Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in west

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, near the border with

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had a population of 10,405 at the 2021 census. The history of the town can be traced back to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

origins. It has several buildings dating from the 17th century, when the town grew due to the thriving English woollen textile industry.

History

The earliest evidence of habitation is fragments of

settlements above the town. In particular,

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

digs have revealed the remains of a large

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

with a well-preserved

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

on the playing fields of

St Laurence School St Laurence School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. It became an Academy in August 2011. Besides Bradford on Avon, the school takes pupils from Atworth, Monkton Farleigh, Winsley, Limpl ...

. The centre of the town grew up around the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across the river Avon, hence the origin of the town's name ("Broad-Ford"). This was supplemented in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

times by the stone bridge that still stands today. The Norman side is upstream, and has pointed arches; the newer side has curved arches. The Town Bridge and Chapel is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It was originally a

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridg ...

, but widened in the 17th century by rebuilding the western side. On 2 July 1643 the town was the site of a skirmish in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, when Royalists seized control of the bridge on their way to the

Battle of Lansdowne The First English Civil War battle of Lansdowne, or Lansdown, was fought on 5 July 1643, at Lansdowne Hill, near Bath, Somerset, England. Although the Royalists under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller to ...

. On the bridge stands a small building which was originally a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

but was later used as a town lock-up. The weathervane on top takes the form of a

gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...

(an early Christian symbol), hence the local saying "under the fish and over the water". (The gilded fish is a perch; Bradford gudgeon is a local term.) The river provided power for the wool mills that gave the town its wealth. The town has 17th-century buildings dating from the most successful period of the local

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

industry. The best examples of weavers' cottages are on Newtown, Middle Rank and Tory Terraces.

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

visited Bradford-on-Avon in the early 18th century and commented: "They told me at Bradford that it was no extra-ordinary thing to have clothiers in that country worth, from ten thousand, to forty thousand pounds a man '' quivalent to £1.3M to £5.3M in 2007', and many of the great families, who now pass for gentry in those counties, have been originally raised from, and built up by this truly noble manufacture." With improving mechanisation in

textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron foundi ...

, the wool

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

industry moved from cottages to purpose-built woollen mills adjacent to the river, where they used water and steam to power the looms. Around thirty such mills were built in Bradford-on-Avon alone, and these prospered further until the English woollen industry shifted its centre of power to Yorkshire in the late 19th century. The last local mill closed in 1905. Many have since stood empty and some became derelict. Tithe Barn at Bradford on Avon

A notable feature of Bradford-on-Avon is the large Grade I listed

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

, 180 feet long and 30 feet wide, which was constructed in the 14th century and is now part of Barton Farm

Country Park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

. The barn was used for collecting taxes, in the form of goods, to fund the church. There are several notable buildings in and around the town centre. Many of the old textile factories have been converted into modern flats and apartments; however, few of the buildings are still used today in their original roles. One of the few is The Swan, a public house and hotel set in the centre of town; the building is 17th century and retains many original features, in particular the stone flag floors. Records show that there has been a public house on the same site since the 1500s. The Hall, on the eastern edge of the town, is a Jacobean mansion built for John Hall, a wealthy mill-owner, in about 1610. It was bought by

Stephen Moulton Stephen Moulton (7 July 1794 – 26 April 1880) was an Englishman who, as an agent of the American rubber pioneer Charles Goodyear, first brought samples of vulcanized rubber to the United Kingdom. Biography Moulton, who was born in Whorlto ...

in 1848, and is now managed by the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust. In 1998 the Wiltshire Music Centre was opened in Bradford-on-Avon, on the grounds of

. In 2000, the Millennium sculpture nicknamed "Millie" was unveiled. On 8 October 2003, Bradford-on-Avon was granted

Fairtrade Town The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...

status.

Geography

The town lies partly in the Avon Valley, and partly on the hill that marks the Vale's western edge, southeast of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, in the hilly area between the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the River Frome, Somerset ...

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

and the

Cotswold Hills The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the be ...

