Beadlow Priory

The Woburn Sands Formation is a geological formation in England. Part of the Lower Greensand Group, it is the only unit of the group where it occurs, and thus is sometimes simply referred to as the 'Lower Greensand' in these areas. It was deposited during the late Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. The lithology consists of sandstone or loose sand with rare wisps or thin seams of clay. The formation was extensively exploited in the 19th century for the "coprolite industry", with coprolite being a local term referring to phosphate nodules of varying origins (often the internal moulds of shells), named due to their resemblance to real coprolites. The formation contains reworked fossils of late Tithonian-Berriasian age from deposits that are no longer found locally, equivalent in age to the Sandringham Sand Formation in Norfolk and the Spilsby Sandstone of Lincolnshire, these include Dicranodonta and the ammonite Subcraspedites. Reworked dinosaur material is known from the Potton locality within the formation.

Beadlow is a hamlet in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands. It is located around a mile and a half east of Clophill, of whose civil parish it forms a part, and around two and a half miles west of Shefford, in whose post town it lies. The River Flit flows through the hamlet.

Mid Bedfordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Alistair Strathern of the Labour Party since a 2023 by-election.

Cainhoe Castle was an 11th-century Norman castle, located near the village of Clophill, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. Cainhoe Castle was a motte and triple bailey castle, built by Nigel d'Aubigny, a Norman Knight, sometime after the Norman Invasion (1066). It was not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; "Cainou: Nigel d'Aubigny; Thurstan from Avelina, Ralph Tailbois' wife. Mill." The d'Aubigny family, known for being deeply involved in the crusades, used the castle as the seat of the Barony of Cainhoe. The castle was to stay in the d'Aubigny family until the death of Simon d'Aubigny, who died without a male heir, in 1272. It then passed to the de Lacys and the Nortons, and then on to the Greys, Earls of Kent. The castle was occupied until the time of the Black Death (1348), when all the inhabitants died of the disease. The castle, and the small village that had built up around it, were discovered abandoned sometime later. By 1374 the castle was in ruins. The site was excavated in 1973, 1985 and 1986. Only earthworks remain. The site is a Scheduled Monument.

The present St Mary's Church is located in the centre of the small village of Clophill, between Bedford and Luton in the South Midlands of England. The new church, built in 1848, replaced the old church by order of the Church Commissioners in 1850. The old church building, formally The Church of St Mary The Virgin (shortened to The Church of St Mary) and known colloquially as Old St Mary's or The Old Parish Church, is at the edge of the village, and is estimated to be around 650 years old. It sits at the crest of the Greensand Ridge, offering views over the surrounding countryside. Its graveyard is a haven for wild flowers and wildlife. After the church moved to the village centre, incorporating various items from the old church building, the old building was converted for use as a mortuary chapel, but in the 1950s it fell into ruin. The Church of England no longer has responsibility for the Old Parish Church, nor is it deemed to be consecrated; legally it is the responsibility of Central Bedfordshire Council. It acquired first local, then more widespread, notoriety in the 1960s, as a result of the desecration of a number of the church's graves, with the attendant sensationalist suspicions of Satanism and black masses. In 2010 Central Bedfordshire Council, prompted by local activists concerned with the condition of the church, announced it would attempt to restore the Old Church and adopt it for use as a bothy on a regional walking trail. Those plans proved too expensive for the council; instead, in 2012 a new project was announced, which included stabilising the existing ruin and providing a viewing platform on the top of the tower, besides building a heritage centre next to the church.

Upper Gravenhurst is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Gravenhurst, in the Central Bedfordshire district of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. In 1881 the parish had a population of 354. On 24 March 1888 the parish was abolished and merged with Lower Gravenhurst to form "Gravenhurst".The Church of St Giles has been established in the village since the 12th Century. The first school in the village was built in 1870, today known as Gravenhurst Academy.

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Lower Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Lower Gravenhurst is some 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Bedford, to the east of the A6 road. The church is surrounded by fields and stands on a small hill and open daily.

Haynes is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, about seven miles (11 km) south of Bedford. It includes the small hamlet of Haynes Church End. It used to be known as Hawnes. North from Haynes is a hamlet named Silver End, then further up is Herrings Green, Cotton End and Shortstown. There is a pub, "The Greyhound", a shop, a post office, a village hall and a Lower School. In 1730 the philosopher John Gay became Vicar of Wilshamstead (later adding the living of Haynes).

Chicksands is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Campton and Chicksands in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The village is on the River Flit and close to its parish village of Campton and the town of Shefford. In 1961 the parish had a population of 607. In 2007, the population was estimated to be 2,510. By the 2011 census the figure was 1,699.Mid Bedfordshire District Council moved to a new office building on a part of the former RAF Chicksands sportsfield, adjacent to the A507, having previously been based in offices at Ampthill and Biggleswade. The new office, named Priory House, was officially opened by the Queen on 17 November 2006 accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. The offices are now home to Central Bedfordshire Council.

HMS Ferret is a training unit of the Royal Naval Reserve based at MOD Chicksands in Bedfordshire.

Royal Air Force Chicksands or more simply RAF Chicksands, was a Royal Air Force station located 7.7 miles (12.4 km) south east of Bedford, Bedfordshire and 11.6 miles (18.7 km) north east of Luton, Bedfordshire. It closed in 1997 when responsibility for the camp was taken over by the British Army Intelligence Corps. Near the town of Shefford it is named after Chicksands Priory, a 12th-century Gilbertine monastery located within the perimeter of the camp.Now the location of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC), it is now named MOD Chicksands.

Campton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Campton and Chicksands, in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is about 9 miles (14 km) south of Bedford, and is about 9 miles (14 km) north-west from Letchworth and sits on a tributary of the River Ivel. It is just to the west of Shefford. The 13th century Church of All Saints is in the centre of the village. In 1961 the parish had a population of 358.