| Bideford | |
  Bideford shown within Devon |
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| Population | 14,599 (2001 est. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology )[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Torridge |
| Shire county | Devon |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIDEFORD |
| Postcode district | EX39 |
| Dialling code | 01237 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Torridge and West Devon |
| List of places: UK • England • Devon | |
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government See also Annery kiln Bideford Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The EX postcode area, also known as the Exeter postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Axminster, Barnstaple, Beaworthy, Bideford The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary is the Home Office Police force responsible for policing the counties of Devon and Cornwall in The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service or FRS, covering the counties of Devon and Somerset; it Divisions & Stations The trust is split into 2 divisions West - Devon and Cornwall including West Divisional HQ 999 and PTS Control at South West England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Torridge and West Devon is a County constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of settlements and places of interest in Devon, England. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson 's book Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district. See also Annery kiln Bideford The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government
Contents |
History
The River Torridge is spanned at Bideford by the 13th century Long Bridge, which has 24 arches all of different sizes. The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson 's book An arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight (e
In the 16th century Bideford was Britain's third largest port. It was rumoured that Sir Walter Raleigh landed the first shipment of tobacco there, although this is a myth, as Raleigh was not, contrary to popular belief, the first to bring tobacco to England. Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (c 1552 – 29 October 1618 was a famed English writer Poet, Soldier, Courtier and Explorer Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. In honour of Raleigh, several roads and a hill have been named after him in Bideford. Today the narrow town centre streets lead down to a tree-lined quay, which bustles with fishing vessels, cargo and pleasure boats. A street is a Public thoroughfare in the built environment It is a Public parcel of land adjoining Buildings in an urban context A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size A boat is a Watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water and provide transport over it Clay is the principal export loaded onto boats at Bideford. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and In Economics, an export is any good or Commodity, Transported from one country to another country in a Legitimate fashion The quay was refurbished, with completion in 2006, to provide flood defence and also to incorporate large fountains and modern public toilets. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge
This area of North Devon was home to the author Charles Kingsley, and is where he based his novel Westward Ho!. Charles Kingsley ( June 12 1819 &ndash January 23 1875) was an English Novelist, particularly associated with the Westward Ho! is an 1855 British Historical novel by Charles Kingsley, inspired in part by the Crimean War. A small seaside town, named after the book, was built after the book's publication. Westward Ho!, which is the only town in the United Kingdom that officially contains an exclamation mark in its name, is approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Bideford. Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A statue has been erected in honour of Kingsley by the town park's car park.
The city of Biddeford, Maine, USA, was named after the English town, adding the letter "d" in the process. Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest city in the county and is the 6th largest in the State Also, the town of Bideford in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, is named after the English town.
Transport
Bideford is served by the Atlantic Highway and A386 roads. The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street List of A roads beginning with 3 in Great Britain starting west of the A3 and south of the A4. The nearest railway station is at Barnstaple 7. Barnstaple ( IPA /ˈbɑːnstəbl/ is a town in the county of Devon in the south west of England. 5 miles (12 km) away.
A ferry operates between Bideford quay and Lundy, which lies about 22 miles (35 km) away in the Bristol Channel. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, lying off the coast of Devon, England, approximately one third of the distance across the The Bristol Channel ( Môr Hafren) is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset The same ship also provides evening cruises from Bideford along the River Torridge.
Bus services linking Bideford with other local towns and villages are provided by a number of firms: the main bus companies operating in the area are First Devon and Cornwall, Stagecoach Devon and Beacon Bus. Stagecoach Devon Ltd, part of the Stagecoach Group, is a Bus operator serving the East Devon and Torbay areas of South West England Many services are subsidised by Devon County Council.
