Bedford - The Bridge - RP postcard c.1960s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  The Bridge, Bedford, Bedfordshire - real photo type
• Publisher:  none given
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  2& half d. red Wilding
• Postmark(s):  Bedford 6 Aug 1963? wavy line
• Sent to:  Wellington, Salop
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 80,000 in mid-2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town of Kempston. The Bedford Urban Area which includes Kempston, Elstow and Biddenham forms the 71st largest Urban Area in the UK with a population of 101,928.^[1] The wider borough, including a rural area, had a population of 153,000.^{[citation needed]}

The name of the town is thought to derive from the name of a Saxon chief called Beda,^[2] and a ford crossing the River Great Ouse. Bedford was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region from the early Middle Ages^{[citation needed]} The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town in 796.^[3] In 886 it became a boundary town separating Wessex and Danelaw.^[4][5] It was the seat of the Barony of Bedford. In 919 Edward the Elder built the town's first known fortress, on the south side of the River Ouse and there received the area's submission. This fortress was destroyed by the Danes. William II gave the barony of Bedford to Paine de Beauchamp who built a new, strong castle. The new Bedford Castle was razed in 1224 and today only a mound remains.^[6]

Bedford traces its borough charter in 1166 by Henry II^[7] and elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons.

Bedford remained a small agricultural town, with wool being an important industry in the area for much of the Middle Ages.^{[citation needed]} From the 16th century Bedford and much of Bedfordshire became one of the main centres of England's lace industry, and lace continued to be an important industry in Bedford until the early 20th century.

The River Great Ouse became navigable as far as Bedford in 1689. Wool declined in importance with brewing becoming a major industry in the town.

In 1660 John Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years in Bedford Gaol. It was here that he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress.^[8]

The 19th century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub. In 1832 Gas lighting was introduced, and the railway reached Bedford in 1846. The first Corn Exchange was built 1849,^[9] and the first drains and sewers were dug in 1864.^[10]

type=real photographic (rp)

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=bedforshire

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=posted