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28-459: The Corn Exchange is an events and concert venue located on St Paul's Square in the Castle area of Bedford , Bedfordshire , England . The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange , is a Grade II listed building . In the mid-1840s, a group of local businessmen decided to form a private company, known as the "Bedford Corn Exchange Company", to finance and commission a corn exchange for

56-692: A Wilko store, banks , many pubs , nightclubs and restaurants . The Harpur Centre is Bedford's main shopping centre . Branches of Boots , TK Maxx , Primark and various other stores are located here. Located in the eastern section of the Castle Road neighbourhood there are a host of smaller independent shops and community stores. Many of Bedford's central amenities are located in Castle Ward, including Bedford's main post office , market , magistrates court , Bedford bus station and Bedford railway station . Two of Bedford's largest hotels are located in

84-404: A richly decorated miniature house ( aedicula ), such as might serve for a reliquary . The backings for the altars in churches ( reredos ) can be embedded with niches for statues . Though a niche in either Classical or Gothic contexts may be empty and merely provide some articulation and variety to a section of wall, the cult origins of the niche suggested that it be filled with a statue. In

112-493: Is also located here. Priory Primary School is located on Greyfriars, while Castle Newnham School has a campus for primary school age pupils situated on Goldington Road. For secondary school education Bedford Free School is located on Cauldwell Street, though many Castle students attend either Biddenham International School or Castle Newnham School. Bedford Girls' School is an independent school for girls aged 7–18, located on Cardington Road in Castle Ward. The school

140-504: Is formed of small, glazed glass tiles and plaster creating a mosaic. Niches aren't only one sided as is the case of the Porta Maggiore where niches flank both sides of the gate and at one time displayed statues. Small Roman temples called Aedicula were often decorated with niches. For example, an aedicula on Lake Albano in Italy has six niches of varying heights, suggesting that anything up to

168-548: Is often synonymous with the Castle Road neighbourhood. Since local government boundary changes in Bedford in 2011, however, the Castle Road neighbourhood has been split between Castle Ward and Newnham Ward . The name 'Castle' comes from Bedford Castle which is located in the ward. William II granted the Barony of Bedford to Paine de Beauchamp who built the castle. The castle was destroyed ( slighted ) in 1224 by Henry III . In 1166

196-815: Is part of the Harpur Trust . Bedford College has its main site on Cauldwell Street, and offers a range of further education courses including GCSEs , A Levels , Apprenticeships and Access courses. There are many places of worship in Castle Ward, some of which serve the entire Bedford area - The main open space in the Castle area is Russell Park and the Embankment of the River Great Ouse . The Bedford Corn Exchange , The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum and Esquires (a live music venue) are also located in Castle Ward. Niche (architecture) The word derives from

224-614: The Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century. However, in the early 20th century, the building was re-purposed as an events and concert venue. During the Second World War , the BBC Music and Religious Departments moved to Bedford when it became too dangerous for them to be based in London or their previous wartime home, Bristol . The BBC Symphony Orchestra used

252-648: The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , broadcast from the building in July 1944 and then performed there again in August 1944, was designed by Patricia Finch and installed in a niche on the front of the building in 1994. The Philharmonia Orchestra began a residency at the Corn Exchange in 1995. The building continues to be a major entertainment centre and performers at the venue for

280-476: The canopy of estate that was positioned over a personage of importance in the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Europe. At the same time, the Madonna is represented as an iconic sculpture who has "come alive" with miraculous immediacy. In Iran, a Mihrab is a type of niche in the wall of a mosque at the point nearest to Mecca toward which the congregation faces to pray. This is The Great Mosque of Cordoba, It's Mihrab

308-638: The 1960s and performers at that time included the rock band , The Who , in September 1966. Bedford's Assembly Rooms, which originally accommodated the General Library and Literary and Scientific Institute and are situated to the immediate northwest of the Corn Exchange, were integrated into the complex and re-named the Harpur Suite in 1972. A bust of Glenn Miller who, while serving with the American Band of

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336-640: The Encyclopedia Methodique, the authors divide niches into different classes. The classes refer to the shape of the plan and the head (top and bottom), the ornamentation, and entablature. They vary according to their characteristics, from simple to extremely ornate. One of the earliest buildings which uses external niches containing statues is the Church of Orsanmichele in Florence, built between 1380 and 1404. The Uffizi Palace in Florence (1560–81) modified

364-523: The Latin nidus ( lit.   ' nest ' ), via the French niche . The Italian nicchio ( lit.   ' sea-shell ' ) may also be involved in the origin of the word, as the traditional decoration for the top of a niche is a scallop shell, hence also the alternative term of "conch" for a semi-dome , usually reserved for larger exedra. As early as the 4th century, such architectural features, or

