Brickhill
Encyclopedia
Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford
in Bedfordshire
, England
.
The boundaries of Brickhill are approximately Kimbolton
Road to the east, Bedford Park
and the old Bedford cemetery
to the south, with Cemetery Hill and the Manton Heights Industrial Estate to the west.
The Woodlands Park housing estate
(off Tyne Crescent) is being constructed directly to the north of the existing Brickhill area.
' which occupied the land before the area was developed. 'Brickhill' may have been a reference to brick-making in the area, as the neighbourhood has a high clay content in its soils. Brick-making used to be a major industry in Bedfordshire
(See Stewartby
). The name may also derive from a compound of Brythonic and Anglo Saxon
origins, which is a common occurrence in this part of the country. The Brythonic breg means 'hill', and the Anglo Saxon hyll also means 'hill'.
Brickhill Farm was the location of Brickhill House, a 17th Century make-over of a much older manor house. The residence was the seat the Foster family, and it was in its heyday in the 1820s, when the famous American author, Washington Irving
, came to pay court to the daughter of the house, Emily Foster (she turned him down). The house was eventually destroyed by fire in 1946.
Following the World War II
momentum grew in Bedford to plan the re-development of the town from its population of 58,000 to 75,000. This required the provision of a substantial area of land for housing development. At the time, Bedfordshire County Council
(who were the planning authority) attempted to pursue Bedford Borough Council
to consider development on areas of clay
sub-soil around northern Bedford, and in particular across Brickhill. There initially appeared to be great resistance to this. Traditionally buildings in Bedford had been founded on areas of River Terrace gravels, and it was thought in 1949 that the cost of the foundations excavated into the Boulder Clay/Blue Oxford Clay
would add approximately £70 to the cost of constructing a house. Since no viable alternative could be found by the Borough they eventually accepted the County's proposals for development of the Brickhill area.
Houses in South Brickhill were constructed from 1959. This neighbourhood became the Birds area, with all the streets named after birds (e.g. Linnet
Way, Hawk
Drive, Dove
Road). North Brickhill was developed from 1966, and became the Rivers area, with all the streets named after rivers (e.g. Avon Drive, Waveney
Avenue, Tyne
Crescent).
Brickhill was originally served by an urban community council
from 1993, but since 1 April 2004 it has been a civil parish, with its own parish council.
Woodlands Park is a new housing estate
being constructed directly to the north of Brickhill. However, the estate is not formally part of the Brickhill parish or electoral ward. It is instead part of the nearby village of Ravensden
.
party. Brickhill also elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council
, both of which are also currently from the Liberal Democrat party.
, a small Nisa supermarket
, a Lloyds Pharmacy, an Italian
delicatessen
and café
, a garage
& car wash
, a betting shop
and a barber's shop
. The Charles Wells pub
called the Bird in Hand which was located at the parade closed in 2011 with Charles Wells indicating that the pub building would be sold for redevelopment. In July 2011, it was confirmed that Tesco
have bought the former pub site and are planning to develop it into a Tesco Express store. The move has attracted considerable opposition from local residents and business owners.
The second shopping zone is located on Avon Drive and consists of a small Londis
supermarket
, a newsagent & post office
, a fish & chip shop
, a florists, a Coral betting shop, a petrol station & garage, a Greene King pub called The Tiger Moth, and a BUPA
Elderly Persons Home
called 'Highfield'.
Further along Brickhill Drive is The Pilgrim Centre. This small business park (remodelled on the site of the old Pilgrim Upper School-which closed in the mid 80's) houses Bedford's register office
and a number of other offices and businesses.
There are a few other smaller businesses and facilities located in Brickhill, most notably a vets, located on Linnet Way and the Charles Wells pub called The Pheasant, located on Avon Drive.
which are located on Hawk Drive. Bedford's only Roman Catholic upper school
- St Thomas More Catholic Upper School
is located on Tyne Crescent, Brickhill. For upper school education, most of Brickhill is in the catchment of Biddenham Upper School
, the remainder is in the catchment of Mark Rutherford Upper School
. St Thomas More School does not have a catchment area as it is a Roman Catholic school.
Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School
is an independent school
located on Brickhill Drive. This school belongs to the Harpur Trust
.
is located at the Avon Drive shopping parade, as well as a recycling
point. There is another recycling point on Brickhill Drive. There are a number of post boxes and telephone boxes throughout the area and a main bus route into Bedford town centre runs through Brickhill.
