A History of Bideford (1800 - 1979)

Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in North Devon, South-West England.

Bideford Long Bridge spans the River Torridge near its estuary and connects the old part of the town, Bideford on the left bank (west side) with East-the-Water on the right bank (east side). It is one of the longest mediaeval bridges in England, being 677 feet (222 yards) long with 24 arches.

In ancient records, the town is recorded as Bedeford, Byddyfrod, Bedyford, Bydeford, Bytheford, Biddeford.

However, the town is more properly known as Bideford, which is a compound of the Saxon words: BI = "situated" and FORD = "a shallow place in the river that may be easily passed over".

The etymology of the name therefore literally means "by the ford", and records show that, before the now famous Long Bridge existed, there was a ford at Bideford crossing the River Torridge.

This is the first book in a 14 volume series detailing the extensive and fascinating history of the famous "Little White Town in Devon, UK, known as Bideford.

The topics of the book range from the detailed intricacies of the construction of the famous long bridge of Bideford, to the unbelievable scandals involved in the famous trial of the Bideford residents Temperance Lloyd, Mary Tremble and Susanna Edwards; the last women to be charged with witchcraft in England.

Most importantly, all of these historical events are recounted according to their specific relevance to the town of Bideford.

It is a particularly fascinating journey to trace how Bideford evolved from very humble beginnings to later become one of the most important port towns in the whole of England.