Wadebridge is a town in North
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK, located on the
CamelThe River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
EstuaryAn estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
some 5 miles (8 km) upstream from
PadstowPadstow is a small town, civil parish and cargo port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The UK Census 2001 reported a parish population of 3,162.-Geography:...
. For many years Wadebridge was a traffic-congested town (through which the route of the
A39 trunk roadThe A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
passed) but in 1991 the Wadebridge bypass was opened together with the
EgloshayleEgloshayle is a small village situated near the banks of the River Camel adjacent to Wadebridge in north Cornwall, United Kingdom....
bypass causing the two settlements to regain much of their former charm. The main shopping street in Wadebridge (Molesworth Street) has subsequently become pedestrianized through an inner link road, allowing traffic free shopping.
Wadebridge is a town in North
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK, located on the
CamelThe River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
EstuaryAn estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
some 5 miles (8 km) upstream from
PadstowPadstow is a small town, civil parish and cargo port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The UK Census 2001 reported a parish population of 3,162.-Geography:...
. For many years Wadebridge was a traffic-congested town (through which the route of the
A39 trunk roadThe A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
passed) but in 1991 the Wadebridge bypass was opened together with the
EgloshayleEgloshayle is a small village situated near the banks of the River Camel adjacent to Wadebridge in north Cornwall, United Kingdom....
bypass causing the two settlements to regain much of their former charm. The main shopping street in Wadebridge (Molesworth Street) has subsequently become pedestrianized through an inner link road, allowing traffic free shopping. The permanent population is 6222 (Census 2001). The main offices of the former North Cornwall District Council were at Trenant Road, Wadebridge.
History
The initial settlement of Wade (the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built) came about due to a ford in the River Camel (Camel probably meaning "crooked one"). The early crossing had two chapels either side of the river "Kings" chapel on the north side and "St Michael's" on the south side. People would pray for a safe crossing at one of the chapels before wading across at low tide, once they had made it the other side they would give thanks to God in the other chapel. In 1312 a license was granted for Wade to commence with a market. The Reverend Thomas Lovibond (the vicar of
EgloshayleEgloshayle is a small village situated near the banks of the River Camel adjacent to Wadebridge in north Cornwall, United Kingdom....
) started to become distressed at the number of humans and animals that had died during the crossing of the river Camel so he planned the building of a bridge which was completed in 1468. Wade was now known as Wadebridge.
The bridge was to become a strategic position in the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
as in 1646
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
himself came with 500 Dragoons and 1000 horsemen to take the bridge.
A serious outbreak of typhoid in 1897 caused by contamination of drinking water led to Wadebridge having its own town council as decisive action had to be taken for proper water supplies and disposal of sewage effluent.
History of the bridge
The bridge is said to be built on wool. One of the public houses in Wadebridge is actually called "the Bridge on Wool". However no one is actually sure if this means that the bridge is actually physically built on sacks of wool as a foundation. What is much more likely is that the bridge was built on the profits of the wool trade. However when the bridge was extended in 1963 some wool was found in one of the core samples taken, although some people say that the core sample was just a hoax. When the bridge was first completed tolls used to be paid for the maintenance of the bridge.
In 1853 the bridge was widened from . Then in 1963 a second widening took place which took the bridge from . More recently in 1994 the bridge underwent a refurbishment to change the stone in the pavement and to create a cycle track along the length of the bridge.
Challenge Bridge
A footbridge called Challenge Bridge links the Egloshayle playing fields to the Jubilee fields on the other side of the river. The bridge was constructed by
Anneka RiceAnneka Rice is a British television presenter.She changed her name to Anneka when she joined the British actors' union Equity, as her birth-name had already been registered with that organisation.-Biography:Born in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, she was educated at three independent schools:...
and her team for the TV series "
Challenge AnnekaChallenge Anneka is a British television programme, produced by the independent production company Mentorn for the BBC, which aired on Friday, later Saturday evenings on BBC One between 8 September, 1989 and 15 October, 1995. It was announced in 2006 that the series is returning, but this time on...
