Bedford (redirected from Bedford, Bedfordshire)

Bedford, town, England

Bedford, town (1991 pop. 75,632), county seat of Bedfordshire, central England, on the Ouse River. It is an important industrial center; diesel engines, pumps, turbines, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, and transistors are the chief manufactures. Bedford is also a fluid dynamics research center. A battlefield for Britons and Saxons in the 6th cent., Bedford was the scene of an important Saxon defeat in 571. St. Peter's Church contains examples of Saxon stone carvings. John Bunyan is commemorated by a chapel on the site of a building where he preached in the 17th cent. Bedford School, in existence since the 12th cent., is one of the largest public schools in England.

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Bedford, cities, United States

Bedford.

1 City (1990 pop. 13,817), seat of Lawrence co., S Ind.; inc. 1889. Bedford limestone, quarried there and shipped all over the world, was used in the construction of the Empire State Building and the Pentagon. The city also has several small industrial plants and a foundry. Carvings and the many old stone buildings and houses are notable.

2 Town (1990 pop. 12,996), Middlesex co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston; settled c.1637, inc. 1729. Several pre-Revolutionary houses remain.

3 City (1990 pop. 14,822), Cuyahoga co., NE Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland; settled c.1813 on the site of a Moravian settlement (1786), inc. as a city 1931. Although chiefly residential, it has plants that manufacture office furniture, china, rubber goods, auto parts, processed foods, and tools.

4 City (1990 pop. 43,762), Tarrant co., N Tex., a suburb of Fort Worth; settled c.1843, inc. 1954. Manufactures include plastic molds and telecommunications equipment.

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Bedford

City (pop., 1995 est.: 81,000), southeast-central England. The administrative seat of Bedfordshire, it lies on the River Ouse northwest of London. It was a Roman fording station and a Saxon town. It was recaptured by the Anglo-Saxons from the Danes in 914. John Bunyan is thought to have written A Pilgrim's Progress while imprisoned there in the 17th century.

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Bedford¹

1. David. born 1937, British composer, influenced by rock music

2. Duke of, title of John of Lancaster. 1389--1435, son of Henry IV of England: protector of England and regent of France (1422--35)

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Bedford²

1. a town in SE central England, administrative centre of Bedfordshire, on the River Ouse. Pop.: 82 488 (2001)

2. short for Bedfordshire