392-547: The Spring 2013 season included Marcus Brigstocke , Joe Calzaghe , Chas & Dave , The Drifters , Hawkwind , Lee Hurst , Jimeoin , Milton Jones , Russell Kane , Sean Lock , Showaddywaddy , and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Castle, Bedford Castle is an electoral ward and area of Bedford , Bedfordshire , England . The boundaries of Castle Ward are approximately Bromham Road and Goldington Road to

420-562: The Ward - The Swan Hotel on the High Street, and Mercure Bedford Centre Hotel situated across the river on St Mary's Street. Also south of the river, there are a few more shops located around the St Mary's Street/St John's Street/Cauldwell Street area. It is here that Bedford College is located, as well as a Farmfoods store. Borough Hall, the administrative headquarters of Bedford Borough Council

448-727: The building for public concerts between September 1941 and July 1945. The BBC Proms , which had been performed in The Queen's Hall in London until it was destroyed by bombs on 10 May 1941 and then operated from the Royal Albert Hall until that also became too dangerous, transferred to the Corn Exchange for the rest of the 1944 season. Performers at the Corn Exchange during the Second World War included Glenn Miller , Bing Crosby , Marlene Dietrich and Vera Lynn . The venue remained popular in

476-510: The concept by setting the niche within the wall so it did not protrude. The Uffizi has two dozen or so such niches containing statues of great historical figures. In England, the Uffizi style niches were adopted at Montacute House (c. 1598), where there are nine exterior niches containing statues of the Nine Worthies . In Fra Filippo Lippi 's Madonna, the trompe-l'œil niche frames her as with

504-459: The direct control of Bedford Borough Council . Castle elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council, both currently from the Green Party , being the first Green Party councillors in Bedford. Virtually all of the Bedford's central business district is located in Castle Ward, with many major High Street shops being located here. The main shopping areas of note are the High Street which includes

532-497: The first drains and sewers were dug in 1864. Bedford's growth in the 19th century saw the Castle area expand along the river to the east. After the Second World War , the Cauldwell Street neighbourhood of terraced houses was demolished, making way for new offices and public buildings, including headquarters for Bedford College and Bedfordshire County Council . Castle is an unparished area , with all community services under

560-422: The frame surrounding them are called tabernacles. This definition extends to the ornamentation or framework surrounding doors, windows and niches. A blind niche is a very shallow niche, usually too shallow to contain statues, and may resemble a blind window (a window without openings) or sealed door. (Compare: blind arcade ) In Gothic architecture , a niche may be set within a tabernacle framing, like

588-458: The north, Denmark Street to the east, Rope Walk to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line and Ashburnam Road to the west. Castle Ward includes almost all of Bedford town centre , as well as the eastern section of the Castle Road neighbourhood. Castle is the only Ward in the town of Bedford to be located on both sides of the River Great Ouse . In common usage the 'Castle' area

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616-524: The town of Bedford began to expand to the south of the river. The river became navigable as far as Bedford by 1689. Up until this time, Bedford was a small agricultural town, with wool being an important industry in the area for much of the Middle Ages . However, with the opening up of the River Great Ouse, wool declined in importance and brewing became a major industry in the town. In 1660 John Bunyan

644-420: The town of Bedford was given a charter. This was when Bedford Market was founded, and it is still held in Castle Ward. To the south of the river, Cauldwell Priory was built in the area by Franciscan Friars in 1238. The priory included a leper colony dedicated to St Leonard . The priory was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1541, and around this time a new bridge was built over the River Great Ouse , and

672-411: The town. The first corn exchange in Bedford, later referred to as the "Floral Hall", was located in the north-east corner of St Paul's Square and was opened on 1 May 1850. By the early 1870s, it was considered too small, and civic officials decided to commission a larger building. The company that had commissioned the first corn exchange was wound up at that time. The foundation stone for the new building

700-409: The words "corn exchange" and surmounted by balustraded parapets . The entrance bays, which were lower than the central section, were fenestrated by mullioned and transomed windows on the first floor, with cornices and balustraded parapets above. Internally, the principal room was the main double-height assembly hall. The use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of

728-457: Was imprisoned for 12 years in Bedford Gaol , which was located in present-day Castle Ward. It was here that he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress . The 19th Century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub. In 1832 Gas lighting was introduced into the area that is now Castle Ward, and the railway reached Bedford in 1846. Bedford's Corn Exchange was built in the area in 1849, and

756-569: Was laid by the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire , Francis Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper , on 21 October 1872. It was designed by John Ladds and William Powell in the Italianate style , built in brick with stone dressings at a cost of £9,000 and was officially opened by Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford on 15 April 1874. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto St Paul's Square. The central section, of three bays, which

784-483: Was slightly projected forward, was fenestrated with large segmentally headed windows with foliated keystones on the first floor. The bays were separated by pilasters with foliated capitals which supported a stone entablature which was decorated with terracotta panels. At roof level there was a modillioned cornice , a parapet and four chimney stacks. The outer bays featured porches formed by pairs of columns with scrolled capitals supporting entablatures bearing

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