".
Eddystone Road
In 1882 cracks started to appear in the rock on which the
Eddystone LighthouseEddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, 9 statute miles south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
was positioned. Therefore a new lighthouse had to be built. Granite was quarried from De Lank quarry and brought down to Wadebridge. The stone masons in Wadebridge dovetailed each segment of stone not only to each other but also to the course above and below. As each layer had been completed and checked to fit with the layer above it was sent out to the
EddystoneSee also Eddystone Rock, Falklands Islands and Eddystone, PennsylvaniaThe Eddystone, or the Eddystone Rocks, are a seaswept group of rocks situated some 9 statute miles south west of Rame Head in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom...
rocks from Wadebridge by sea. The Lighthouse was completed in 1882. This resulted in the road where the masons worked being called Eddystone Road.
History of the railway
The
Bodmin and Wadebridge RailwayThe Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was a railway line opened in 1834 in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It linked the important town of Bodmin with the harbour at Wadebridge and also quarries at places such as Wenford...
from Wadebridge to Wenfordbridge with a branch line to
BodminBodmin is a town in Cornwall, United Kingdom, with a population of 12,778 . It was the county town of Cornwall, until the Crown Courts moved to Truro, which is also the administrative centre. It was in Triggshire and the district of North Cornwall. Its mayor is Cllr Robert "Bob" Micek...
was built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by a local landowner and revolutionary parliamentarian Sir William Molesworth of
PencarrowPencarrow is a country house in north Cornwall, England, UK. Situated between Bodmin and Wadebridge, the house is approached by a driveway of almost one mile....
. The line was intended to carry sand from the Camel estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. The line was opened on 30 September 1834 with the locomotive “Camel” pulling a train load of 400 passengers (one of the first railways in Britain to carry passengers). When the company ordered its second locomotive it came with a name plate already affixed. It had been named the Elephant as the makers had failed to realise that the first engine had been named after the river and not an animal! The last passenger train left
Wadebridge railway stationWadebridge railway station was on the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway. It opened in 1834 to transport goods between the market town of Wadebridge, the limit of navigation on the River Camel, and inland farming and mining areas...
in 1967 following railway cut backs. The railway has been transformed into the
Camel trailThe Camel Trail is a disused and resurfaced railway line in Cornwall, United Kingdom, that provides a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders...
, and the
Bodmin and Wenford RailwayThe Bodmin & Wenford Railway is a heritage railway, based at Bodmin in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has an interchange with the national rail network at Bodmin Parkway railway station, the southern terminus of the line.-History:...
heritage railway runs on part of the route.
The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show
The
Royal Cornwall Agricultural ShowThe Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show, usually called the Royal Cornwall Show, is an agricultural show organised by the The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association, which takes place at the beginning of June each year, at Wadebridge in North Cornwall....
began in 1793 at Bodmin and then every year in East and West Cornwall alternately. In 1960 the show came to its present site, the Royal Cornwall Showground which is run by the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association and situated a mile-and-a-half (2.3 kilometres) west of Wadebridge. The showground itself is used for many different functions from
ScoutThe Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell...
JamboreesIn Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts who rally at a national or international level.The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom...
to point to point horse racing.
Historical timeline
- 1312 — Licence granted for Wade to hold a market.
- 1460 — Reverend Thomas Lovibond commenced building the bridge.
- 1646 — Oliver Cromwell and his men descended onto Wadebridge to take control of the bridge.
- 1793 — A shipping canal from Wadebridge to Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, UK. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-History:...
was surveyed.
- 1834 — The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was a railway line opened in 1834 in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It linked the important town of Bodmin with the harbour at Wadebridge and also quarries at places such as Wenford...
took its first passengers.
- 1845 — The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway became part of the London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
- 1852 — The Bridge was widened from 3 m to 5 m.
- 1882 — Work began on replacing the Eddystone lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, 9 statute miles south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
.
- 1888 — The Town Hall (then known as the Molesworth Hall) was completed.
