Bedward Row

Although it is next to the Infirmary the name is seemingly derived from Bereward, a trainer of bears. Another theory is that the street was named after Charles Bedward, a local builder who lived in the seventeenth century.

The north-western corner of the intramural area, known as the Crofts and bounded by Crofts Lane (St Martins Way) to the east and Little Parsons Lane to the south, continued to be occupied mostly by gardens throughout the Middle Ages. The principal buildings included St. Werburgh's barn, in being by the 13th century and probably situated near the junction of Barn Lane (King Street) and Crofts Lane, and St Chad's chapel, which from the mid 13th century lay on the north side of Little Parsons Lane at the intersection with Crofts Lane. By the early 14th century a lane crossed the Crofts winding northwards from the east end of St. Chad's to a postern in the north wall of the city by Bonewaldesthorne Tower. In the early 15th century the area was the site of some poor quality housing and shops.