Why Beartown? 

Having been challenged with Transforming the town of Congleton, and building on Simon Brown’s Feng Shui survey of the town, we really needed a focus – something unique – to promote the town and to promote the new surge of energy to revitalise it.

And the answer was easy. Congleton is already renowned for a story from the 1620s of its bear and the town bible.

Congleton sells its bible to buy a new bear?

One version of the story tells of the town’s dancing bear dying just before the Wakes Week (the local town holiday). But the burghers lacked the money to buy a new bear.

They did however have a sum of money saved to buy a new bible.

The town decided to use money from the bible fund to pay for a new bear, and then replenished it with income from the increased number of spectators.

When the story was reported to neighbouring towns, however, it got corrupted and the legend grew that Congleton had sold its bible in order to buy a new bear.