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Wadebridge
Wadebridge (/weɪˈbrɪdʒ/; Cornish: Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles (eight kilometres) upstream from Padstow. At the 2021 census the population of the parish was 6,811 and the population of the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics (which excludes the Egloshayle part of the parish) was 5,625.
Originally known as Wade, it was a dangerous fording point across the river until a bridge was built here in the 15th century, after which the name changed to its present form. The bridge was strategically important during the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell went there to take it. Since then, it has been widened twice and refurbished in 1991.
Wadebridge was served by a railway station between 1834 and 1967; part of the line now forms the Camel Trail, a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The town used to be a road traffic bottleneck on the A39 road until it was bypassed in 1991, and the main shopping street, Molesworth Street, is now pedestrianised.
The town has a secondary school where several notable sports-people were educated. The Royal Cornwall Show is a three-day agricultural show held at the nearby Royal Cornwall Showground every June, and the 5-day Cornwall Folk Festival takes place around the August Bank Holiday.
The initial settlement of Wade (the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built) came about due to a ford in the River Camel (Camel probably meaning "crooked one"). The early crossing had a chapel on each side of the river, "King's" chapel on the north side and "St Michael's" on the south side. People would pray for a safe crossing at one of the chapels before wading across at low tide, once they had made it the other side they would give thanks to God in the other chapel. In 1312, a licence was granted for a market at Wade by Edward II who also granted two fairs annually; on the feast of Saint Vitalis and at Michaelmas. Wade was part of the parish of St Breock and the river separated it from the neighbouring parish of Egloshayle.[citation needed]
At some time the ford was supplemented by a ferry until the Reverend Thomas Lovibond (the vicar of Egloshayle) became distressed at the number of humans and animals that died during the crossing of the River Camel so he planned the building of a bridge which was completed in 1468. Wade then became known as Wadebridge. When John Leland travelled through Cornwall in the early 16th century he wrote that the piers were resting on packs of wool. Begun in 1468 and completed in 1485, the bridge was traditionally known as the "Bridge on Wool" because it was reputedly built on wool sacks. In fact, however, it has been proven to be founded directly on the underlying bedrock.
The bridge was a strategic position in the English Civil War as in 1646 Oliver Cromwell came with 500 Dragoons and 1,000 horsemen to take the bridge. When the bridge was first completed tolls were charged for its maintenance. In 1853, it was widened from 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet). A second widening took place in 1952 and then in 1963 it was again widened taking it to 12 m (39 ft).
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway from Wadebridge to Wenfordbridge with branch lines to Bodmin and Ruthernbridge was built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by local landowner Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line was intended to carry sand from the Camel Estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. It was opened on 30 September 1834 with the locomotive Camel pulling a train load of 400 passengers (one of the first railways in Britain to carry passengers). When the company ordered its second locomotive it came with a name plate already affixed. It had been named the Elephant as the makers had failed to realise that the first engine had been named after the river and not an animal.
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Wadebridge AI simulator
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Wadebridge
Wadebridge (/weɪˈbrɪdʒ/; Cornish: Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles (eight kilometres) upstream from Padstow. At the 2021 census the population of the parish was 6,811 and the population of the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics (which excludes the Egloshayle part of the parish) was 5,625.
Originally known as Wade, it was a dangerous fording point across the river until a bridge was built here in the 15th century, after which the name changed to its present form. The bridge was strategically important during the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell went there to take it. Since then, it has been widened twice and refurbished in 1991.
Wadebridge was served by a railway station between 1834 and 1967; part of the line now forms the Camel Trail, a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The town used to be a road traffic bottleneck on the A39 road until it was bypassed in 1991, and the main shopping street, Molesworth Street, is now pedestrianised.
The town has a secondary school where several notable sports-people were educated. The Royal Cornwall Show is a three-day agricultural show held at the nearby Royal Cornwall Showground every June, and the 5-day Cornwall Folk Festival takes place around the August Bank Holiday.
The initial settlement of Wade (the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built) came about due to a ford in the River Camel (Camel probably meaning "crooked one"). The early crossing had a chapel on each side of the river, "King's" chapel on the north side and "St Michael's" on the south side. People would pray for a safe crossing at one of the chapels before wading across at low tide, once they had made it the other side they would give thanks to God in the other chapel. In 1312, a licence was granted for a market at Wade by Edward II who also granted two fairs annually; on the feast of Saint Vitalis and at Michaelmas. Wade was part of the parish of St Breock and the river separated it from the neighbouring parish of Egloshayle.[citation needed]
At some time the ford was supplemented by a ferry until the Reverend Thomas Lovibond (the vicar of Egloshayle) became distressed at the number of humans and animals that died during the crossing of the River Camel so he planned the building of a bridge which was completed in 1468. Wade then became known as Wadebridge. When John Leland travelled through Cornwall in the early 16th century he wrote that the piers were resting on packs of wool. Begun in 1468 and completed in 1485, the bridge was traditionally known as the "Bridge on Wool" because it was reputedly built on wool sacks. In fact, however, it has been proven to be founded directly on the underlying bedrock.
The bridge was a strategic position in the English Civil War as in 1646 Oliver Cromwell came with 500 Dragoons and 1,000 horsemen to take the bridge. When the bridge was first completed tolls were charged for its maintenance. In 1853, it was widened from 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet). A second widening took place in 1952 and then in 1963 it was again widened taking it to 12 m (39 ft).
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway from Wadebridge to Wenfordbridge with branch lines to Bodmin and Ruthernbridge was built at a cost of £35,000 following a study commissioned in 1831 by local landowner Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line was intended to carry sand from the Camel Estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. It was opened on 30 September 1834 with the locomotive Camel pulling a train load of 400 passengers (one of the first railways in Britain to carry passengers). When the company ordered its second locomotive it came with a name plate already affixed. It had been named the Elephant as the makers had failed to realise that the first engine had been named after the river and not an animal.
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