By Tim Lambert
Early Bradford on Avon
Bradford means broad ford. Avon is from Afon, the Celtic word for river. The Celts were the original inhabitants of what is now England, but the Anglo-Saxons invaded Eastern England in the 5th century, and they gradually pushed westwards. Bradford on Avon was first mentioned in the year 652 when a Saxon king fought a battle there.
It is said that sometime in the late 7th century, St Aldhelm founded a monastery at Bradford. The Church of St Laurence was built about 1000 AD. Holy Trinity Church was built in the middle of the 12th century.
In 1086, the time of the Domesday Book, Bradford on Avon was a large settlement. It may have had a population of 400. (Most villages were much smaller). It had 2 watermills to grind grain to flour.
In the Middle Ages, Bradford on Avon was a small but important market town. Its main industry was wool, which was woven in the town. A stone bridge across the river was built in the 13th century. A tithe barn was built in the 14th century.
For centuries, Bradford on Avon was a prosperous little town because of the wool industry. A grammar school was built in 1712.
Henry Shrapnel, the man who invented the shrapnel shell, was born in Bradford on Avon in 1761.
Modern Bradford on Avon
The Kennet and Avon, which passes through Bradford on Avon, fully opened in 1810.
In 1851, the population of Bradford on Avon was 3,836. By the standards of the time it was a small town. Bradford gained gaslight in 1834. Bradford on Avon town hall was built in 1855. The railway reached Bradford on Avon in 1857. In 1883, Bradford on Avon gained a piped water supply.
From the mid-19th century, there was a rubber factory in Bradford on Avon, but it closed in 1993. Meanwhile, the last wool mill in Bradford closed in 1905.
In 1923, Bradford on Avon gained a public library. (The present building opened in 1990). The same year, a museum was founded in the town.
Meanwhile, Bradford on Avon Swimming Pool opened in 1971. The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford on Avon opened in 1989. The Wiltshire Music Centre opened in 1998. The Millie statue was unveiled in 2000. In 2012, the McKeever Bridge was dedicated to Ed McKeever, a kayaker who won an Olympic Gold Medal.
Today, Bradford on Avon is a charming little town popular with tourists. In 2025, the population of Bradford on Avon was 10,500.