Bedworth and Nuneaton

For anyone who has not been inside Bedworth's almshouses they should put 18th August and 8th September in their diaries. Many people welcome the chance to learn more about these wonderful 1840 buildings, how they came to be built, and the history behind them. The tour will visit the pumphouse and the magnificent governors dining room. A cup of tea will be provided at the end of the tour which lasts about 90 minutes. There will be two tours on Saturday 18th August. The first starts at 1pm and the second is at 3pm. Booking is advisable and places can be booked at the Heritage Centre in Bedworth or by phoning 024 7661 9126 or emailing jkburton@tiscali.co.uk. The almshouses will also be open on Heritage Open Weekend, Saturday 8th September from 10.30-2.30. There will be log books on display from the old Central Schools, original plans of the schools and other items of interest from the archives of the Nicholas Chamberlaine Charity which dates from 1715. For those still not bored with the Olympics there is an exhibition running in the Bedworth Heritage Centres about Bedworth's Olympians with a special look at Nick Skelton and his gold medal. Nick was born in Bedworth in 1957 and the family first opened a chemist shop in the town in 1852. No gold post box but we tried.

Hi all I think that Nick would have needed two gold medals to have had his home town given a gold post box, but even without, Bedworth is well worth a visit. It's a pity that the comedian, the late Les Dawson said in the Civic Hall that he came to Bedworth once before, but it was shut! On a dry day, the parks & gardens are very pleasing to visit. I know how odd that I am, but at home I have never ever wanted our gardens to be formal, prefering them to be more like meadow, which gives me the illusion that I am living out in the sticks. So, I always enjoy formal parkland & flower bed gardens, when they are mowed by someone else.

Not if the Bedworth folk have any thing to do with it, it won't be replaced, they are not happy with what they have allowed the new Tesco they have built and the old houses which they knocked down and a butcher, he helped out for a while I was told, their answer they won't get voted in again they'll make sure to that, my shopping town close to me very friendly people and polite and a gorgeous park right in the town.

Thank you I was in seeing the ribbon and jubilee you had, always seem to miss you there. I have an old print of three ladies singing in an old church, the organ has candles on it. It comes from the two little old cottages just over the bridge down Coalpitfields which were down an entry at the rear of the houses on Coalpitfields Road, where Mrs Beers and Billy Ball lived in them. Austin Beers gave it to me, her son. I've been told they knocked them down, toilet was outside, black leaded grate to cook on in living room, two doors off the living room, one was a tiny room with a sink to the right, a few shelves, the kitchen, lol and no window, the other door was a stairs to a bedroom that had a bit of a wall to another bit of room. Did most of my courting there, Austin was my ex-husband's friend. You probably know my father in law Gilbert Franklin who worked for Edwards taxis

Hi Dreamtime, The clock was the correct time, showing 12.15pm. The funeral was at 1pm, so you can see, travelling by bus, I was there in plenty of time. I had already eaten my ham batch from Harry's. I always stick to priorities in life & good food is always very high on the list.

Don't know if you heard free radio, they said they were going to get a petition for a gold post box in Bedworth and when he heard about the chemist said he was going to phone the post office again

I think that gold post boxes are now last week's news. It's disappointing that Bedworth lost out but I understand that it was Nick's choice which one was painted. The town certainly tried last week, several of us, including the mayor did radio interviews and the local newspapers carried the story but to no avail.

I have wondered for ages whether he was related to the chemist's - we used to use them in the 70's! Glad that mystery has been cleared up!

Such a shame he didn't win on his own and decided not to choose Bedworth which could have given them a bigger boost, but at least on the tv Olympics it did state Bedworth more.

Hot off the press. It appears that Bedworth is now having a gold post box after a request from Nick Skelton. It should be in tomorrow's Telegraph.

Brilliant news - thanks for letting us know!

Gold post box has arrived.

LOL

So pleased Bedworth has got a gold post box, your picture, I recall the road being straight through and Debenhams with their wooden drawers which had underwear in. Debenhams was on the other side by where Woolworths was. Also the Hit and Miss pub on the corner where now the florist is and the bus stops along the road by the Almshouses also where the market used to be.

Can anyone relate to one of my very earliest memories? My grandparents (Walsgrave-based Bicknells) actually owned a car (!!!) when I was four or five (would have been 1951-52), and I remember them taking me, with my parents, to a pub in Bed'th run by a friend - someone called Ben. The pub was close to a (railway?) bridge decorated with a large advert for Guinness. As a little kid, I was fascinated by the "man-in-the-moon" face of the Guinness ad, and the "interesting" aromas of malt and hops in the pub. Sadly, at the time I was not invited to explore those aromas or the substances that produced them, but I have done so on many occasions since!