West Bridgford
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  Map sources for West Bridgford at grid reference SK585365
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West Bridgford is a leafy suburb of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies south of the city boundary, delimited by the River Trent, and forms the largest town in the borough of Rushcliffe. As part of the Rushcliffe Constituency its MP is The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, QC (Conservative Party). The headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Council moved to the town in 1959 from the traditional county town of Nottingham.
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[edit] History
Most of the main streets in West Bridgford are named after wealthy families that dominated the town's early history - however new developments that in effect are suburbs of a suburb are named after different subjects i.e the Gamston development has roads named after the Lake District, and Compton Acres has roads named after Dorset and the Purbeck Coast.
There are no Streets in West Bridgford. When the original town was planned in the Victorian period the roads were all given names ie. Musters Street, South Street, but the planners thought the term Street was too urban, thus changing them to Road, so we have Musters Road and South Road. The only 'Street' in the town is Village Street in Edwalton.
West Bridgford is notably different to the other suburbs of Nottingham in a variety of ways. During the Victorian periods Nottingham was growing fast, but development in West Bridgford was prohibited as the land was almost totally owned by one owner - The Musters family.
Eventually after much pressure Musters sold out, but applied strict planning regulations to the area known as the West Bridgford Estate. The town was planned over a grid of tree lined streets. The main roads such as Musters Road had restrictions on density of housing and housing size ie. all houses were specified a certain amount of bedrooms etc etc. Smaller houses were permitted on side streets, and terraces on roads such as Exchange Road were erected for the servants of the wealthy Nottingham merchants who bought up property in West Bridgford.
What has resulted from these strict plans is a community that is still very separate from Nottingham . The town has no formal ties with Nottingham, and the residents pride themselves on not speaking with the distinctive Nottingham northern accent.
Historically West Bridgford is called "Bread and Lard Island" by the people of Nottingham who believed that as West Bridgfordians spent all their money on big houses and fur coats, behind closed doors all they could afford to eat was bread and lard. West Bridgford is still attributed as the most prestigious suburb of Nottingham, not suffering from the urban problems of some of the cities less wealthy suburbs.
Population:
[edit] Local Government
West Brigford was created an urban sanitary district in 1891. It became an urban district with an elected council under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1935, the parishes of Edwalton and South Wilford were added to the urban district. This then became part of the larger borough of Rushcliffe under the Local Government Act 1972.
[edit] Geography
West Bridgford is bordered on the north side by the River Trent, spanned by two road bridges, Trent Bridge and Lady Bay Bridge, and one footbridge. Two spans of the original mediaeval bridge still remain, surrounded by a traffic island on the south side of the river.
[edit] Neighbourhoods
[edit] Nearby Places
- Nottingham to the north
- Holme Pierrepont to the east
- Gamston to the south-east
- Edwalton to the south
- Clifton to the south-west
- Wilford to the north-west
West Bridgford should not be confused with East Bridgford, which lies some miles away and is much smaller.
[edit] Sporting Heritage
West Bridgford is renowned for its sporting facilities and heritage.
Nottingham Forest Football Club play at the City Ground on the banks of the River Trent. Founded in 1865 the clubs glory days are considered to be 1975 -1993, under its famous manager Brian Clough who died in 2004. Under Clough Forest became the last team to date to win English First Division Championship 1977-78 season, a year after winning promotion from the English Second Division. In 1978-79 Forest went into win the European Cup after beating F.C Malmo (1-0) in Munich’s Olympic Stadium, and retained the trophy again in 1979-80 by beating SV Hamburg (1-0) in Madrid. The club also won the Europe Super Cup and three League Cups.
Trent Bridge cricket ground was first used for cricket in 1838 and hosted its first Test Match in 1899, for England playing against Australia. It is the third oldest ground to be used as a Test cricket venue after Lord's in London and Eden Gardens in Calcutta, India. It has been described by many as the finest Test Cricket location in the former British Empire.
It is home to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, an English First-Class Cricket club.
The National Watersports Centre is Britain’s centre from water sports and is located in Holme Pierrepont adjoining West Bridgford. It is location for a regatta lake,white water slalom and ski jumps. West Bridgford also hosts two rowing clubs, Nottingham Rowing Club and Nottingham and Union Rowing Club, and a rowing shell manufacturers, Raymond Sims Ltd.
[edit] Retail
West Bridgford's main shopping district runs from Central Avenue, through Tudor Square, to Gordon Road. There are a few corporate chain stores such as Vision Express, Boots, Greggs, Blockbuster Video, Argos, Pizza Express and Pizza Hut. These established chains mix with a variety of charity shops and local cafes and restaurants, including the No. 8 Deli. Cafe Nero opened a new outlet in late 2005, whilst Marks and Spencers likewise opened a food supermarket in early 2006. Central West Bridgford, following a large urban planning operation in 2000 has become a location for expensive food shops including Number 8, delicatessen on Gordon Road and the new Marks and Spencer.