- 1888 — The Bodmin and Wadebridge railway was connected to the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
.
- 1894 — Wadebridge Town Football Club was founded.
- 1895 — The London and South Western Railway
The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...
, reached Wadebridge from Halwill JunctionHalwill Junction Railway Station was a railway station near the villages of Halwill and Beaworthy in Devon. It opened in 1879 and formed an important junction between the now-closed Bude Branch and North Cornwall line...
and LauncestonLaunceston railway station was situated in Launceston, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was served by both the Great Western Railway and London and South Western Railway ....
.
- 1897 — A serious outbreak of typhoid in the town led to better water supplies.
- 1899 — The Bodmin and Wadebridge railway was extended to Padstow
Padstow is a small town, civil parish and cargo port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The UK Census 2001 reported a parish population of 3,162.-Geography:...
.
- 1930 — The Cinedrome (now the Regal) opened to its first customers.
- 1960 — Wadebridge was chosen as the permanent site of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show
The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show, usually called the Royal Cornwall Show, is an agricultural show organised by the The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association, which takes place at the beginning of June each year, at Wadebridge in North Cornwall....
.
- 1963 — The Bridge was widened from 5m to 12m.
- 1967 — The railway line was closed to passengers.
- 1991 — The Challenge Bridge was completed.
- 1993 — The Wadebridge Bypass was completed.
Sports
The Camel estuary offers a wide range of water sports, including
sailingSailing is the art of controlling a boat with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to change the direction and speed of a boat...
,
water skiingthumb|left|Slalom skierWaterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a motor boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water. The skier is either wearing one or two skis...
,
windsurfingWindsurfing is a surface water sport using a windsurf board usually two to four meters long and powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail...
,
surfingSurfing is most commonly known, the term is used for a surface water sport in which the person surfing moves along the face of a breaking ocean wave . However, surfing is not restricted to saltwater, but can sometimes take place on rivers, using a standing wave...
and kite surfing. Golf courses close by include Trevose and
Saint EnodocSt Minver is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minver Highlands and St Minver Lowlands .The combined parish is bounded on the south...
and St Kew.
Wadebridge has a
leisure centre which has a varied programme of sports and leisure pursuits including
Cornish wrestlingCornish wrestling is a form of wrestling similar to judo, which has been established in Cornwall for several centuries. The referee is known as a 'stickler', and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' originates from this usage...
.
Sports clubs
Wadebridge is home to the following sports clubs:
- Wadebridge Town Football Club
Wadebridge Town F.C. is a football club based in Wadebridge, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. They were established in 1894 and joined the South Western League for its second season in 1952 and remained in membership until 2007 when they joined the South West Peninsula League Division One West...
playing their home games at Bodieve park.
- Wadebridge Bowls Club playing at the bowling green in Egloshayle playing fields.
- Wadebridge Camels
Wadebridge Camels RFC is a rugby union club in Wadebridge, Cornwall who have been in existence since 1955. They currently play in the Tribute Western Counties West league after being promoted from the Cornwall & Devon League at the end of the 2006/7 season...
playing their home games at the Molesworth Field in EgloshayleEgloshayle is a small village situated near the banks of the River Camel adjacent to Wadebridge in north Cornwall, United Kingdom....
.
- Wadebridge Cricket Club playing their home games at Egloshayle
Egloshayle is a small village situated near the banks of the River Camel adjacent to Wadebridge in north Cornwall, United Kingdom....
playing fields.
- Wadebridge Tennis Club a members club with league and social tennis, and is available for public use subject to availability and paying the appropriate fee into the honesty box at the clubhouse.
- Wadebridge Swimming Club which is based at Wadebridge leisure centre.
