Rent Houses Bromley London

Approximate Population: 280,305

Bromley is an urban centre in the London Borough of Bromley and is listed as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan. It is situated 9.3 miles (15.0 km) south east of Charing Cross. The origin of the town’s name is from Old English brōme-hlǣwe, or “broom hill”, as supported by records of the name as Bramelewe in 1272. Other places with this name are from Old English brōme-leah meaning ‘broom clearing’ or wood clearing. Bromley was historically in the county of Kent before the creation of Greater London in 1965.

The town has a large shopping and retail area including a pedestrianised High Street and The Glades shopping centre. Bromley is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The London Borough of Bromley Civic Centre is located in the town. The historic Wickham Court with its crow-stepped gable construction is located in Bromley. Bromley’s main retail rival is Croydon, to the west. Bromley is represented by Conservative MP Bob Neill.

There are two railway stations providing connections to the Central London. Bromley South is located on the Chatham main line and is served by fast and local services to Victoria and Blackfriars. Bromley North is located at the southern end of a short branch line from Grove Park from where connections can be made for London Bridge, Cannon Street and London Charing Cross.

Rent Houses Bromley London

Rent Houses Telford Shropshire

Approximate Population: 138,241

Telford  is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) east of Shrewsbury, and 30 miles (48 km) west of Birmingham.  With a population of 138,241 people (2001 census), and a projected population growth within the next 20 years to over 200,000, Telford is by far the largest town in Shropshire, and one of the fastest growing towns in the United Kingdom.

It is named after Thomas Telford, the famous civil engineer.   The town was built in the 1960s and 1970s as a new town on previously industrial and agricultural land. Similarly to other planned towns of the era, Telford was created from the merger of other, smaller settlements, most notably the towns of Wellington, Oakengates, Madeley and Dawley.  

Telford Shopping Centre, a modern shopping mall, was constructed at the new town’s geographical centre, along with an extensive Town Park.   The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, connecting the town with the West Midlands conurbation.

Telford now includes Ironbridge Gorge, a scenic tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site.   The town advertises itself as “The Birthplace of Industry”, due to its proximity to Coalbrookdale, and local activity during the Industrial Revolution as part of the Shropshire Coalfield.   The River Severn flows along its southernmost boundary.

Rent Houses Telford Shropshire

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Inverness Scotland

Approximate Population: 40,949

Most of the traditional industries in Inverness such as distilling have been replaced by high-tech businesses, including the design and manufacture of diabetes diagnostic kits.   Highlands and Islands Enterprise has partly funded a Centre for Health Science with a view to attracting more businesses in the medical and medical devices business to the area.   Inverness is home to Scottish Natural Heritage following that body’s relocation from Edinburgh under the auspices of the Scottish Government’s decentralisation strategy.   SNH provides a large number of jobs in the area.

Inverness City Centre lies on the east bank of the river and is linked to the west side of the town by three road bridges (Ness Bridge, Friars Bridge and the Black (or Waterloo) Bridge) and by one of the town’s suspension foot bridges, the Grieg Street Bridge.  The traditional city centre was a triangle bounded by High Street, Church Street and Academy Street, within which Union Street and Queensgate are cross streets parallel to High Street.

Between Union Street and Queensgate is the Victorian Market, which contains a large number of small shops.   The main Inverness railway station is almost directly opposite the Academy Street entrance to the Market.   From the 1970s, the Eastgate Shopping Centre (Inverness) was developed to the east of High Street, with a substantial extension being completed in 2003.

Rent Houses Inverness Scotland

Rent Houses Dewsbury West Yorkshire

Approximate Population: 54,341

Dewsbury is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, and lies by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, after undergoing a period of major growth in the 19th century as a mill town, Dewsbury went through a period of decline. More recently there has been rapid and ongoing redevelopment of derelict mills into apartments, and other projects concerned with regenerating run-down or deprived areas.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the name of the town as Deusberia and Deusberie. The name is believed to mean “fortified place by a stream”, from Old English deaw “dew” (in the sense stream) and burg “fort”.

