Bewdley is a little riverside community and also civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire on the Shropshire boundary in England, along the Severn Valley 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Kidderminster as well as 22 miles (35 kilometres) southwest of Birmingham. [1] It lies on the River Severn, at the gateway of the Wyre Forest national nature reserve, and also at the time of the 2011 census had a population of 9,470. Bewdley is a preferred visitor destination as well as is known for the Bewdley Bridge made by Thomas Telford. The main part of Bewdley community is located on the western bank of the River Severn, consisting of the primary street-- Load Street-- whose name derives from lode, an old word for ferry. Load Street is significant for its size: this is since it as soon as also served as the community's market area. A lot of Bewdley's shops as well as services are situated along Load Street, on top of which exists St Anne's Church, constructed between 1745 and also 1748 by Doctor Thomas Woodward of Chipping Campden. Beyond the church, High Street leads off to the south towards Stourport along the B4194, a road known locally as "the switchback" due to its many undulations. Unlike in lots of English communities, High Street is so called not due to its significance, yet due to its geographical placement 'high' above the river. Beyond of the church, Welch Gate (so called due to the fact that it once consisted of a tollgate on the road in the direction of Wales) climbs considerably approximately the west, while Dowles Road, a continuation of the B4194 leads northwest to Dowles as well as in the direction of the Wyre Forest. To the northeast of the community is the woody hill of Wassel Wood in Trimpley, the southerly terminus of Shatterford Hill. In the location between Stourport as well as Bewdley there are numerous big country houses, among which Witley Court, Astley Hall and also Pool Home are particularly substantial.