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Waterloo

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Between what is now The Embankment and Waterloo Road was the slum area known as Waterloo. The area was a poor working class suburb, providing cheap rented accommodation in small often dilapidated cottages and houses densely packed into a small narrow strip of land overlooking the Ouses muddy banks and swampy osier beds.  The dwellings were demolished towards the end of the 19th century and replaced by substantial Victorian homes, The Embankment Hotel, built in 1891, ornamental gardens and a wide footpath known as "the Promenade".

According to local historian Charles Farrar the ancient name for Waterloo was Waterside. The suburb was not named after the battle as the area had been growing since the late 18th century. However, it is possible that local people may have changed the name in recognition of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 a few years after the battle.

Sources

• The Newspaper Cuttings Collection, Local Studies Library, Bedford Central Library
• RICKETTS, B.  A Short History of Waterloo.  In  Bedford Architectural Archaeological & Local History Society Newsletter April 2012 pp. 32-42

Page last updated: 22nd January 20142