Dewsbury had two grammar schools – The Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys and, further up the hill, the Wheelwright Grammar School for Girls. The 1970s education reforms downgraded these two establishments to high schools. They are now used by Dewsbury College. In the 2005 School League Tables, Dewsbury’s Eastborough Junior, Infants and Nursery schools were reported to have the most consistently improved results over the past four years. However, the headteacher of the school, Nicola Roth, has been highly critical of School League Tables in the UK and has been reported to have said “It would be better if league tables did not exist”.

Batley College of Art and Design, which is part of Dewsbury College, has a strong reputation for print and textile-based art work.

Rent Houses Dewsbury West Yorkshire

Rent Houses Bebington Merseyside

Approximate Population: 13,720

Bebington is a small town and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It lies 5 miles (8 km) south of Liverpool and 34.5 miles (56 km) west southwest of Manchester, along the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Nearby towns include Birkenhead and Wallasey to the north northwest and Heswall to the west southwest.

It had a total resident population of 13,720 at the 2001 Census.

The town includes the areas of Port Sunlight (an early planned factory town), Higher Bebington (which includes the Mount Estate), Lower Bebington, Poulton Lancelyn, Spital, Storeton and Woodhey.

Bebington railway station opened in 1838 and is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.

The Church of St. Andrew, on a site occupied since Saxon times, dates from the 14th and 16th centuries.

In 1838, the footprints of an archosaur later called the Chirotherium storetonese were found in a sandstone bed at Storeton Quarry. Examples can be seen at the Liverpool Museum and at Christ Church within the parish of Higher Bebington.

Stone quarried at Bebington was used for the construction of Birkenhead Town Hall, some of the villas around Birkenhead and Rock Parks and most famously of all the Empire State Building in New York City. The stone is considered to be a high quality sandstone which is creamy in appearance. The Quarries were eventually filled in with debris removed during the construction of the two Mersey Tunnels.

Mayer Hall, Bebington Village, was formerly an art gallery built by Joseph Mayer, a Liverpool Businessman. It is now a community resource and still boasts many of its original features.

The Brackenwood golf course was cited in 2004 as a likely site for the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.

Rent Houses Bebington Merseyside

Rent Houses Thetford Norfolk

Approximate Population: 21,588

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish (area of 29.55 km²) has a population of 21,588.

Thetford is traditionally thought of as the royal residence of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial ‘grove’ was uncovered there during excavations.

East Harling, nr Thetford hosts an annual Autumn Equinox Festival for astronomy. The festival has featured Patrick Moore of The Sky at Night. Thetford is also the site for the UK’s Star Party, as it is centrally located in a rural area with dark night skies. An annual concert, STORM, also calls Thetford home.

Thetford has been home to Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of bacon, beef and pork. The factory opened its doors in 1966 and was one of the biggest bacon production factories in the UK. In 2007 the factory ceased production of fresh bacon, beef and pork with the loss of 350 jobs, although cooked bacon and fried products are still made in the factory.

Rent Houses Thetford Norfolk

Rent Houses Mansfield Nottinghamshire

Approximate Population: 98,181

Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the county, lying on the River Maun, from which the name of the town is derived. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area. The town is surrounded by a pocket of steep hills within the Maun Valley, and has a population of 169,987.

Mansfield has a large market square and, focused around the market, a large commercial centre including a museum, the Palace Theatre, and numerous pubs, bars and night clubs.

Mansfield was originally the home of Mansfield Brewery, once the largest independent brewer in the UK. The brewery was acquired by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries for £253m in October 1999, with production of the Mansfield range of ales moving to other parts of the country. The brewery’s physical assets were later sold on to Pubmaster Ltd, and the former site of the brewery is now derelict. In the 1980s, Mansfield Bitter was advertised with a photograph of then US president Ronald Reagan and the tagline “He may be president of the most powerful nation on Earth, but he’s never had a pint of Mansfield”; “Not much matches Mansfield” was also used. Mansfield is also the location of an Irn-Bru factory, owned by the Scottish drinks company A. G. Barr.