Brickhill has a comparatively high number of open spaces and children's play-parks, including Freeman's Common (situated between Linnet Way and Avon Drive). There is also a generous area of allotments
located off Brickhill Drive.
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The boundaries of Brickhill are approximately Kimbolton
Kimbolton
Kimbolton could be:*Kimbolton, Herefordshire*Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire**Kimbolton School**Kimbolton Castle**Kimbolton Airfield*Kimbolton Fireworks, the UK's only fireworks manufacturer*Kimbolton, Ohio*Kimbolton, New Zealand...
Road to the east, Bedford Park
Bedford Park, Bedford
Bedford Park is a large urban park, located in the town of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The park is the largest urban park within the town of Bedford, and is owned and maintained by Bedford Borough Council....
and the old Bedford cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
to the south, with Cemetery Hill and the Manton Heights Industrial Estate to the west.
The Woodlands Park housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
(off Tyne Crescent) is being constructed directly to the north of the existing Brickhill area.
History
The name 'Brickhill' derives from 'Brickhill FarmFarm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
' which occupied the land before the area was developed. 'Brickhill' may have been a reference to brick-making in the area, as the neighbourhood has a high clay content in its soils. Brick-making used to be a major industry in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
(See Stewartby
Stewartby
Stewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
). The name may also derive from a compound of Brythonic and Anglo Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
origins, which is a common occurrence in this part of the country. The Brythonic breg means 'hill', and the Anglo Saxon hyll also means 'hill'.
Brickhill Farm was the location of Brickhill House, a 17th Century make-over of a much older manor house. The residence was the seat the Foster family, and it was in its heyday in the 1820s, when the famous American author, Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, came to pay court to the daughter of the house, Emily Foster (she turned him down). The house was eventually destroyed by fire in 1946.
Following the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
momentum grew in Bedford to plan the re-development of the town from its population of 58,000 to 75,000. This required the provision of a substantial area of land for housing development. At the time, Bedfordshire County Council
Bedfordshire County Council
Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established in 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. It was replaced with three unitary authorities: Bedford Borough Council, Central...
(who were the planning authority) attempted to pursue Bedford Borough Council
Bedford (borough)
Bedford is a unitary authority with the status of a borough in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based at Bedford, which is also the county town of Bedfordshire. The borough contains a single urban area, the 69th largest in the United Kingdom that comprises Bedford and...
to consider development on areas of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
sub-soil around northern Bedford, and in particular across Brickhill. There initially appeared to be great resistance to this. Traditionally buildings in Bedford had been founded on areas of River Terrace gravels, and it was thought in 1949 that the cost of the foundations excavated into the Boulder Clay/Blue Oxford Clay
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay is of middle Callovian to lower Oxfordian age and comprises 2 main facies. The lower facies comprises the...
would add approximately £70 to the cost of constructing a house. Since no viable alternative could be found by the Borough they eventually accepted the County's proposals for development of the Brickhill area.
Houses in South Brickhill were constructed from 1959. This neighbourhood became the Birds area, with all the streets named after birds (e.g. Linnet
Linnet
The Linnet is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Linnet derives its scientific name from its fondness for hemp and its English name from its liking for seeds of flax, from which linen is made.- Description :...
Way, Hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
Drive, Dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
Road). North Brickhill was developed from 1966, and became the Rivers area, with all the streets named after rivers (e.g. Avon Drive, Waveney
River Waveney
The Waveney is a river which forms the border between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads.-Course:The source of the River Waveney is a ditch on the east side of the B1113 road between the villages of Redgrave, Suffolk and South Lopham, Norfolk...
Avenue, Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
Crescent).
Brickhill was originally served by an urban community council
Community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...
from 1993, but since 1 April 2004 it has been a civil parish, with its own parish council.
Woodlands Park is a new housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
being constructed directly to the north of Brickhill. However, the estate is not formally part of the Brickhill parish or electoral ward. It is instead part of the nearby village of Ravensden
Ravensden
Ravensden is a village and civil parish located in the Bedford Borough of Bedfordshire, England.The parish borders the town of Bedford, with Mowsbury Park and farmland acting as a buffer between the two settlements. The village hosts Ravensden Lower School, and a pub called The Horse and Jockey, as...
.
Governance
Brickhill Parish Council is made up of 12 elected councillors, all of which are currently from the Liberal DemocratLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
party. Brickhill also elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council
Bedford (borough)
Bedford is a unitary authority with the status of a borough in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based at Bedford, which is also the county town of Bedfordshire. The borough contains a single urban area, the 69th largest in the United Kingdom that comprises Bedford and...
