Shefford Town & Campton F.C.

Samuel Whitbread Academy is an Upper School and Sixth Form with Academy status serving the rural communities around the small market town of Shefford in Central Bedfordshire. Its school campus includes a nursery school and facilities for adult education. The school has recently won the schools national vase at Twickenham. Both its under 18 and under 15 division went to Twickenham after both teams winning in the semi-finals at Allianz Park (Saracens' home ground). Impressively, both teams lifted the trophy at Twickenham and came home with two victories. The school were also recently crowned School of the Year at the National Rugby Awards.

Shefford is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census it had a population of 7,311. It lies 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Bedford. The town gives its name to Shefford, Quebec.

St Francis' Boy's Home in Shefford, Bedfordshire was the longest serving children's home in England. Founded in 1868, it played a vital role in providing care provision for children who could not live at home. The origins of this demand was facilitated by amendments in the Poor Laws, which allowed faith homes to be opened and for financial support to be provided from the state and local government/local parish. Soon after these changes in the Poor Laws, the Roman Catholic Church opened a large number of institutions to provide care for the children of Catholic families. The home closed in 1974. The home was able to take up to 65 children between the ages of 5 and 16 years and although it was commonly referred to as an orphanage, actually in its later history was a home for children of the poor. Many of the children housed there came from broken homes and this is referred to in the Home Office inspection reports. In its latter years the home was run by the Northampton Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church under a registered charity called the Northampton Diocese Child Protection and Welfare Society. In 1977 this charity was renamed the St Francis' Children's Society, registered as a charity with number 211670 with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, which still operates adoption and fostering services and is based in Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The Society closed its children's homes in 1970. It became independent of the Catholic Church when the Church stopped offering adoption services in the UK in 2008. It is a company limited by guarantee with registration number 00392550.

Shefford was a railway station on the Bedford to Hitchin Line which served the town of Shefford in Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1857, it gave more than a century of service before closing in 1962.

Meppershall is a hilltop village in Bedfordshire near Shefford, Campton, Shillington, Stondon and surrounded by farmland. The village and the manor house are mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 - with the entry reading: Malpertesselle/Maperteshale: Gilbert FitzSolomon. The Manor House belonged to the De Meppershall family for nearly 300 years following 1086. The present house is early 17th century. Until 1844 Meppershall was partially in Hertfordshire. The detached portion of Hertfordshire was transferred to Bedfordshire in 1844, following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. St. Mary's church dates back to the Normans. The Parish Records of St Mary, Meppershall, have been published on CD by the Parochial Church Council.Before the advent of greenhouses, Meppershall was a very poor community with large families living in two up, two down type thatched cottages built of brick with stone floors. However, so many greenhouses were built in the village that it was known as a "glass city," growing salad crops for local markets, which were shipped further afield via the railway. As well as farming, the village earned its income from coprolite digging. Coprolite is the fossilised dung of pre-historic creatures, which when ground and treated with sulphuric acid produces a superphosphate fertiliser. To extract it, a long trench was dug on one side of a field. The overlaying clay was then dug out until the nodule bed was reached. If the depth of clay to be removed was more than eight to nine feet, the trench was made in two or three steps, and as the nodules were taken out, so the trench was refilled with the earth already removed. The nodule bed was shovelled into barrows and taken to the washing mill. This consisted of a circular iron trough with a pivot in the centre to which a set of travelling rakes was attached, these being dragged round by horses, and a constant stream of water was kept running through the trough until the clay washed off. The dirty water then was drained off and the nodules carted away. The coprolite was worth about £3 a ton in 1890, yielding some 300 tons per acre. A good fossil digger could earn as much as £2 a week. This industry has also died out.

The River Flit is a short river in Bedfordshire, England. Its name is not ancient, but rather a back formation from Flitton which originally meant that the river was spelt with as Flitt rather than Flit.

The A507 is an A-class road in England, linking the M1 motorway near Milton Keynes to the A10 at Buntingford.

Upper Stondon is a village in Bedfordshire, England, part of the wider Stondon civil parish. Upper Stondon is a very small settlement with few amenities. However, the village of Lower Stondon and nearby Henlow Camp have extensive local amenities and services.

Campton and Chicksands is a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its main settlements are Campton and Chicksands. In 2011, it had a population of 1,699.

Clifton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. The original hundred of Clifton is named after it. The original "hundred" comprised: The Parishes of Arlesey; Campton-Cum-Shefford; Chicksands; Clifton; Henlow; Holwell; Meppershall; part of Shillington; Lower Stondon; Little Holwell; Stotfold; Upper Stondon.The first recorded reference to Clifton is in 944 when it is referred to as Cliftune. Clifton is also mentioned in the Domesday Book. The entry reads: Cliftone: William de Cairon from Bishop of Lincoln, Eudo FitzHubert and Nigel d'Aubigny; Leofwin from St. Benedict's of Ramsey; Alwin from Countess Judith. 2 mills. All Saints Church, built in the 14th and 15th centuries was heavily restored in the nineteenth century. Clifton village is now a popular place to live as a consequence of its good transport links and proximity to the railway station at Arlesey. Clifton was voted Bedfordshire Village of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2009. It is today largely residential, but in the past it was a centre for straw plaiting. The original All Saints school was a "Straw Plait School" where children were expected to learn to plait straw from as young as four years of age. They would also be taught to read. There was also once a small factory producing bottled drinks. Harwoods Mineral Water Factory operated from 1880 until 1947. Harwoods produced Hops Bitters, Cherry Cider, Stone Ginger Beer, Lime Juice and Soda, and Ginger Ale and sold them to the pubs and shops of all the surrounding villages. Samuel Whitbread Academy is also located in the village of Clifton. Clifton was visited by the Queen and Prince Philip on 17 November 2006 as part of a visit to reopen the school. Facilities in Clifton include a lower school, butcher, post office/village store and two public houses (The Golden Lion and The Admiral). There is also an Indian restaurant, garage, petrol station and a hairdresser. There is a small group of businesses located in converted farm buildings at Clifton Bury farm. At the northern edge of the village is Clifton Cricket Club which plays at the Claybridge Ground. Football is played at the Recreation ground. The Community Centre, with its large car park, is located at the Northern end of the Recreation Ground. All Saints’ Church Hall is situated in Stanford Lane. There is a duckpond in the centre of the village. English actor Ben Whishaw was born and grew up in Clifton.

Lower Stondon is a small village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is located close to the border with Hertfordshire, around 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of Henlow. It is part of the larger Stondon civil parish, which at the 2001 Census had a population of approximately 2,000 increasing to approximately 2,300 at the 2011 Census. The A600 road from Hitchin to Bedford runs close to the village, while the nearest railway station is Arlesey on the East Coast Main Line.

Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment and Support, and the Signals Museum. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed following a consultation. Flying activity ceased in July 2020.