. The local area around Bath provides the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

known as

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

, from which the older buildings are constructed. The River Avon (the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Avon) runs through the town. The larger town of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

is nearby to the southeast. The town includes the suburbs of Bearfield and Woolley; the parish includes the hamlets of Widbrook and Woolley Green. The Western Wiltshire

Green Belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

, which forms the eastern extent of the

Avon Green Belt The Avon Green Belt, also known as the Bristol and Bath Green Belt (or Bath and Bristol Green Belt), is a non-statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates urban expansion and development in the countryside surrounding ...

, completely surrounds Bradford-on-Avon. It helps to maintain the setting and preserve the character of the town by maintaining separation from nearby settlements such as Trowbridge,

Winsley Winsley is a large village and civil parish about west of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Conkwell, Turleigh, Little Ashley and Great Ashley. History The area was probably farmed in Roman times, ...

, and Westwood.

Religious sites

Early church

The

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

church dedicated to

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

may have been founded by Saint Aldhelm around 705, and could have been a temporary burial site for King

Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr ( – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975). On Edgar's death, the succession to the throne was contested between Edward's sup ...

. It was rediscovered by the Anglican priest, antiquarian and author William Jones in 1856, having been used for secular purposes (apparently becoming a house, a school and part of a factory). It is suggested that some of the building, containing the blind arcades at a higher level, may belong to a later period Taylor, H M; Taylor, Joan. ''Anglo-Saxon Architecture'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1980. while a leaflet available at the church in February 2012 seems to prefer the period 950–1050 for the whole building. The elaborate ornamentation of the exterior consists of pilaster-strips, a broad

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

of two plain string-courses between which is a blind

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

of round-headed arches whose short vertical pilasters have trapezoidal capitals and bases, while on the eastern

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

and the corners adjacent there is a series of mouldings as vertical triple semicylinders. Inside the church, high in the wall above a small

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch, are the carved figures of two flying

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, the right-hand figure reportedly "intended to be clothed in transparent drapery ... the legs from the knee downward are depicted as showing through the transparent robe" which is referred to as a "quaint fancy".

Others

In addition to the Saxon church, the town has two

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

churches, two

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

chapels, a United Church (

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

), a free nonconformist church, a community church, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

(Society of Friends) meeting house and a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church.

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

is the original

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, and stands near the town centre by the river. The Grade I listed building is Norman in origin, and it is possible that the

was built over the remains of an older church. Several chapels were added on the north side, and the wall in between was later opened up so that the chapels now form the north aisle. A squint, or

hagioscope A hagioscope () or squint is an architecture, architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an oblique direction (south-east or north-east), giving wo ...

, near the altar is claimed to be England's longest. The

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

was built around 1480, replacing an older one, and the south wall was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. The church has a ring of eight bells, with the

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

(heaviest bell) weighing . The other

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church, Christ Church, is entirely a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

construction. The

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, dedicated to

St. Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VI ...

, occupies a Grade II listed building, dating from 1854, that used to be the town hall. There is also a Buddhist monastery in the town, under the auspices of the Aukana Trust; it comprises a monastic building each for men and for women, and a meditation hall. There are also workshops, gardens and a library, and the elegant buildings look down upon the town from a hill. The monastery practises the

Theravadin ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

tradition of Buddhism, and offers opportunities for both full-time residential and part-time practise and study.

Economy

Bradford-on-Avon was the site of an early factory for rubber products, established at Kingston Mill by

in 1848 and later named George Spencer, Moulton and Co. The company was acquired by

Avon Rubber Avon Technologies plc is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel. Its corporate headquarters are south of Melksham in Wiltshi ...

, a large manufacturer of rubber products for the automotive and other industries, and production continued until 1993. Today, the town is the headquarters of the

Alex Moulton Alexander Eric Moulton (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in Suspension (vehicle), suspension design. Early life and education Moulton's father, John Coney Moulton, was a naturalist working in ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

company and has several other small-scale manufacturing enterprises. The town's main business is shopping, tourism and day-to-day servicing of a population largely made up of families, commuters and the retired. The town has one mid-sized

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

on the Elms Cross industrial estate, a short walk from the canal lock, and five

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

s. Local consumers founded Bradford-on-Avon Co-operative Society in 1861, which, in the 1960s, united with other

consumer co-operative A consumer cooperative is an business, enterprise owned by consumers and managed democracy, democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such cooperatives operate within the market economy independently of t ...

s in the district to merge with a national business. A mini outdoor

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

of independent shops, Weavers Walk, which describes itself as an "ethical trading centre", is in the town centre. The town is an increasingly popular location for films, television adaptations and more; it has played host to ''

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...

