About Bedlington

County: Northumberland
Region: North East
Country: England
Established: circa 1050
Population: 18,470

The name Bedlington is first mentioned around 1050 in a biography of Saint Cuthbert, where it appears as Bedlingtun. The name means the town of Bedla's people.

Bedlington has evidence of habitation from the Bronze Age, with a burial site being located just behind the main Front Street. A cluster of Bronze Age cist burials were discovered during excavation of the site in the 1930s. St Cuthbert's Church is the longest standing building in the town, with parts of this dating back to the 11th century and recently celebrated being 1000 years old. The church is in the heart of the original sandstone conservation town centre.

Bedlington and the hamlets belonging to it were bought by Cutheard, Bishop of Durham, between 900 and 915, and although locally in the county of Northumberland, it became part of the county palatine of Durham, over which Bishop Walcher was granted royal rights by William the Conqueror.

Bedlingtonshire was made part of Northumberland by acts of parliament in 1832 and 1844.
Bedlington became an industrial town with an iron works and several coal mines.

At key points in history, before and during the Industrial Revolution, goods made in Bedlington made it to all corners of the globe through the distribution of nails and trains that were made in Bedlington from some 250 years ago. With large industry first being attracted to Bedlington over 250 years ago, in the form of its world-renowned iron works, mining became an intrinsic part of Bedlington from 1838.

The coal industry remained at the heart of the town until the closure of the mines in the 1980s.

Subsequent closure of these industries in the latter half of the 20th century caused the town to undergo many changes, becoming more of a dormitory town for those working in the surrounding areas.

The last of the residential housing estates, formerly built for the mining families of the town, were taken over and razed by the council with residents evicted from the 'Pit Rows' estate in the early to mid 1970s, as was part and parcel of the government's national policy of this time.

Today Bedlington's Front Street is host to a number of well-established eating and drinking venues, and there is an emergence of new establishments and retailers entering the town.

Most of the medieval town has disappeared with many of the historic buildings and factories being demolished over the years, but there are still some Georgian and Victorian buildings along the main Front Street.

Bedlington is probably best known for being the home of the Bedlington Terrier. Bedlington Terriers were also known as Rothbury Terriers and Rothbury Lambs.

Bedlington Terriers were used to hunt for small game and help keep the vermin population down.