Bedford

Bedford, unitary authority, south-central England. It is bounded to the northeast by Cambridgeshire, to the southeast and south by Central Bedfordshire, to the southwest by Milton Keynes, and to the northwest by Northamptonshire. The administrative centre is Bedford town. The borough (district) of Bedford became a unitary authority in 2009 as result of the reorganization of the former administrative county of Bedfordshire. The unitary authority lies almost entirely within the historic county of Bedfordshire, except for a small area northwest of Pertenhall that belongs to the historic county of Huntingdonshire. The unitary authority also includes the town of Kempston and dozens of villages, hamlets, and other rural parishes. It spans a section of the winding, broad valley of the River Ouse. The clay soils of the area are used for growing a variety of agricultural products. Limestone exposed in the Great Ouse valley northwest of the town of Bedford was formerly used as building stone in the small riverside villages. Brickmaking has a long history in the area and was centred on the town of Stewartby, southwest of Bedford town, utilizing the local heavy Oxford clays. Stewartby was originally known as Wootton Pillinge but was renamed for the Stewart family, who were responsible for its development as a model village in the 1920s. Although Stewartby at one time was home to the largest brickworks in the world, brickmaking operations there ceased in 2008. Area 184 square miles (476 square km). Pop. (2001) 147,913; (2011) 157,479.