50 St Margaret's Street, Bradford on Avon - 01225 865797/868722 tic@bradfordonavon.co.uk

The centre of the town grew up around the ford across the river Avon, hence the origin of the town's name ("Broad-Ford").

The town lies partly on the Avon Valley, and partly on the hill that marks the Vale's western edge, eight miles southeast of Bath, in the hilly countryside between the Mendip Hills, Salisbury Plain and the Cotswold Hills. The local area around Bath provides the Jurassic limestone (Bath Stone) from which the older buildings are constructed. The River Avon (the Bristol Avon) runs through the town.

Bradford-on-Avon railway station lies on what is now the Bath-Weymouth railway line. It opened in the mid-19th century and was built by the original (pre-grouping) Great Western Railway. Northwards the line runs past Avoncliff and Freshford stations, and joins the Great Western main line east of Bath. Trains run to Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff. Southwards, the line is joined by the minor Melksham branch from Chippenham shortly before Trowbridge. At Westbury the line crosses the main London to Plymouth line. From Westbury, trains run to Southampton, Portsmouth or Weymouth, and occasionally to Frome or Castle Cary.

Running parallel to the railway through the town is the Kennet and Avon Canal and Bradford Lock. The use of this canal declined as the railways grew but it was restored to full working order during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The canal provides a link through to the Avon at Bath in the west, and the Thames at Reading in the east.

The earliest evidence of habitation is fragments of Roman settlements above the town. In particular, archaeological digs have revealed the remains of a large Roman villa with a well-preserved mosaic on the playing fields of St Laurence School. The original ford was supplemented in Norman times by the stone bridge that still stands today. The Norman side is upstream, and has pointed arches; the newer side has curved arches. The Town Bridge and Chapel is a grade I listed building. It was originally a Packhorse bridge, but widened in 17th century by rebuilding the western side.

On the bridge stands a small building which was originally a chapel but later used as a town lockup. The weather vane on top takes the form of a gudgeon (an early Christian symbol), hence the local saying "under the fish and over the water".

The river provided the power for the wool mills that gave the town its wealth. The town has seventeenth century buildings dating from the most successful period of the local textile industry. The best examples of weaver's cottages are on Newtown, Middle Rank and Tory Terraces. Daniel Defoe visited Bradford in the early 1700s and commented : "They told me at Bradford on Avon that it was no extra-ordinary thing to have clothiers in that county worth £10,000 to £40,000 per man" (Equivalent to £1.3M to £5.3M in 2007.

With improving mechanisation in Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution the wool weaving industry moved from cottages to purpose built woollen mills adjacent to the river Avon where they used water and steam to power the looms. Around 30 such mills were built in Bradford on Avon alone and prospered further until the English woollen industry shifted its centre of power to Yorkshire in the late 19th century. The last local mill closed in 1905. Many have since stood empty and some became derelict.

A notable feature of Bradford on Avon is the huge grade II* listed tithe barn, 180 feet long and 30 feet wide, which was constructed in the 14th century and is now part of Barton Farm Country Park The barn would have been used for collecting taxes, in the form of goods, to fund the church.

Several notable buildings in and around the town centre have been designated for renovation and redevelopment by 2012.

In 1997 the Wiltshire Music Centre was opened in Bradford on Avon, on the grounds of St Laurence School.

On 8 October 2003, Bradford on Avon was granted Fairtrade Town status.