Railways
In 1855 the Bideford Extension Railway opened, linking the town with Fremington, Barnstaple and beyond. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. Fremington is a Village and Civil parish in North Devon three miles (5 km west of Barnstaple. Barnstaple ( IPA /ˈbɑːnstəbl/ is a town in the county of Devon in the south west of England. In 1872 the railway was extended to Great Torrington and Bideford's railway station was replaced with a new one nearer the town centre. Great Torrington (generally abbreviated to Torrington, though it should be noted that the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated |}A train station, railway station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which Passengers may board and alight from Trains Bideford's passenger train services ceased in 1965 and freight trains ceased in 1982[2] Much of the course of the former railway has been re-used as part of the popular Tarka Trail footpath and cycleway. The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by Tarka the Otter in the book of that Parts of the route are also shared by the long-distance South West Coast Path footpath. The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail.
The Bideford and Instow Railway Group plans to reopen the railway between Bideford and Barnstaple. The Bideford Railway Heritage Centre CIC (previously the Bideford and Instow Railway Group in Devon is currently responsible for the management of Instow Signal It currently operates the heritage railway Torridge Train along a short length of track at Bideford. A heritage railway ( United Kingdom) preserved railway ( United Kingdom) or tourist railroad ( United States and Canada) is a The new Barnstaple Western Bypass is designed to allow the Barnstaple to Bideford section to be restored. The Barnstaple Western Bypass is a congestion-relief scheme designed to take road traffic away from the town centre of Barnstaple, a market town in Devon, South
Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway
The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was an unusual and short-lived railway built entirely on this peninsula with no direct connection to the rest of the British railway network. The Bideford Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway (B WH & A R was most unusual amongst British Railways in that although it was built as a Standard gauge (4 ft 8½ The locomotives were fitted with skirts to protect pedestrians as at one point the line ran along the quay at Bideford. The line had eleven halts which largely served visitors wishing to enjoy the bracing air along the coast or the fine beaches around Westward Ho!. The railway, although authorised in 1896 was opened only as far as Northam by 1901 and finally opened to Appledore in 1908.
The railway fell into financial difficulties until in the First World War the War Department requisitioned all of its equipment for use in France. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Bideford's 13th century Long Bridge was temporarily converted into a railway bridge to carry the locomotives and rolling stock onto the main line railway near Bideford Station. [3]
East-the-Water
The town of Bideford has grown to cover land on both sides of the River Torridge; the area located east of the river is known as East-the-Water . The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson 's book Much of the land that has been built on is drained marshland. In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject
East-the-Water has its own primary school, local shops, a few factories, approximately 6 bars and pubs, a small health centre and a small industrial area consisting largely of locally owned businesses. The community also has its own community centre and association, both of which are self funding and run by a committee of local residents. A key historical feature is Chudleigh Fort, built by the Parliamentarian Major-General Chudleigh during the English Civil War. " Roundheads " was the Nickname given to the Puritan supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. [4] The area is surrounded by agricultural land. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture
There are many pubs in East-the-Water which include The Blacksmiths and The Swan which is well known for its award winning food.
Government
Bideford Town Council [5] has 16 members representing four unequal wards, North, South, East and South Outer. There is a mayor and Town Clerk.
Torridge District Council [6] is the next level of local government and most decisions are made by Devon County Council [7]. Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a State.
The local MP is the Conservative Geoffrey Cox and the MEP local aristocrat Tory Giles Chichester. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Charles Geoffrey Cox, QC (born 30 April 1960 Swindon) is a British Conservative Politician and Barrister. Giles Chichester (born July 29 1946) is a British politician and Conservative Member of the European Parliament for South West
Bideford College
Bideford College, lead by principle Mrs Veronica Mathews, [8] is the local community secondary state school and is a specialist science college. State school is an expression used in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom to distinguish schools provided by the government from privately Because of its specialist status, it gets extra funding from the government for extending its wide varitety of scientific activities.
