Bedworth
Bedworth is a town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth, in the north of Warwickshire. At the 2011 census it had a population of 30,438.
Understand
Bedworth used to be a small market town, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bedeword.
Get in
Bedworth is accessibly by road, rail or the Coventry Canal network.
By car
It sits between Coventry, 5 miles (8 km) to the south, and Nuneaton, 3 miles (5 km) to the north.
Bedworth lies 101 miles (163 km) northwest of London, 19 miles (31 km) east of Birmingham and 17 miles (27 km) north northeast of the county town of Warwick.
Bedworth sits immediately north of the M6 motorway at junction 3, with access via several slip roads onto the A444 dual carriageway bypass. The A444 also provides fast access to Nuneaton, the Ricoh Arena, the Arena Retail Park and northern/central Coventry.
By train
Bedworth railway station in the town centre is on the Coventry to Nuneaton railway line.
By bus
Bus services to the city centre of Coventry are operated competitively by Stagecoach in Warwickshire and National Express Coventry. Stagecoach also provides direct services to Nuneaton, Bulkington, Keresley, Atherstone, Hinckley & Leicester and a direct service to the University Hospital in Walsgrave, Coventry is provided by Arriva Midlands.
By boat
If you have your own boat, you can arrive via the Coventry Canal, which runs along the eastern edge of the town. Just outside Bedworth to the north-east is Marston Junction where the Coventry Canal joins the Ashby Canal. Just to the south-east at Hawkesbury Junction it joins the Oxford Canal.
Get around
See
Among the most notable buildings in Bedworth are the Nicholas Chamberlaine Almshouses on All Saints' Square in the town centre, which are built in Tudor style and date from 1840. They replaced the original buildings which had been funded by a legacy from the local benefactor Nicholas Chamberlaine (1632–1715) through his will. The almshouses were restored in the 1980s, and are now Grade II* listed.
The main venue in Bedworth is the Bedworth Civic Hall which opened in 1973 and has an attached arts centre.
The former Bedworth water tower is probably the most noticeable landmark building in Bedworth; built in 1898 in the then fashionable Romanesque style, at approximately 45 metres (148 ft) high, it is visible from miles around and has been Grade II listed since 1987. It used to have had a 60,000 gallon water tank, but became obsolete in 1988, when a new water mains was installed into Bedworth. The tower is home to a pair of peregrine falcons, first noted in 1998. In 2015 it was sold to be converted into six luxury apartments.
Do
South of the town centre is the Miners' Welfare Park, which opened in 1923 to provide a recreation space for miners and their families. Now managed by the local council it includes playing fields, sports facilities, footpaths and gardens.
Buy
The majority of the town centre was redeveloped in the 1960s and early-1970s, with the typical architecture of that period, and consists of a pedestrianised shopping precinct. The town centre contains some of the usual high street retail names along with many charity shops, card shops and banks.
Eat
- 1 The Mayor's Cafe, Miners Welfare Park, Bedworth CV12 8JT, ☏ +44 24 7664 0682. Daily 9AM-5PM.
Drink
Bedworth has many pubs and working men's clubs: among others, the Bear and Ragged Staff, the White Horse, the Miners Arms, the Mount Pleasant, the Black Horse, the Black Bank, Saunders Hall, Collycroft Working Men's Club, Bedworth Liberal Club, Bedworth Conservative Club, the Griffin Inn, the Newdigate Arms, the Cross Keys, the Royal Oak, the Prince of Wales, JB's and Littleworks (reopened as Jack's Entertainment Club).