- An archery club called Bowmen of Wadebridge
Annual events
- Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show — June
- Cornwall Folk Festival — August Bank Holiday
- Eglos Craft Fayre at Egloshayle Church— Friday 22nd to Monday 25 August 2008
- Wadebridge Carnival — July 19th, 2008
- Prime Stock Show — November
- Garden Produce Association and Chrysanthemum Show — November
Education
Wadebridge has two primary schools,
St Breock primary and
Wadebridge county primary. Wadebridge has just one secondary school
Wadebridge SchoolWadebridge School is a mixed comprehensive school in the town of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England.It has 1200 pupils. The headmaster of Wadebridge School is Miss Tina Yardley...
which has a sixth form.
Health care
There has been a group practice in Wadebridge since the early 20th century. Many of the early doctors had their surgeries operating from their homes. Today there are two health care practices in Wadebridge: the
Wadebridge and Camel Estuary Practice and the Bridge Medical Centre.
Politics and administration
Wadebridge is in the
constituency of North CornwallNorth Cornwall is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
which is currently held by the Liberal Democrat
Dan RogersonDaniel John Rogerson is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for North Cornwall, first elected at the 2005 General election.-Early life:...
.
Notable former and present residents
- Olly Barkley
Oliver John Barkley is an English rugby union player who plays at fly-half or centre for Bath and England. Uniquely, Barkley played for his country before making his full senior club début.-Early career:...
– current England rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
international player
- Michaela Breeze
Michaela Alica Breeze is a Welsh weightlifter. Breeze was born in Watford and raised in Cornwall. Educated at Wadebridge School, Breeze started weightlifting under the guidance of PE teacher Dave Allen...
– Commonwealth weightliftingPowerlifting is a strength sport, consisting of three events: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.Powerlifting resembles the sport of olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. It evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same 3...
champion
- Sir Goldsworthy Gurney
Sir Goldsworthy Gurney was a surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder and prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor of the Victorian period....
– surgeon based in Wadebridge from 1814 who invented the Bude-LightBude-Light is a very bright oil lamp that works by introducing oxygen into the centre of an Argand burner. It was invented by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney and named after the place where he lived: Bude, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They were used to light the House of Commons for over 50 yearsA new light...
. A street in Wadebridge has subsequently been named after him (Goldsworthy Way)
- Francis Hurdon
Francis Hurdon was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Bruce South in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Conservative member....
– prominent figure in Canadian politics.
- Andrew Ridgeley
Andrew John Ridgeley is an English pop singer, guitarist and environmentalist born to Jennipher and Albert Ridgeley. His late mother was British and his father is Egyptian-Italian...
– member of the pop music duo, Wham!Wham! was a British duo formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK because of a naming conflict with another band.-Beginnings:...
- Sgt Steven Roberts – the first solder to die in the invasion of Iraq
Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
- Jethro
Jethro is the stage name of British stand-up comedian Geoffrey Rowe, based at Lewdown in Devon. Rowe was born in 1948 in St Buryan, a village in west Cornwall....
- (Geoffrey Rowe) a comedian who formerly lived in Wadebridge for many years
- Annie Vernon
Annabel Morwenna Vernon is an English rower.She was educated at Wadebridge School, Downing College, Cambridge and King's College London ....
– 2007 World Rowing Champion Women's Quad Sculls
- Michael White
Michael White is an associate editor and former political editor of The Guardian. White was raised in Wadebridge, Cornwall. He was educated at Bodmin Grammar School and then studied for a BA in History at University College London...
- journalist, Associate Editor and former Political Editor of The Guardian
- Keren Woodward
Keren Woodward is an English pop singer and songwriter from the girl band Bananarama.She was working at the BBC when she met Siobhan Fahey and Sarah Dallin...
– pop singer and songwriter from the girl band BananaramaBananarama are an all-female pop group who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Although there have been line-up changes during the years, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio, made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin...
.
- The Rip - hair metal band from the noughties
Media
Cornish Guardian is a weekly newspaper: it is published in 7 separate editions, including the Wadebridge edition.
Town twinning
- Langaeg
Langueux is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in north-western France.-External links:* *...
, BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
- Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town in southern Powys, mid Wales, with a population of roughly 8,000 with around 6,000 in the surrounding area...
, PowysPowys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
External links