Sport and Recreation
Bideford has two King George's Fields, which are memorials to King George V. One field is used primarily as the home ground of the main local rugby union club, Bideford RFC (Chiefs) who currently play in Cornwall/Devon League and have one of the most successful junior sections in the county. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short [9]. The other field, commonly referred to as The Sports Ground, is the home to Bideford AFC, the town's main local football (soccer) club. Bideford AFC is an English non-league football club from Bideford, Devon that plays in the Western Football League, with rival Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered East-the-Water also has its own football club, Shamwickshire Rovers FC, which plays at Pollyfield.
Bideford is renowned for its New Year's Eve celebrations, when thousands of people from surrounding towns, villages and around the world gather on the quay for revelries and a fireworks display. New Year's Eve is on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year and the day before New Year's Day. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. A firework is classified as a low explosive pyrotechnic device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes [5][6]
The South West Coast Path National Trail runs through the town, and gives access to walks along the rugged North Devon coast. The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail.
Local media
Local radio is provided by Lantern FM, a station broadcasting across north Devon, originally based in Bideford in a building named "the Lighthouse", but now situated on an industrial estate in nearby Barnstaple. Lantern FM is an Independent Local Radio station in the North Devon area
Bideford has two main local newspapers, both published weekly: the North Devon Gazette and the North Devon Journal. The North Devon Gazette is a weekly free newspaper published in Barnstaple, United Kingdom on a Wednesday for the North Devon area including Barnstaple Bideford The Gazette was founded in Bideford, and was originally known as the Bideford Gazette. It is now a free newspaper, delivered to most local homes, and is now based in Barnstaple. The regional daily paper, the Western Morning News, is also available. The Western Morning News is a daily Regional Newspaper covering Devon and Cornwall and parts of Somerset and Dorset. A local newsletter, the Bideford Buzz, is published monthly by a team of volunteers.
Famous People
Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards of the town were the last people to be hanged for witchcraft in England. The Bideford witch trial resulted in the last ever Hangings for Witchcraft in England. Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers
Stuart Anstis, one time lead guitarist with black metal band Cradle of Filth went to School in Bideford, and now runs a guitar shop there. Derry Brownson, formerly of the band EMF is frequently seen around town. Celebrated actor Joss Ackland, star of one of the Miss Marple mysteries (They Do It With Mirrors), also lives hereabouts. Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born February 29 1928) known as Joss Ackland, is an English Actor who has appeared For the novel of the same name see Robert A Heinlein They Do It With Mirrors is a work of Detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first T. V. Smith and Gaye Advert, from the punk band The Adverts, hail from this town. TV Smith (born Tim Smith 5 April 1956, in Romford, Essex, England) is a British Punk rock Singer songwriter Gaye Advert (born Gaye Black, 29 August 1956, Bideford, Devon, England) is an English Punk rock The Adverts were an English Punk rock band who formed in 1976 and broke up in late 1979 Crime fiction author Hilary Bonner was also born and raised in the town. Hilary Bonner (born 1950 is a British author of Crime fiction.
Rudyard Kipling, in Stalky & Co., makes several references to Bideford as being near the boys' academy. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet Stalky & Co is a book published in 1899 by Rudyard Kipling, about adolescent boys at a British Boarding school.
In a memorable Monty Python sketch John Cleese (playing the role of Hitler) is heard to say " Ah yes, ve make a little hike for, for Bideford. Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television " to which Eric Idle (playing the role of typical tourist Mr. Johnson) replies "Oh well, you'll want the A39 then. . . no, no, you've got the wrong map there, this is Stalingrad, you want the Ilfracombe and Barnstaple section. Ilfracombe is a Seaside resort and Civil parish on the north coast of Devon, England with a small Harbour, surrounded by Barnstaple ( IPA /ˈbɑːnstəbl/ is a town in the county of Devon in the south west of England. "
Numerous mentions of Bideford have been made in episodes of 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks'.
Youth Council
Bideford has an official youth council. The council is run like the town council with voters and candidates of less than 18 years of age, who live in Bideford. A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or Parishes A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch The current Chairperson of Bideford Town Youth Council is Shane Farrant.
