Boroughbridge

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Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge high street
Boroughbridge shown within North Yorkshire
Population	3210
OS grid reference	SE393668
District	Harrogate
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	YORK
Postcode district	YO51
Dialling code	01423
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
European Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Vale of York
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Coordinates: 54°05′45″N 1°23′54″W / 54.0958, -1.3982

Boroughbridge is a small town 13 miles northwest of York in North Yorkshire in England. Until its bypass was built, it was on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh. The A1 crosses the River Ure here.

In 1945 the A1 bridge over the River Ure collapsed under the weight of a heavy transport vehicle carrying an 80-ton steel mill roll housing from Sheffield to Falkirk. That interrupted a main transport route only for a short while, the Army installing a Bailey bridge until repairs were completed.

Boroughbridge was a parliamentary borough from medieval times, electing two Members of Parliament to the unreformed Commons. It had a "burgage" franchise, meaning that the right to vote was tied to ownership of certain pieces of property in the borough, and it had less than 100 qualified voters by the time it was abolished in the Reform Act of 1832: It was a pocket borough entirely under the control of the Dukes of Newcastle. Augustus FitzRoy, who was later Prime Minister as the 3rd Duke of Grafton, was elected MP for Boroughbridge in 1756; however, he never sat for the borough as he preferred to represent Bury St Edmunds where he had also been elected.

Close to Boroughbridge is the village of Aldborough, once the site of the Roman settlement Isurium Brigantum (SE406664). There is a small museum. A line of three menhirs or standing stones, known as The Devil's Arrows, thought to have been erected in the Bronze Age, can be found on the outskirts of Boroughbridge, just by the side of the A1. The tallest stone is 6.8 metres in height.

There is a primary school and a high school. Mrs Felicity Hill, English, Drama and Dance teacher at Boroughbridge High School recently won a regional teaching award for outstanding new teacher with Theresa Pridmore winning one the year before for being an outstanding teaching assistant.

The high school specialises in performing arts. In the school there is a library, computer rooms and a drama studio. Boroughbridge High School celebrated its 25th anniversary in the summer of 2007. A huge gala concert was held on 7 July with past and present pupils performing.

[edit] Location grid

[edit] See also

• Boroughbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

[edit] External links

• Boroughbridge Community Website
• History and other information about Boroughbridge
• Boroughbridge Guide
• Boroughbridge Town Council

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