Wadebridge

Wadebridge
Looking along The Platt towards Wadebridge Town Hall
Wadebridge is located in Cornwall
Wadebridge
Wadebridge
Location within Cornwall
Population7,900 (2011)
OS grid referenceSW990725
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWADEBRIDGE
Postcode districtPL27
Dialling code01208
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°31′01″N 4°50′06″W / 50.517°N 4.835°W / 50.517; -4.835
The Old Bridge
Looking towards the Methodist church from the bridge

Wadebridge (/ˈweɪdbrɪdʒ/; Cornish: Ponswad[3]) 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.[4] The permanent population was 6,222 in the census of 2001, increasing to 7,900 in the 2011 census.[5] There are two electoral wards in the town (East and West). Their total population is 8,272.[6][7]

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.

  1. ^ "Cornwall County Council Website". Cornwall County Council. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Wadebridge Town Council Website". Wadebridge Town Council. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. ^ "List of Place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel" (PDF). Cornish Language Partnership. May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 Newquay & Bodmin ISBN 978-0-319-22938-5
  5. ^ "Town population 2011". Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Wadebridge West population 2011". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Wadebridge east population 2011". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.