just west of Kidderminster, and has a population of 10,689 (2001 census). The town is an old one, with the settlement of Wribbenhall on the eastern side of the Severn having been recorded in the Domesday Book as being part of the manor of Kidderminster. By the 14th century, the town had come to be known as ''Beau lieu'', French for "Beautiful place" - a compliment that fits well with John Leland's statement in his ''Itinerary'' two centuries later that "a man cannot wish to see a towne better". The town became a borough in 1472, a status it retained until local government reorganisation in 1974. Bewdley is now part of the Wyre Forest district. The current bridge over the Severn at Bewdley was built in 1798 by Thomas Telford. It is the only unmodernised Telford bridge still to carry motor traffic; there is, however, some speculation locally that this may be thanks to secret strengthening work carried out during the Second World War to allow the bridge to bear the weight of tanks if necessary. The Severn often bursts its banks in winter, flooding many houses and commercial premises; however work is now underway on flood defences on the western bank. There are currently no plans for such extensive protection on the eastern bank, as this is not considered cost-effective, although some form of temporary inflatable barrier is being considered. Bewdley's long experience of dealing with flooding led to the setting up of the National Flood Forum in the town in 2002. Bewdley is the site of a well-known privately owned safari park, the West Midland Safari Park, and is also the headquarters of the Severn Valley Railway. The Bewdley Festival, featuring a variety of artistic performances, is held in the town each October, and Bewdley also hosts one of the largest inland regattas in the country. The successful Bewdley Beer Festival is held each August Bank Holiday weekend. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was born in Bewdley, served as Member of Parliament for the town for nearly thirty years and later became ''Earl Baldwin of Bewdley''. Other well-known people to have lived in Bewdley include TV chef Rustie Lee. ==External links== * [http://www.bewdley.actinet.net/ The Bewdley Site] * [http://www.bewdleyfestival.org.uk/ Bewdley Festival] * [http://www.bewdleybeerfestival.co.uk/ Bewdley Beer Festival] Towns on the River Severn Towns in Worcestershire
== Bewdley, an anomalous outlying part of Wales == I live close to Bewdley and have never heard about this; I can also find no sources substantiating it. Could somebody provide a source for this information? --User:Shastrix 22:58, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC) : I live ''in'' Bewdley, and I can assure you that we are most definitely English! It sounds like one of those laws like the one supposedly allowing people in Chester to shoot Welshmen with longbows (or whatever it is), and I can see no value at all in leaving it in. So I've hacked it out. User:Loganberry 16:16, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Bewdley:
Bewdley
Bewdley
Bewdley_Beer_Festival
Bewdley
Bewdley is a small town in Worcestershire, England. It lies on the River Severn, just west of Kidderminster, and has a population of 10,689 (2001 census). The town is an old one, with the settlement of Wribbenhall on the eastern side of the Severn having been recorded in the Domesday Book as being part of the manor of Kidderminster. By the 14th century, the town had come to be known as ''Beau lieu'', French for "Beautiful place" - a compliment that fits well with John Leland's statement in his ''Itinerary'' two centuries later that "a man cannot wish to see a towne better". The town became a borough in 1472, a status it retained until local government reorganisation in 1974. Bewdley is now part of the Wyre Forest district. The current bridge over the Severn at Bewdley was built in 1798 by Thomas Telford. It is the only unmodernised Telford bridge still to carry motor traffic; there is, however, some speculation locally that this may be thanks to secret strengthening work carried out during the Second World War to allow the bridge to bear the weight of tanks if necessary. The Severn often bursts its banks in winter, flooding many houses and commercial premises; however work is now underway on flood defences on the western bank. There are currently no plans for such extensive protection on the eastern bank, as this is not considered cost-effective, although some form of temporary inflatable barrier is being considered. Bewdley's long experience of dealing with flooding led to the setting up of the National Flood Forum in the town in 2002. Bewdley is the site of a well-known privately owned safari park, the West Midland Safari Park, and is also the headquarters of the Severn Valley Railway. The Bewdley Festival, featuring a variety of artistic performances, is held in the town each October, and Bewdley also hosts one of the largest inland regattas in the country. The successful Bewdley Beer Festival is held each August Bank Holiday weekend. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was born in Bewdley, served as Member of Parliament for the town for nearly thirty years and later became ''Earl Baldwin of Bewdley''. Other well-known people to have lived in Bewdley include TV chef Rustie Lee. ==External links== * [http://www.bewdley.actinet.net/ The Bewdley Site] * [http://www.bewdleyfestival.org.uk/ Bewdley Festival] * [http://www.bewdleybeerfestival.co.uk/ Bewdley Beer Festival] Towns on the River Severn Towns in Worcestershire
Bewdley
== Bewdley, an anomalous outlying part of Wales == I live close to Bewdley and have never heard about this; I can also find no sources substantiating it. Could somebody provide a source for this information? --User:Shastrix 22:58, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC) : I live ''in'' Bewdley, and I can assure you that we are most definitely English! It sounds like one of those laws like the one supposedly allowing people in Chester to shoot Welshmen with longbows (or whatever it is), and I can see no value at all in leaving it in. So I've hacked it out. User:Loganberry 16:16, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
B
BA | BC | BD | BE | BF | BG | BH | BI | BJ | BK | BL | BM | BN | BO | BP | BR | BS | BT | BU | BW | BX | BY | BZ |Words begining with Bewdley:
Bewdley
Bewdley
Bewdley_Beer_Festival
Sponsored links: praca.
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007
