Google Removes Hyphens from Bradford on Avon After 130-Year Campaign
The town of Bradford on Avon has been at odds with its hyphenated name for over 130 years. The controversy started in 1899 when Great Western Railway (GWR) added dashes to the town's railway sign, allegedly to avoid confusion with other similarly named areas.
Locals claim that the hyphens then became widespread, appearing not only on maps but also in official records and online platforms like Google Maps. In response, the town council and local businesses launched a campaign dubbed 'the great dash debate' to reclaim the town's original name without punctuation.
The campaign gained momentum with the help of SEO experts Varn, which started tracking down incorrect references online. According to Tom Vaughton, CEO at Varn, there were over 5,800 instances of 'Bradford-on-Avon' appearing on major platforms.