West Bridgford has a place in British retail history as the location of the UK's first major out-of-town shopping development. In 1964 an American company called GEM opened a store on Loughbrough Road, West Bridgford. GEM operated a system of concessions such that Boots, for example, initially operated the pharmacy department within GEM. However, despite ambitious expansion plans, GEM's British operations were not a success, with only one other store (at Crossgates, Leeds) being opened. National concessionaires withdrew from the stores, and in 1966 the fledgling ASDA company (then known as 'Associated Dairies') of Leeds, acquired a controlling interest in the GEM operations. The Loughbrough Road site still houses a major ASDA store although this was resited and rebuilt some years ago. (for a fuller history of the site and GEM, see Whysall (2005) in International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 15(2), 111-124).
[edit] Pubs and Restaurants
As West Bridgford expanded in the Victorian and Edwardian periods The West Bridgford Protection Society was formed that worked hard to prevent any licensed premises being opened in West Bridgford. This has meant that there have been a relatively small number of pubs in the area until recent years.
The first pub in West Bridgford was the Trent Bridge Inn, next to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. Soon after planning was granted for the historic Test Match Inn, Wolds pub and Nottingham Knight. Many of these establishments are called 'Inns' as public houses were prohibited in West Bridgford, but hotels more acceptable. In reality places like the Test Match Inn never operated as a hotel.
West Bridgford nightlife has been growing in recent years, particularly after the opening of new drinking establishments such as Bar des Amis, Monkey Tree and the Pearl. Other drinking establishments include the long running West End Cabaret on Central Avenue, the Test Match, the Stratford Haven, and Trent Bridge Inn.
Along with many established local restuarants a new branch of Pizza Express has opened on Central Avenue the first outside of the city centre, yet not out of place with the affluent local clientele. A bar/restaurant called Fire&Ice recently opened on Bridgford Road which features an authentic wood fired pizza oven, but has quickly become more popular as a venue for late night drinking along with the very recently refurbished Oriental Pearl. Many of the pubs and bars in West Bridgford are frequented by people who live South of Nottingham, before heading onto the larger bars and clubs in Nottingham itself. However increased interest in West Bridgford has attracted around 20-40% more people from town to stay in West Bridgford according to local taxi firms who say they seem to take more and more people from Nottingham to West Bridgford every week.
[edit] Education
There are also two state funded secondary schools, West Bridgford Specialist Technology College and Rushcliffe Comprehensive. The Becket School is the local Catholic school. The private Grosvenor School is also located on Melton Road in Edwalton. A campuss of South Nottingham College is located in the town. The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University are located close to West Bridgford.
The amount of highly ranked schools in West Bridgford are attributed as a reason for its expensive property prices. This twinned with the gentile nature of the town, facilities such as ROKO and David Lloyd health clubs, a Leisure centre and its proximity to the beautiful South Nottinghamshire countryside of the Vale of Belvoir ensure West Bridgford is a popular location for families to live. In addition, relatively easy commuting by several routes to the nearby university town of Loughborough is another important link for work but with a greater choice of housing availability and other services being close to Nottingham.
[edit] Local Facilities
Rushcliffe Leisure Centre – swimming pool and gym. Rushcliffe Arena – Indoor Bowls and gym. David Lloyd Club – members-only health club. Edwalton Golf Club West Bridgford Library Bridgford Park - West Bridgford Bowling Club - members-only outdoor bowling.
[edit] Notable Residents
The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, QC MP lives on the Melton Road.
Harry Wheatcroft, the famous rose grower lived with his family in West Bridgford. The Wheatcroft family garden centre is located in Edwalton, now owned by a chain.
Numerous Nottingham Forest F.C. and Notts County F.C players live in West Bridgford and adjoining Edwalton.
[edit] External links
Ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire  |
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| Unitary authorities: | Nottingham | |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Ashfield • Bassetlaw • Broxtowe • Gedling • Mansfield • Newark and Sherwood • Rushcliffe | |
| Cities/Towns: | Arnold • Beeston • Blidworth • Carlton • Cotgrave • Eastwood • Hucknall • Kimberley • Kirkby-in-Ashfield • Mansfield • Mansfield Woodhouse • Newark • Nottingham • Rainworth • Retford • Ruddington • Stapleford • Southwell • Sutton-in-Ashfield • West Bridgford • Worksop See also: List of civil parishes in Nottinghamshire |
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