, both of which are also currently from the Liberal Democrat party.
Economy
There are two parades of shops in the area at which most local businesses are located. The first is found on Brickhill Drive which has a newsagentNewsagent
A newsagent's shop , newsagency or newsstand is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local interest. In Britain and Australia, these businesses are termed newsagents...
, a small Nisa supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, a Lloyds Pharmacy, an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
and café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, a garage
Automobile repair shop
An automobile repair shop is a place where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.- Types :The automotive garage can be divided in so many category....
& car wash
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...
, a betting shop
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
and a barber's shop
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
. The Charles Wells pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
called the Bird in Hand which was located at the parade closed in 2011 with Charles Wells indicating that the pub building would be sold for redevelopment. In July 2011, it was confirmed that Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
have bought the former pub site and are planning to develop it into a Tesco Express store. The move has attracted considerable opposition from local residents and business owners.
The second shopping zone is located on Avon Drive and consists of a small Londis
Londis
Londis is the name for two convenience store franchises operating in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The stores form a symbol group and are all owned on a franchise basis.-Great Britain:...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, a newsagent & post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, a fish & chip shop
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...
, a florists, a Coral betting shop, a petrol station & garage, a Greene King pub called The Tiger Moth, and a BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
Elderly Persons Home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
called 'Highfield'.
Further along Brickhill Drive is The Pilgrim Centre. This small business park (remodelled on the site of the old Pilgrim Upper School-which closed in the mid 80's) houses Bedford's register office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
and a number of other offices and businesses.
There are a few other smaller businesses and facilities located in Brickhill, most notably a vets, located on Linnet Way and the Charles Wells pub called The Pheasant, located on Avon Drive.
Education
There are four state schools in Brickhill - Brickhill Lower School which is on Dove Road, and Scott Lower School plus Beauchamp Middle SchoolBeauchamp Middle School
Beauchamp Middle School is a co-educational, comprehensive middle school in the Brickhill area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.The school was created out of a merger of Parkwood and Brickhill Middle Schools in the early 1990s...
which are located on Hawk Drive. Bedford's only Roman Catholic upper school
Upper school
Upper Schools tend to be schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. There is some variation in the use of the term in England.-State Maintained Schools:...
- St Thomas More Catholic Upper School
St Thomas More Catholic Upper School
St Thomas More Catholic Upper School is a Roman Catholic school located in Bedford, England.The school is located on Tyne Crescent in the Brickhill area of north Bedford. 'Tommy More' is the only Catholic upper school in Bedford...
is located on Tyne Crescent, Brickhill. For upper school education, most of Brickhill is in the catchment of Biddenham Upper School
Biddenham Upper School
Biddenham Upper School is a 13-19 coeducational state comprehensive school serving the Brickhill, Harpur and Queens Park areas of Bedford plus the village of Biddenham, England. The school holds Specialist Sports College status...
, the remainder is in the catchment of Mark Rutherford Upper School
Mark Rutherford Upper School
Mark Rutherford Upper School is a coeducational upper school located in the Putnoe area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The school is named in honour of the writer William Hale White who used 'Mark Rutherford' as a pseudonym....
. St Thomas More School does not have a catchment area as it is a Roman Catholic school.
Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School
Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School
Pilgrims Pre-Preparatory School is a co-educational, Independent day school for children aged between 3 months and 8 years. The Little Pilgrims unit is a nursery school catering for children from the age of 3 months–3 years...
is an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
located on Brickhill Drive. This school belongs to the Harpur Trust
Harpur Trust
The Bedford Charity is a charity in Bedford, England which is principally concerned with the operation of private schools. The Bedford Charity is the legal name, but it is most often referred to as the Harpur Trust....
.
Religious sites
- Brickhill BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church, located on Brickhill Drive - St Phillip & St James Roman Catholic Church, located on Linnet Way
- St Marks Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and Methodist Church, located on Avon Drive
Community facilities
Brickhill's community centreCommunity centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
is located at the Avon Drive shopping parade, as well as a recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
point. There is another recycling point on Brickhill Drive. There are a number of post boxes and telephone boxes throughout the area and a main bus route into Bedford town centre runs through Brickhill.
Brickhill has a comparatively high number of open spaces and children's play-parks, including Freeman's Common (situated between Linnet Way and Avon Drive). There is also a generous area of allotments
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
located off Brickhill Drive.