Bedstone

Bedstone is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, close to the border with Herefordshire.

Bedstone
Bedstone
Location within Shropshire
Population272 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO369755
• London159 miles (256 km)
Civil parish
  • Bedstone
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBucknell
Postcode districtSY7
Dialling code01547
PoliceWest Mercia
FireShropshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament

The village is approximately 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from the railway stations at Hopton Heath and Bucknell and is situated just off the B4367 road.

Bedstone College

Bedstone College, an independent boarding and day school founded in 1948, was purchased in 2017 by London & Oxford Group, an asset management and investment banking firm specialising in introduction of Chinese investment to the UK Education sector.[2] LOG has reportedly made little or no governance changes to the school and "giving its full support to the current management team at Bedstone."[3] Famous former pupils include the present Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees (whose parents founded the school), now Baron Rees of Ludlow, and explorer and TV presenter Monty Halls. The current head is Wendy Martin.

Educating around 220 day and boarding students, the College is not selective and does not require pupils to sit an entrance exam. It offers a broad curriculum from reception through to A Level. Physical education and extra-curricular activities are an integral part of the school week, which includes Saturday-morning lessons and five afternoons set aside for sports and a choice of activities.

There are four boarding houses:

  • Bedstone House - for junior girls
  • Wilson House - for senior girls
  • Rutter House - for junior boys
  • Pearson House - for senior boys

Each is run by houseparents who are typically academic staff and their families.

Its campus houses the notable country house that is Bedstone Court. Its founders include the parents of Sir Martin Rees.[4] On GCSE results, the College is the second best non-selective school in Shropshire and the sixth overall.

Norman Origin

St Mary's church[5] dates back to Norman times and features an original Norman font, a timber framed bellcote and a shingled spire, and some of the houses, which include several thatched cottages, are more than 600 years old.

Buildings
St Mary's Church, the ancient parish church of Bedstone.

Manor Farm house is an example of a timber-framed house and was partly stone-faced in 1775. Bedstone Court, now the home of Bedstone College, is a more flamboyant black-and-white mansion, built between 1882 and 1884, designed by Thomas Harris for Henry Ripley, MP and is a calendar house reputed to have 365 windows, 52 rooms (on the first two floors) twelve chimneys and seven external doors. The central hall has a magnificent 52 panelled stained-glass window depicting the months of the year, signs of the zodiac, birds associated with the month and the agricultural activity of the month. The building was heavily damaged by a fire in 1996 but was fully restored and continues to be the centrepiece of Bedstone College: the independent co-educational boarding and day school for pupils from 4 to 18.

Amenities

Until the 2000s there was a post office but now there is just a Royal Mail post box in the hamlet.[6]

Parish

The civil parish covers a small area, with no other settlements than Bedstone itself. With a parish population of just 85 (in 2001), the parish council has now been merged with that of neighbouring Bucknell parish. In ecclesiastical terms, the church is linked with those of Hopton Castle and Clungunford.

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See also

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  2. About Us: London & Oxford Group Archived 27 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Official company website. Retrieved 26 February 2018
  3. Morton, Thomas. "Investment firm to buy Shropshire's Bedstone College" Shropshire Star, 9 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018
  4. FT Magazine Inventory: Martin Rees
  5. "St Mary's Bedstone". Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  6. dracos.co.uk Postboxes in SY7
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