Radwell, Bedfordshire

The Radwell Manor Railway was a 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge miniature railway situated in the village of Radwell, near Felmersham, in North Bedfordshire, England. It was built by Mr. H. W. Franklin, who was closely associated with the Bassett-Lowke company of Northampton, and whose products were often tested on its 0.75 mi (1.2 km) of track. The privately run railway opened in 1920, and ceased operating with the onset of the Second World War, around 1939. However, much of the railway remained intact until at least the early 1960s because it was seen in approximately 1960-1962 by a young railway enthusiast who was exploring the area.

Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, situated around 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Bedford town centre. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in Saxon times. The oldest surviving building, St Peter's Church, is Norman. The name is believed to be derived from the Anglo Saxon word sharn meaning dung. Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed of the local oolitic limestone, also used in other traditional north Bedfordshire settlements. Situated just north of a loop in the River Great Ouse and almost due north of Bedford, the village has developed as a ribbon-settlement running south-east to north-west, with the core of the community clustered at the north-western end.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church in Felmersham, Bedfordshire, England. Its foundations were laid in about 1220, and it was completed about 20 years later; some modifications were made in the 14th and 15th Centuries, but it remains largely in the style of its original form. The church is known for its West Front, having finely carved arcades and a heavily moulded doorway, and is of unusual scale and decoration for its type. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.

Sharnbrook railway station was opened in 1857 by the Midland Railway to serve the village of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire, England. It was on the Midland's extension from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin. It was situated near to Sharnbrook Summit. Here, originally there was a 1 in 119 gradient from the south taking the line to 340 feet above sea level. Around 1880, the line was quadrupled, with the new goods tracks taken through 1,800 yd (1,600 m) long Sharnbrook Tunnel. Following this, in 1884, a long curve, the Wymington Deviation allowed the ruling gradient on the slow/goods lines to be reduced to 1 in 200.It closed in 1960 and the station buildings were subsequently demolished. The slow/goods lines were singled and put up to passenger standard in 1987. As of 2007 they see one train a day plus occasional engineering diversions, such as on the weekend 6/7 May 2007. Quadruple track was restored between Sharnbrook Junction and Kettering South Junction in 2020; electrification was in progress as at September, 2020. The existing Down Slow remains signalled for bi-directional use; the Up Slow is signalled for use in that direction only.

Felmersham Gravel Pits is a 21.6-hectare (53-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest between the villages of Felmersham and Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1986 and the local planning authority is Bedford Borough Council. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.The site has flooded gravel pits which were worked until about 1945. Other habitats are neutral grassland, scrub and broadleaved woodland. It is one of the best sites in Bedfordshire for dragonflies and damselflies.The road called Causeway goes through the reserve, which is open at all times.

Felmersham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, on the River Great Ouse, about 7 miles (11 km) north west of Bedford. As a civil parish, it includes the hamlet of Radwell, and is sometimes known as Felmersham with Radwell, and has a population of about 800, and is circumscribed by the Great Ouse on the north, east and south. Other nearby places are Sharnbrook, Odell, Pavenham and Milton Ernest. Felmersham with Radwell was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey. John de Burnham, later Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, was parish priest here in the 1330s. The Church of St Mary is located in the village. The village gave its name to HMS Felmersham, a Ham class minesweeper. Felmersham has no shop or Post Office but does have one public house, The Sun. Two previous pubs closed in the 1990s; The Plough in 1991 and The Six Ringers in 1995. Felmersham supports a primary school. In 2017, Pinchmill Lower School changed to Pinchmill Primary School when the local education system changed from three tier to two tier. The school caters for children aged 5–11 (previous to 2017 it was 5–9). After leaving, most children move on to Sharnbrook Academy. The school building was opened in 1974 and took its name from the Pinchmill Islands in Sharnbrook. Felmersham Gravel Pits nature reserve is North of the village, just over the River Great Ouse. It is understood that the pits were created by extracting sand and gravel to build local airfields in World War Two.

Church of St Peter is a Grade I listed church in Pavenham, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.The church has some good examples of 14th-century canopied work. The carved panelling and rich woodwork is mainly of Jacobean date; it was installed in the 19th century by Thomas Abbot Green of Pavenham Bury.

Pavenham Manor was a country house in Pavenham, Bedfordshire, England. The house was demolished in 1960.

Milton Ernest Hall is a large grade I listed country house in the village of Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire, England. It now serves as a nursing home. It was built in 1853–58 for Benjamin Helps Starey on the site of a decaying earlier house by church architect William Butterfield, whose sister Ann was married to Starey. Constructed in limestone in a Gothic Revival style, the main block is L-shaped with projecting gables and a high, steep roof containing several dormer windows. The property passed then through several hands before being sold in 1906 to Lord Ampthill. During the First World War the hall became the home of two of the sons of King George V. After the war it was restored to the Starey family. During the Second World War the hall was used as a base for Special Operations Executive, a small grass landing strip being laid in the grounds. In 1944 it became the United States Eighth Air Force's support command headquarters. A plaque at the Hall honours the members of the United States Eighth Air Force (including Major Glenn Miller) who were stationed there. The plaque reads: IN MEMORY OF ALL THE PERSONNEL WHO SERVED IN WORLD WAR II AT MILTON ERNEST HALL HEADQUARTERS USAAF EIGHTH AIR FORCE SERVICE COMMAND STATION 608 1943-1946, ALSO MAJOR GLENN MILLER & THE BAND OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE WHO WERE STATIONED HERE FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 1944 After the US Air Force vacated the Hall, it remained empty until 1968, when Ludwik Dobrzański (he died in 1940) purchased the property along with the surrounding grounds for £15,000. The family lived at the Hall until it was sold in 1971. In 1984 the hall was converted to a nursing home. In the fields adjoining is a grade II listed brick and tile hexagonal dove-cote.

Church of St Peter is a Grade I listed church in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter. It is of Gothic architecture style, with a tower and spire. Its interior is decorated with monuments. A hand-tinted aquatint of 'Sharnbrook Church, Bedfordshire' was drawn, engraved and published by Thomas Fisher on November 4, 1812.

Church of All Saints is an Anglican church in the parish of Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire, England. It is part of the Benefice of Milton Ernest, Pavenham, and Thurleigh, in the Diocese of St. Albans under the Church of England.

Bletsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the A6, and about eight miles north of Bedford. The village has a small park, the former site of Bletsoe Castle and a church. Nearby places are Sharnbrook, Milton Ernest, Riseley, Thurleigh, Odell, Souldrop, and Swineshead. The nearest town to Bletsoe is Bedford. The small hamlet of Bourne End borders Bletsoe and is part of the civil parish. In 1086, Bletsoe parish was within the ancient hundred of Buckelowe. The parish was added to the Hundred of Willey when the ancient hundred was parceled out. Bletsoe Castle was the birthplace of Margaret Beaufort. She was the mother of Henry VII and grandmother of Henry VIII.