Twinning
The town is twinned with Landivisiau in France. Landivisiau (Landivizio is a commune in Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
On 20 October 2006 British ex-pat David Riley came to mark the “20-year link” between Manteo, North Carolina on Roanoke Island and Bideford. Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing Manteo (pronounced man-te-oh is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. Bideford town clerk George McLauchlan, told him locals had never heard of Manteo and the only town Bideford was twinned with was in France. Mr Riley handed over a clock to "celebrate" the twenty year link, while Manteo Town manager Kermit Skinner said the link started in the 1980s during the 400th anniversary of Walter Raleigh’s voyages to America[7][8]
Gallery
 A view of Bideford and the long bridge |
.jpg/120px-Bideford_Quay_(Geograph).jpg) Bideford Quay |
.JPG/120px-MS_Oldenburg_-_Bideford_(2006-03-04).JPG) The Lundy ferry, MS Oldenburg, at Bideford |
.jpg/120px-Kingsley_and_Wonky_Conker_-_Bideford_(2006-03-04).jpg) A statue of Charles Kingsley, next to the "Wonky Conker" tree with its "helping hand" |
.jpg/120px-Pannier_Market_-_Bideford_(2006-03-04).jpg) The Pannier Market |
.jpg/120px-Torridge_Bridge_-_Bideford_(2006-03-04).jpg) A view of Torridge Bridge from the Quay |
.jpg/95px-Port_monument_-_Bideford_(2006-03-04).jpg) Port of Bideford Monument |
 A replica of the original signal box at Bideford's former railway station |
References
- ^ http://www.devon.gov.uk/dris/demog/tr_aa01.html
- ^ SEMG. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (c 1552 – 29 October 1618 was a famed English writer Poet, Soldier, Courtier and Explorer org [1]
- ^ Stuckey, Douglas (1962). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway 1901-1917. Pub. West Country Publications.
- ^ A Handbook for Travellers in Devonshire (9th edition) J. Murray. (1879) [2]
- ^ McCurrach, Ian. "TravelEtc: Ring in the New", The Independent on Sunday, Independent News & Media, 8 December 2002. The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. Independent News & Media plc ( INM) is a media organisation based in Dublin, Ireland with interests in 22 countries on 4 continentsworldwide
- ^ Prince, Dominic. "Top 10 New Year Crackers", The Daily Mail, Daily Mail and General Trust, 17 December 2005. The Daily Mail is a British newspaper currently published in a tabloid format Daily Mail and General Trust plc ( is one of the Europe's largest media companies and has interests in national and regional Newspapers, Television
- ^ {{cite news It turns out the 'twinning' of Bideford with Manteo was established 20 years ago. Manteo (pronounced man-te-oh is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. But the story goes back much further, 500 years, to the mysterious disappearance of a colony of more than 100 people on Roanoke Island, many of whom were migrants from Bideford. The colony was established by Richard Grenville, who bought back two native indians, one of them Manteo which gave the North Carolina town its name. |first = John |last = Coles |title = Massive clock up in Bideford |url = [3] |work = The Sun |publisher = News International |pages = |page = |date = 21 October 2006 |accessdate = 2006-10-21 }}
- ^ "[[4] Gifts from an undiscovered US twin town]", The North Devon Gazette, Archant Regional, 18 October 2006. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2006-10-21. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
See also
- Bideford A.F.C. - the main local Football (soccer) club
- List of King George V Playing Fields (Devon)
- Henry de Bracton
External links
- North Devon Gazette- local newspaper for the Bideford area
- Bideford (DMOZ.org)
- Bideford Town Council
- Torridge District Council
- Anglican Parish of Bideford
- Bideford AFC (Football (soccer))
- Bideford RFC (Rugby Union)
- Bideford & Instow Railway Group
- Bideford Buzz, local newsletter
- Bideford Youth Pipe Band
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