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Harpur
Harpur is a district of Bedford town centre, and an electoral ward in Bedfordshire, England. The boundaries of Harpur are approximately Manton Lane to the north, De Parys Avenue to the east, Bromham Road to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line to the west. Manton Heights, the Poets, the Prime Ministers, and the Black Tom neighbourhoods all lie within the boundaries of Harpur ward. History The area is named after Sir William Harpur a famous Bedfordian. The area houses Bedford Modern School which is part of the Harpur Trust. A notorious Highwayman labelled 'Black Tom' reportedly frequented the area in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Supposedly he was buried with a stake driven through his heart at the junction of Tavistock Street, Union Street and Clapham Road. Today Black Tom is the informal name of the area in Harpur located north of Tavistock Street. Most buildings in the area date from the 19th Century or before. However the northern part ...
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Harpur Trust
The Harpur Trust is a charity in Bedford, England. The stated aim of the charity is to help and support the people who live in and around Bedford, and to help them improve their lives by: * providing and promoting education * offering help and relief to anyone who is sick, in need, in hardship or distress * providing recreational facilities with a social welfare purpose for the people of Bedford and its surroundings. Reorganised as a company limited by guarantee in 2012, it was previously called The Bedford Charity (The Harpur Trust) as its legal name, but was most often referred to as the Harpur Trust. The main activities of the charity are the operation of a number of independent schools and one academy in Bedford. The charity also operates a number of almshouses in the Bedford area. In addition, the charity supports the community by giving grants to local projects. In 2009/10 it donated over £1,900,000 in grants to projects based in and around Bedford. This money is intend ...
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William Harpur
Sir William Harpur ( – 27 February 1574) was an English merchant and philanthropist who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1561. Born in Bedford, he moved to London and amassed a large fortune. In 1566, Harpur and his wife Alice gave a financial endowment to support several charities including ones focused on education. The endowment eventually became the Harpur Trust, which supports four independent schools in Bedford today. Career The name Harper (or Harpur) is mentioned around 1500 in connection with families from Bedford and Biddenham. Little is known about the life of William. He attended Bedford School whilst it was still administered by the Augustinian Canons of Newnham Priory. It is not certain whether he was a tailor. He was certainly a shrewd businessman. He went to London and was admitted to the guild of Merchant Taylors in 1533. There he would have come into contact with the leading citizens of the day. We know that in 1553 he was elected alderman for the ward ...
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Bedford Modern School
Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments left by William Harpur, Sir William Harpur in the sixteenth century. BMS comprises a Preparatory school (UK), junior school (ages 6–11) and a senior school (ages 11–18). The school has had four names. In 1873 the school became Bedford Modern School to reflect its modern curriculum, providing an education for the professions. BMS provided education not only for the locality but also for colonial and military personnel abroad, seeking good education for their young families. History Bedford Modern School has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments left by William Harpur, Sir William Harpur in the sixteenth century. Since the separation of Bedford School and BMS in ...
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Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossing), ford on the River Great Ouse and is thought to have been the burial place of King Offa of Mercia, who is remembered for building Offa's Dyke on the Welsh border. Bedford Castle was built by Henry I of England, Henry I, although it was destroyed in 1224. Bedford was granted borough status in 1166 and has been represented in Parliament since 1265. It is known for its large Italians in the United Kingdom, population of Italian descent. History The name of the town is believed to derive from the name of a Saxon chief called Beda, and a Ford (crossing), ford crossing the River Great Ouse. Bedford was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region from the early Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town ...
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Bedford (UK Parliament Constituency)
Bedford is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2017 United Kingdom general election, 2017 by Mohammad Yasin (politician), Mohammad Yasin of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. The seat dates back to the earliest century of regular parliaments, in 1295; its double representation was halved in 1885, then altered by the Representation of the People Act 1918. It was abolished in 1983 but re-established at the next periodic review for the 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 general election. Constituency profile ; Geographical and economic profile Bedford is a marginal seat between the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party and the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives. The main settlement is Bedford, a well-developed town centre with a considerable amount of social housing relative to Bedfordshire and higher poverty index but on a fast ...
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De Parys
De Parys is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The boundaries of De Parys are approximately Bedford Park and Stancliffe Road to the north, the Bedford campus of the University of Bedfordshire to the east, Goldington Road to the south, with De Parys Avenue to the west. The Devon Park and Saints neighbourhoods are within De Parys ward, as is the Bedford campus of the University of Bedfordshire. De Parys is the smallest ward (in terms of population) in Bedford. History Bedford's workhouse was established in the area in the 18th century. The west and central parts of De Parys were urbanised by the end of the 19th century. It was during this time that Bedford School located to the area, and Bedford Park was established. The Bedford Training College for Teachers (later, Bedford College of Education) was established on Polhill Avenue in 1882. The eastern part of De Parys was developed later, in the 1960s. It was at this time that the old w ...
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Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Luton (225,262), and Bedford is the county town. The county has an area of and had a population of 704,736 at the 2021 census. ''plus'' ''plus'' Its other towns include Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Biggleswade, Houghton Regis, and Flitwick. Much of the county is rural. For Local government in England, local government purposes, Bedfordshire comprises three Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas: Borough of Bedford, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton. The county's highest point is on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns. History The first recorded use of the name in 1011 was "Bedanfordscir", meaning the shire or county of Bedford, which itself means "Beda's ford ...
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Bedford (HM Prison)
HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Building The prison has been on its current site since 1801 and was designed by the architect John Wing (1756–1826), who also designed the Bedford town bridge, the Infirmary and the House of Industry. The previous site was on the corner of the High Street and Silver Street, then known as Gaol Lane. The location is marked with a plaque in the pavement due to its connection with John Bunyan, being the probable place where he wrote ''The Pilgrim's Progress''. Wing's original building included "...a turnkey's lodge, cells for debtors, felons and house of correction prisoners, hot and cold baths and an oven to purify infected clothing. The silence system was enforced with great severity, wooden partitions being placed between any two prisoners at work on the treadmill. Separate exercise was allowed in the yards, and meal ...
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Pubs
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private houses from those open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) states a pub has four characteristics: # is open to the public without membership or residency # serves draught beer or cider without requiring food be consumed # has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals # allows drinks to be bought at a bar (i.e., not only table service) The history of pubs can be traced to taverns in Roman Britain, and through Anglo-Saxon alehouses, but it was not until the early 19th century that pubs, as they are today, first began to appear. The model also became popular in countries and regions of British influence, whe ...
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Unparished Area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city council, and are instead directly managed by a higher local authority such as a district or county council. Until the mid-nineteenth century there had been many areas that did not belong to any parish, known as extra-parochial areas. Acts of Parliament between 1858 and 1868 sought to abolish such areas, converting them into parishes or absorbing them into neighbouring parishes. After 1868 there were very few extra-parochial areas left; those remaining were mostly islands, such as Lundy, which did not have a neighbouring parish into which they could be absorbed. Modern unparished areas (also termed "n ...
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Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. It is one of the Two-party system, two dominant political parties in the United Kingdom; the other being the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party. Labour has been led by Keir Starmer since 2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK), 2020, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election. To date, there have been 12 Labour governments and seven different Labour Prime Ministers – Ramsay MacDonald, MacDonald, Clement Attlee, Attlee, Harold Wilson, Wilson, James Callaghan, Callaghan, Tony Blair, Blair, Gordon Brown, Brown and Starmer. The Labour Party was founded in 1900, having e ...
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