'', ''

Creation Creation or The Creation or Creations, may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Creation'' (1922 film), a British silent drama * ''Creation'' (unfinished film), 1931 * ''Creation'' (2009 film), about Charles Darwin Literature * ''Creation ...

'' (a 2009 film about the life of Darwin), ''

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In th ...

'' and a 1972 film adaptation of ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''. In 2016, ''The White Princess'' TV series was filmed in the area.

Transport

Bradford-on-Avon is on the A363

road, which runs through the town from south to north, and crossed over by the B3109 linking Bradford-on-Avon with

Melksham Melksham () is a town and civil parish on the Bristol Avon, River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. The parish population was 18,113 at the 2021 census. History Early history Excavations in ...

and

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

. All other road routes are minor, affording access to local settlements. Bradford-on-Avon is about 15 miles from junction 18 of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

and the same distance from junction 17 at

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

. Bradford-on-Avon railway station is served by

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

on the

Wessex Main Line The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at and ...

and

Heart of Wessex Line The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from to and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line ...

routes. The line opened in the mid-19th century and was built by the original

. The main station building by Brunel is Grade II listed. Running parallel to the railway through the town is the

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of Navigability, navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than sol ...

. The use of this canal declined as the railways grew but it was restored to full working order during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The canal provides a link through to the Avon at Bath in the west, and the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the east.

Governance

Bradford-on-Avon

elects a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

with twelve members: six for the North

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and six for the South ward. After the May 2021 elections, there were seven

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and five Ideal Bradford councillors. The town council provides an increasing range of services in the town, building on its historically mostly consultative and ceremonial role. These include provision of youth services, management of significant and growing areas of green space and town facilities, and management of several premises within the town. Members of the council elect one of their number as the town's mayor, for a one-year term. The town council declared a climate emergency in March 2019 and has committed to becoming

carbon neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...

by 2030. Statutory local government functions – including schools, roads, social services, emergency planning, leisure services, development control, and waste disposal – are carried out by

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters a ...

, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. The North and South wards each elect one member of Wiltshire Council. For Westminster elections, Bradford-on-Avon is part of the

Melksham and Devizes Melksham and Devizes is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, when it was won by Bria ...

constituency, which was created following a boundary review and first contested at the 2024 general election when it was won by

Brian Mathew Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other field ...

for the Liberal Democrats. From 2010 to 2024, the town was in the

constituency.

Education

The town has a secondary school,

, founded in 1980 as a result of the merger of

Fitzmaurice Grammar School Fitzmaurice Grammar School was a grammar school in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. The school opened as the County School in 1897 with financial support from Edmond Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice. It was renamed Fitzmaurice Grammar Sc ...

and Trinity

Secondary Modern school A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

. There are two primary schools: in the north of the town is Christ Church

CofE The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglican tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the '' Thirty-nine Articles'' and ''Th ...

( VC) Primary School, established as a National school in 1848 and on its present site since 1956, and in the south is Fitzmaurice Primary School, opened in 1928 as Bradford on Avon Council Junior Mixed and Infants' School.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC West BBC West is one of the BBC's English Regions serving Bristol, Somerset, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and north of Dorset. Services Television BBC West's television service (broadcast on BBC One) consists of the flagship regio ...

and

ITV West Country ITV West Country is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the South West England franchise area on the ITV network. Previously, between 2009 and 2013, the area was a non-franchise region, branded with the same ...

. Television signals are received from the Mendip and the local relay transmitters. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Wiltshire BBC Radio Wiltshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the English county of Wiltshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Prospect Place in Swindon. According to RAJAR, the station had a weekly au ...

on 104.3 FM, Heart West on 102.2,

Greatest Hits Radio South West Greatest Hits Radio South West is a regional radio station serving the South West of England, as part of Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio network. Coverage The ten local stations broadcast across the South West of England to the areas of Bristol, Ba ...

on 107.7 FM and West Wilts Radio, a community based radio station that broadcast online. The Wiltshire Times is the local newspaper that serves the town.

