Bletchley, Milton Keynes
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Template:Infobox England place with map UA Bletchley is a town in what is now Milton Keynes new city, England. It is formally in the Borough of Milton Keynes unitary authority, though until the administrative boundary change in 1995 it was in Buckinghamshire. It is situated in the south-west of the city but still retains a distinctive identity. Bletchley is split between the parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.
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Origin
The town name is Anglo Saxon and means Blæcca's wood. It was first recorded in manorial rolls in the 12th century as Blechelai.
Development
Bletchley is located on the Roman road Watling Street, and was also a major Victorian railway junction (the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford-Cambridge line), which led to the huge urban growth in the town in that period. Bletchley railway station is now one of the five stations which serve Milton Keynes.
At Fenny Stratford, Bletchley is also linked to London, the Midlands and the UK canal network via the Grand Union Canal.
In the urban growth of the Victorian period brought by the railway, the town merged with nearby Fenny Stratford. In the early 1960s, there was a further substantial expansion of the town, with people from London being relocated by the Greater London Council, mainly to the south of Water Eaton. But it was "The Plan for Milton Keynes" that brough the most dramatic change to the fortunes of Bletchley.
Milton Keynes
Image:Arms-bletchley.jpg Main article Milton Keynes
Bletchley was included in the "designated area" when the New City of Milton Keynes was founded in 1967. Bletchley thrived in the early years of the growth of the new city, since it was the main shopping area. Bletchley centre was altered considerably when the Brunel Shopping Centre was built in the early 1970s. Previously, Queensway — formerly known as Bletchley Road — was a continuous run from Buckingham Road near the railway station right into Fenny Stratford. The boom came to an abrupt end when the new City Centre was built and, in recent years, commercial Bletchley has declined.
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford parish
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West Bletchley parish
Template:Main Most districts of West Bletchley are residential and are described in the main article, but the districts of Denbigh and Bletchley Park are important enough to be sumarised here.
Denbigh
For many years, Denbigh has been an important employment area: perhaps its most famous resident is Marshall Amplifiers. The parish name is misleading: Denbigh is to the north-east of central Bletchley.
In 2005, large commercial developments occurred outside Bletchley, although still in the civil parish of West Bletchley. The supermarket chain ASDA-Wal-Mart and the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA built large stores at Denbigh North, northeast of the town centre on Watling Street, and Tesco responded by expanding its Fenny Stratford store (also on Watling Street). Whether or not these new developments accelerate the decline of the town centre remains to be seen.
This same area of development is also home to the new Denbigh Stadium for Milton Keynes Dons F.C., who will move from their current home at the National Hockey Stadium some time in 2006. Since the away fans will arrive via Bletchley railway station, this may bring some added business to the town.
Bletchley Park
- Main article Bletchley Park
Image:Bletchley Park IMG 3626.JPG Within the parish is Bletchley Park, which, during the Second World War, was home to the Government Code and Cypher School. The German Enigma code was cracked here by, amongst others, Alan Turing. Another cipher machine was solved with the aid of early computing devices, known as Colossus. The park is now a museum.
References
- Edward Legg, Early History of Bletchley Park 1235– 1937, Bletchley Park Trust Historic Guides series, No. 1, 1999no:Bletchley, Milton Keynes