The Entrance to the Northern Burh
![]()
We don’t know exactly when the burh’s were built, but we do know that:
"Bedford had certainly become a place of importance by AD 885, when it was used as a key point on the Danelaw boundary and there was definitely a town there by AD 914. In that year Earl Thurcytel and other Danish leaders went from Bedford to Buckingham to submit to King Edward there.’(Crawley and Freeman)
So the burh’s possibly came into existence some time before AD 885. Before the burh's were formed, these roads would have gone directly to the ancient crossing point at the river.
Offal Lane
The street's of Bedford have nearly all had several names in their long history. The first map of Bedford was made in 1610 by John Speed. Speed’s map only shows the north corner of St. Peters Green with the start of Offal Lane (now The Broadway) at the very top. By 1765 it is included as far as the present junction with Wellington Street. Tavistock Street as we know it would have been a route into Bedford.
Offal Lane was so called as this was the place where Bedford's inhabitants dumped their rubbish and offal on the outskirts of town. During the 18th Century the name was briefly changed to Offa Street - a name with quite different associations - it refers to King Offa, a great Mercian King who was rumoured to be buried in Bedford.
St. Peter's Green
The streets and fields of Bedford were documented very precisely in a document made in 1506-7 at Newnham Piory. It records that near St. Peter's a now disappeared lane 'Cucking-stool Lane' ran northwards towards a pond 'where scolds or witches might be ducked'.
![]()
Foster Hill Road
Foster Hill Road is in line with the ancient river crossing point, and was originally a continuation of the High Street with only a slight deviation at St Peter's. It was known as Clapham Park Way in the Middle Ages, and as Little Berry Lane by the 1765 map though many paths had more than one name so these could be alternative names. A footpath still carries the old line as far as Clapham Park although the modem road finishes at the Cemetery.
De Parys Avenue
The reason that Tavistock Street, Foster Hill Road, St. Peter's Street and Dame Alice Street converge at this point is that this would have been the entrance to Bedford's Northern Burh. A burh is a fortified town. Bedford would have been walled, and there was a gate at this point.
We don’t know exactly when the burh’s were built, but we do know that:
"Bedford had certainly become a place of importance by AD 885, when it was used as a key point on the Danelaw boundary and there was definitely a town there by AD 914. In that year Earl Thurcytel and other Danish leaders went from Bedford to Buckingham to submit to King Edward there.’(Crawley and Freeman)
So the burh’s possibly came into existence some time before AD 885. Before the burh's were formed, these roads would have gone directly to the ancient crossing point at the river.
Offal Lane
The street's of Bedford have nearly all had several names in their long history. The first map of Bedford was made in 1610 by John Speed. Speed’s map only shows the north corner of St. Peters Green with the start of Offal Lane (now The Broadway) at the very top. By 1765 it is included as far as the present junction with Wellington Street. Tavistock Street as we know it would have been a route into Bedford.
Offal Lane was so called as this was the place where Bedford's inhabitants dumped their rubbish and offal on the outskirts of town. During the 18th Century the name was briefly changed to Offa Street - a name with quite different associations - it refers to King Offa, a great Mercian King who was rumoured to be buried in Bedford.
St. Peter's Green
The streets and fields of Bedford were documented very precisely in a document made in 1506-7 at Newnham Piory. It records that near St. Peter's a now disappeared lane 'Cucking-stool Lane' ran northwards towards a pond 'where scolds or witches might be ducked'.
Foster Hill Road
Foster Hill Road is in line with the ancient river crossing point, and was originally a continuation of the High Street with only a slight deviation at St Peter's. It was known as Clapham Park Way in the Middle Ages, and as Little Berry Lane by the 1765 map though many paths had more than one name so these could be alternative names. A footpath still carries the old line as far as Clapham Park although the modem road finishes at the Cemetery.
De Parys Avenue is a relatively new addition. The broad avenue cuts through farmland bought from St. John’s Hospital in the early 1880s, and it was named after the founder of the Hospital, Robert de Parys. This was part of a whole raft of quintessentially Victorian town improvements initiated at the same time that included the laying of Bedford Park, the extension of the Embankment, and the construction of the Suspension Bridge. Where De Parys Avenue joins the confluence of roads once stood a large house, last occupied by a French noble, the Vicomte Visme. It is possible that this is the house that can be seen in the background of this watercolour by Edward Hull.
 |
| St. Peter's Green, Edward Hull, 1858 |
No comments:
Post a Comment