Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,194 residents, it is a village in Wiltshire, South West.
Where it does best is schools (A+) — primary results beat 94% of towns in England. The median home sold for £425,000, 7.1 times what households in the Wiltshire council area earn in a year. It is strong on health as well — life expectancy 84.2 for men, 85 for women. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021. Great Bedwyn is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
The 3 things Great Bedwyn does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Great Bedwyn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Great Bedwyn is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Great Bedwyn’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
39% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Bedwyn.
74% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Great Bedwyn Church of England School’s results beat 90% of schools in England like it. There is one school here; it is shown below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bedwyn Church of England SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 205 | A |
Nearly two in five adults hold a degree. Children under 15 make up 15%, below both Wiltshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). Great Bedwyn has a median age of 51.8 years.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Bedwyn | Wiltshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 39% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Wiltshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Great Bedwyn’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I. For its size, Great Bedwyn has 251 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, higher than both Wiltshire’s towns (119) and England’s towns (39). Grade II* covers 1 of them, Grade I 1. Historic England’s list names 30 listed buildings here: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Great Bedwyn is Great Western Hospital, 12.2 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 98% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 84% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, about level with Wiltshire’s towns (83%) and above England’s towns (82%).
| Census 2021 | Great Bedwyn | Wiltshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.4% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Police recorded 37 crimes inside Great Bedwyn’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 3 reports of anti-social behaviour. Homes saw 10.9 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Wiltshire’s towns (7.2) and England’s towns (9.4). Violence and sexual offences accounted for 57% of recorded crime.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
80% of commuters drove, above both Wiltshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%). Among 16 to 64s, 1.9% claimed unemployment benefits in 2026. Before tax, the average household brings in £60K a year.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
22% live in social housing, above both Wiltshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,082 a month across the Wiltshire council area. Half of the 45 standard sales inside Great Bedwyn’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £425,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £635,000 | 16 |
| Semi-detached | £475,000 | 11 |
| Terraced | £350,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Great Bedwyn. Best known first.
MuseumCrofton Pumping Station2 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionWilton Windmill2.1 km outside town, to the southHistoric houseHistoric houseWolfhall3.8 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bedwyn | 1,194 | — | — | B− | B+ | A |
| Burbage | 1,322 | 3.7 | — | C+ | A− | A |
| Hungerford | 5,184 | 4.1 | B− | B+ | C | B− |
| Ramsbury | 1,541 | 4.4 | — | C+ | A+ | A |
| Marlborough | 8,829 | 6.3 | A− | B− | B+ | B+ |
| Kintbury | 2,054 | 6.7 | — | B | B+ | B+ |
| Aldbourne | 1,686 | 6.8 | — | B− | A | A+ |
| Pewsey | 3,792 | 7.9 | B | B+ | B | B |
Burbage, Ramsbury, Kintbury and Aldbourne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results beat 94% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Wiltshire council.
That is 10.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary the Virgin. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £425,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £350,000, semi-detached houses £475,000 and detached houses £635,000. Household incomes are higher than in 67% of UK towns, so cost of living still grades B−.
Village in Wiltshire, England
Great Bedwyn is a built-up area of 1,194 people, in the Wiltshire council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.