Bedford, Leigh

Bedford
St Thomas's Church
History
• Created	Middle Ages
• Abolished	1875
• Succeeded by	Leigh Urban District,
Status	Township

Bedford, a suburb of Leigh, Greater Manchester is one of three ancient townships, Bedford, Pennington and Westleigh, that merged in 1875 to form the town of Leigh. Historically, Bedford was in Lancashire.

Bedford means the "ford of Beda", which crossed the Pennington Brook, probably near Beaston Bridge on Warrington Road. It was recorded as Beneford in 1200–21 and Bedeford in 1200 and 1296.

The manor, held of the Botelers of Warrington, was divided before the time from which records survive. Bedford Hall never assumed the role of a manor house and was occupied by tenants of the Kighleys who were absentee landlords. In 1301 half of the manor was held by the Kighleys, a quarter by the Sales who lived at the moated Hopecarr Hall and the rest by John Waverton of Brick House. Thomas Shuttleworth lived at Sandypool which was taken from the Kighley share.

The area was rural and a small settlement grew at Butts where the road to Warrington branched from the Leigh to Manchester road. Several inns were built near the junction and in 1641 there was a shop selling "cheese, gunpowder, hops, tobacco and a variety of other goods". A corn mill was built by the Breaston Brook.

Agriculture, fustian weaving and mining from small coal pits near the Astley and Tyldesley border were the chief occupations until the Bridgewater Canal promoted the development of industry and rapid increases in population during the 19th century. Bedford Brewery was founded in 1823. Corn mills powered by steam were built at the canal basin by Butts Bridge in 1831 to process wheat imported from the prairies of America through the Port of Liverpool. Bickham and Pownall built a silk mill in Duke Street in 1833 and Richard le Mare, a French Huguenot immigrant, opened a silk weaving shed in Brewery Lane in 1859. After 1845 the Bedford Foundry made agricultural machinery and fire ranges in premises near the canal.