West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
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Template:GBthumb West Bridgford is a leafy suburb of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies south of the city boundary, delimited by the River Trent, and forms the largest town in the borough of Rushcliffe. As part of the Rushcliffe Constituency its MP is The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, QC (Conservative Party). The town is home to Nottinghamshire County Council, as the traditional county town, Nottingham, is now administratively independent from the county.
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History
Most of the main streets in West Bridgford are named after wealthy families that dominated the town's early history - however new developments that in effect are suburbs of a suburb are named after different subjects i.e the Gamston development has roads named after the Lake District, and Compton Acres has roads named after Dorset and the Purbeck Coast.
There are no Streets in West Bridgford. When the origional town was planned in the Victorian period the roads were all given names ie. Musters Street, South Street, but the planners thought the term Street was too urban, thus changing them to Road, so we have Musters Road and South Road. The only 'Street' in the town is Village Street in Edwalton.
West Bridgford is notably different to the other suburbs of Nottingham in a variety of ways. During the Victorian periods Nottingham was growing fast, but development in West Bridgford was prohibited as the land was almost totally owned by one owner - The Musters family.
Eventually after much pressure Musters sold out, but applied strict planning regulations to the area known as the WEST BRIDGFORD ESTATE. The town was planned over a grid of tree lined streets. The main roads such as Musters Road had restrictions on density of housing and housing size ie. all houses were specified a certain amount of bedrooms etc etc. Smaller houses were permitted on side streets, and terraces on roads such as Exchange Road were erected for the servants of the wealthy Nottingham merchants who bought up property in West Bridgford.
What has resulted from these strict plans is a community that is still very separate from Nottingham . The town has no formal ties with Nottingham, and the residents pride themselves on not speaking with the distinctive Nottingham northern accent.
Historically West Bridgford is called "Bread and Lard Island" by the people of Nottingham who believed that as West Bridgfordians spent all their money on big houses and fur coats, behind closed doors all they could afford to east was bread and lard. West Bridgford is still attributed as the most prestigious suburb of Nottingham, not suffering from the urban problems of some of the cities less wealthy suburbs.
In 1974 West Bridgford Urban District Council, which governed West Bridgford, Edwalton and Gamston, was abolished and replaced by Rushcliffe Borough Council, which governed the entire borough of Rushcliffe. This has resulted in a somewhat lost identity for West Bridgford, with not town or parish council.
As West Bridgford expanded in the Victorian and Edwardian periods The West Bridgford Protection Society was formed that worked hard to prevent any licensed premises being opened in West Bridgford. This has meant that there have been a relatively small number of pubs in the area until recent years.
The first pub in West Bridgford was the Trent Bridge Inn, next to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. Soon after planning was granted for the historic Test Match Inn, Wolds pub and Nottingham Knight. Many of these establishments are called 'Inns' as public houses were prohibited in West Bridgford, but hotels more acceptable. In reality places like the Test Match Inn never operated as a hotel.
Population:
Geography
West Bridgford is bordered on the north side by the River Trent, spanned by two road bridges, Trent Bridge and Lady Bay Bridge, and one footbridge. Two spans of the original mediaeval bridge still remain, surrounded by a traffic island on the south side of the river.
Neighbourhoods
Nearby Places
- Nottingham to the north
- Holme Pierrepont to the east
- Gamston to the south-east
- Edwalton to the south
- Clifton to the south-west
- Wilford to the north-west
West Bridgford should not be confused with East Bridgford, which lies some miles away and is much smaller.
Sport
Home to Nottingham Forest Football Club, Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and the Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre, West Bridgford is world renowned for its sporting heritage.
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is one of the worlds first and only Test Match locations, and has been described as the finest Test Cricket location in the former British Empire.
Retail
West Bridgford's main shopping district runs from Central Avenue, through Tudor Square, to Gordon Road. There are a few corporate chain stores such as Vision Express, Boots, Greggs, Blockbuster Video, Argos and Pizza Hut. These established chains mix with a variety of charity shops and local cafes and restaurants, including the No. 8 Deli. Cafe Nero opened a new outlet in late 2005, whilst Marks and Spencers likewise opened a food supermarket in early 2006. Central West Bridgford, following a large urban planning operation in 2000 has become a location for expensive food shops including Number 8, delicatessen on Gordon Road and the new Marks and Spencer.
West Bridgford nightlife has been growing in recent years, particularly after the opening of new drinking establishments such as Bar des Amis, Monkey Tree and the Pearl. Other drinking establishments include the long running Cabaret on Central Avenue, the Test Match, the Stratford Haven, and Trent Bridge Inn. A new bar and grill called Fire and Ice recently opened on Bridgford Road. Many of the pubs and bars in West Bridgford are frequented by people who live South of Nottingham, before heading onto the larger bars and clubs in Nottingham itself.
West Bridgford has a place in British retail history as the location of the UK's first major out-of-town shopping development. In 1964 an American company called GEM opened a store on Loughbrough Road, West Bridgford. GEM operated a system of concessions such that Boots, for example, initially operated the pharmacy department within GEM. However, despite ambitious expansion plans, GEM's British operations were not a success, with only one other store (at Crossgates, Leeds) being opened. National concessionaires withdrew from the stores, and in 1966 the fledgling ASDA company acquired a controlling interest in the GEM operations. The Loughbrough Road site still houses a major ASDA store although this was resited and rebuilt some years ago. (for a fuller history of the site and GEM, see Whysall (2005) in International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 15(2), 111-124).
Education
Parts of Nottingham Trent University and South Nottingham College are both situated in or close to West Bridgford.
There are also two state funded secondary schools, West Bridgford Comprehensive and Rushcliffe Comprehensive. The Becket School is the local Catholic school. The private Grosvenor School is also located on Melton Road in Edwalton.
The amount of highly ranked schools in West Bridgford are attributed as a reason for its expensive real estate. This twinned with the gentile nature of the town, facilities such as David Lloyd health club, Leisure centre and its proximity to the beautiful South Nottinghamshire countryside of the Vale of Belvour ensure West Bridgford is a popular location for families to live.
Recently vacant plots and former petrol stations have been developed into appartments and condominiums. This has been heavily contested by the outwardly Conservative and unadventerous residents. It must be noted however that all of the developemts are sympathetic and highly successful.