BEWDLEY, a market and borough town in the parish of Ribbesford, in the county of Worcester, 129 miles from London, on the Severn Valley Railway. It is well built, and stands on an eminence near the River Severn, over which there is an elegant bridge, erected in 1797. It has a town-hall, a free grammar school, and several charities; and manufactures combs, brass and iron wares, leather, and malt. It returns one member to parliament. Population of parliamentary borough in 1871, 7614.

Bewdley, or, as it was formerly called, Beaulieu, was a place of some importance in the 13th century, and had the right of sanctuary for those who shed blood. Henry VII. built a palace in the town for his son Arthur, who was married there by proxy to Catherine of Aragon; but no remains of the building, which was greatly injured during the wars of the 17th century, can now be traced. The town, which was incorporated by Edward IV., formerly belonged to the Marches of Wales, but was assigned to Worcestershire by Henry VIII.