The television presenter Adam Kingswood (from BBC TVs The Truth About Property), Richard Bacon and professional golfers Oliver Wilson and Greg Owen come from Mansfield. The singer Alvin Stardust lived there as a child. Classical pianist John Ogdon was born in the suburb of Mansfield Woodhouse in 1937. Mark Holmes, lead singer of the Canadian New Wave/stadium rock group Platinum Blonde, was born and partly raised there. Mansfield is also the home of the Cantamus Girls Choir, World Choir Olympics champions. As well as this it also features a thriving music scene with many promising up and coming young artists.

Rent Houses Mansfield Nottinghamshire

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Gateshead Tyne and Wear

Approximate Population: 78,403

Gateshead International Stadium regularly holds international athletics meetings over the summer months.   It is also host to rugby league fixtures, and the home ground of both Gateshead Thunder Rugby League Football Club and Gateshead Football Club.   Both clubs have had their problems: Gateshead F.C. were controversially elected out of the Football League to make way for Peterborough United in the 1960s, whilst Gateshead Thunder lost their place in Super League as a result of a takeover (officially termed a merger) by Hull FC.

Both Gateshead clubs continue to ply their trade at lower levels in their respective sports, thanks mainly to the efforts of their supporters.   The Gateshead Senators American Football team also use the International Stadium, as well as this is was used in the 2006 Northern Conference champions in the British American Football League.

Gateshead is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro. There are stations at Gateshead Interchange, Gateshead Stadium, Felling, Pelaw and Heworth. Heworth is also served by main-line train services, as are Blaydon, Dunston and MetroCentre stations.

The Borough of Gateshead and the City of Newcastle are linked by a total of ten road, rail and pedestrian bridges.   Proposals for a cable car running from Gateshead to Gateshead Quayside were first published in 2001.

Rent Houses Gateshead Tyne and Wear

Rent Houses Cheshunt Hertfordshire

Approximate Population: 51,998

Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom’s 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station. The town is located 14 miles (23 km) from Charing Cross, making it one of the closest parts of Hertfordshire to Central London.

The town name comes from the Old English name (as recorded in the Domesday Book) for the area, Cestrehunt, which probably refers to a “castle, erected by the romans”, the word word cestre (along with the form ceastre), or even its modern forms, chester and caster being derived from the Latin castrum meaning “fort”. The town Chester also derives from this root and it is an element in various places. This is commemorated in the arms of the former Cheshunt urban district council.

Cheshunt is famous in several ways. Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, died here in 1712. The town’s Bury Green neighbourhood was once the home of singer Cliff Richard. Lotus Cars as well as the nationally famous Debenhams were also founded in Cheshunt, and the headquarters of Tesco, the UK’s largest and most profitable supermarket chain, is also located here. The nearby village of Goffs Oak is the original home of Victoria Beckham of Spice Girls fame. In 2002, Cheshunt hosted the only officially licensed European BotCon convention ever.

In 1825, Cheshunt was also the location of the Cheshunt Railway. Running from the town’s High Street to the River Lea near the present-day Cheshunt railway station, this 0.75 mi (1.21 km) horse-drawn line was the first passenger-carrying monorail and the first railway line to be built in Hertfordshire.

Rent Houses Cheshunt Hertfordshire

Rent Houses Watford Hertfordshire

Approximate Population: 79,600

Watford is a major regional centre for the northern home counties.   It is the most westerly of these commercial centres and the only one in Hertfordshire.   Hertfordshire County Council designates Watford and Stevenage to be its major sub-regional centres, heading its list of preferred sites for retail development.  The primary shopping area is the Harlequin Shopping Centre, a large purpose-built indoor mall with over 140 shops, restaurants and cafes built during the 1990s, opened officially in June 1992.

The High Street, running through the town centre, is the main focus of activity at night having a high concentration of the town’s bars, clubs and restaurants.

The head offices of a number of national companies such as Camelot Group, operator of the National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; Haden Young, the building services division of Balfour Beatty; Bathstore, the largest bathroom retailer in the UK; construction firm Taylor Woodrow; and Mothercare, are located in the town.   The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco, Vinci, and Beko.

The town was home to the Scammell Lorries Factory from 1922 until its closure in 1988.   The site is now a residential area.  Plans are underway to develop a new Health Campus complete with heliport adjacent to the site of the current Watford General Hospital.

Rent Houses Watford Hertfordshire