Sport and leisure

Bradford-on-Avon has a non-League football club, Bradford Town F.C., who play at the Sports and Social Club on Trowbridge Road. In addition to a bowls & croquet club, tennis courts and a swimming pool, there is also the Bradford-on-Avon Rowing Club, catering for rowing and canoeing from their base opposite Barton Farm country park. Bradford on Avon Rugby union, rugby club, whose first team played in Dorset & Wilts 1 North in 2019–20, have their ground at

, just west of the town. Wiltshire Music Centre is a purpose-built, 300-seat concert hall within the grounds of St Laurence School that attracts internationally renowned musicians.

Notable people

Rt Hon John Methuen as Lord Chancellor of Ireland - by Adrien Carpentiers

*Paul Methuen (clothier), Paul Methuen (1613–1667), clothier, lived and worked in Bradford-on-Avon. *John Methuen (diplomat), John Methuen (1650–1706), was born in Bradford-on-Avon, as was his son Sir Paul Methuen (diplomat), Paul Methuen (ca.1672–1757); they were successively British Ambassadors to Portugal. * Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), a British Army officer who invented the shrapnel shell, born at Midway Manor. *Shadrack Byfield (1789–1874), War of 1812 infantryman and memoirist, born in Woolley, Bradford-on-Avon. *E. H. Young (1880–1949), novelist, children's writer and mountaineer, lived in Bradford-on-Avon. *Eric Derwent Walrond (1898–1966), Afro-Caribbean Harlem Renaissance writer and journalist, lived from 1939 to 1952 at 9 Ivy Terrace, Bradford-on-Avon. *

(1920–2012), engineer and inventor, lived at The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon. * Sir Donald Maitland (1922–2010), senior diplomat, lived in Bradford-on-Avon. *Jonathan Newth (born 1939), stage and television actor, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *Hugh Scully (1943–2015) TV presenter, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *Paul Emsley (born 1947), artist, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *Peter Hammill (born 1948), singer-songwriter, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *Stephen Volk (born 1954), screenwriter, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. *Simon R. Green (born 1955), science-fiction/fantasy author, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *Melanie Hall, hospital admin officer who was studying to be a nurse, disappeared in 1996 and presumed murdered; lived near the town.

Sportspeople

* Hannah Brown (canoeist), Hannah Brown (born 1990), canoeist, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. * Jazmin Carlin (born 1990), Olympic medallist in swimming, lived in Bradford-on-Avon while training at the University of Bath. * Will Carling (born 1965), rugby union player with 72 caps for England national rugby union team, England, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. * David Constant (born 1941), Test cricket umpire, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. * Phil de Glanville (born 1968), rugby union player with 202 caps for Bath Rugby and 38 with England national rugby union team, England, has lived in Bradford-on-Avon. * Paddy Edwards (born 1965), cricketer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. * Edgar Ford (1876–1943), cricketer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. * Ed McKeever (born 1983), Olympic canoeing champion, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. * Lewis Moody (born 1978), rugby union player with 71 caps for England national rugby union team, England, lives in Bradford-on-Avon. * Rob Newman (footballer), Rob Newman (born 1963), footballer with 691 club caps, and later manager, was born in Bradford-on-Avon. *Andy Pearce (born 1966), footballer, born in Bradford-on-Avon with 221 club caps. * Fitzroy Simpson (born 1970), footballer, was born in Bradford-on-Avon; 486 club caps and 43 for Jamaica national football team, Jamaica.

Twin towns

Bradford-on-Avon is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Sully-sur-Loire, France * Norden, Lower_Saxony, Norden, Germany

References

External links

Bradford on Avon Town Council

Explore BOA
– visitor information
Historic Bradford-on-Avon photos
at BBC Wiltshire
''Six English Towns: Bradford-on-Avon''
– a 35-minute 1981 BBC TV programme examining Bradford-on-Avon's Georgian buildings and architecture
''Day Out: Bradford-on-Avon''
– a 30-minute 1978 BBC TV programme of a day spent exploring Bradford-on-Avon {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon, Civil parishes in Wiltshire Kennet and Avon Canal Towns in Wiltshire