Melchbourne

Church of St Mary Magdalene is a Grade I listed church in Melchbourne, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964. The church is one of the Stodden Group of churches, which is a group of six parish churches also including All Hallows’ Church in Dean, St Mary's Church in Shelton, St Mary's Church in Yelden, St Nicholas' Church in Swineshead, and St Peter's Church in Pertenhall. The Stodden Group is part of the Sharnbrook Deanery within the Diocese of St Albans in the Church of England.

Melchbourne Preceptory was a priory in Melchbourne, Bedfordshire, England. It was established in the 12th century and disestablished around 1550.

Melchbourne and Yielden is a civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The two parishes of Melchbourne and Yelden (also known as Yielden) were combined in 1934. Until 1974 the parish formed part of Bedford Rural District. The official name of the parish as recorded by the Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey is "Melchbourne and Yielden", but the parish council calls itself "Melchbourne and Yelden Parish Council", using the other common variant spelling for Yelden. Ordnance Survey maps prior to the 1934 parish merger generally used the name "Yelden" for both the village and parish, whereas their maps since 1934 generally call the village "Yelden" but the parish "Melchbourne and Yielden", suggesting that the official use of the spelling "Yielden" in the merged parish name may have arisen from the 1934 North Bedfordshire Review Order which merged the parishes.

Yelden or Yielden is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Melchbourne and Yielden, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, near the borders with Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. It lies on the River Til which feeds into the Great Ouse valley and is about 70 m (230 ft) above sea level. It is approximately 14 miles (23 km) north of Bedford, 3.75 miles (6.04 km) south-east of Higham Ferrers and 6.75 miles (10.86 km) west of Kimbolton and is in the Hundred of Stodden. The countryside around the village rises to about 90 m (300 ft) above sea level, is generally open and rolling in nature and is predominantly used for agricultural purposes. The centre piece of the village is the Castle Mound or Yielden Castle the site of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. This is now a complex of grassed over earthworks dominated by a central mound. Other notable features include the church of St Mary, a Wesleyan Chapel built in 1884, the Chequers Public House (Closed since December 2016) and the Yelden Village Hall. It has a present population of roughly between 150 and 200 adults and between 50 and 100 children living in about 90 residences. Yelden has its own book under the title Yelden Past and Present produced by the Yelden Parish Study Group that was first printed in 1972. It has since been updated and reprinted in 2001 and is the definitive source of historical information about the village. Much of the information in this article has been made with reference to this publication. Neighbouring villages include Melchbourne, Newton Bromswold, Upper Dean and Shelton.

Yielden Castle was a twelfth-century castle located in Yelden in the county of Bedfordshire, England.

Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church in Shelton, Bedfordshire, England.

Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church in Yelden, Bedfordshire, England. It is a good example of a village church mainly in the Decorated style. Originally the Trailly family received it from the monks at Thorney Abbey early in the 12th Century and was confirmed to them by a charter of Pope Alexander III in 1162. Although Norman in origin its shows no indication of this in its construction. It consists of a Nave and Chancel dating back to the early 13th Century and had been considerably re-modelled since then, the most notable feature being the tower and broach spire. The churchyard contains Commonwealth war graves of a Norfolk Regiment soldier of World War I and an airman of World War II.

Church of All Saints is a Grade I listed church in Riseley, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.The tower, roofs and seating are of the 15th century.

Yelden Meadows is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Yelden (or Yeilden) in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Bedford Borough Council.The site is a rare example of neutral grassland on clay which has not been improved agriculturally. It is a flood meadow which has been maintained to provide hay with grazing during the winter, and it has a rich variety of plant species. The main grasses are meadow foxtail and rough meadow grass. Old hedgerows add to the diversity of habitats.The site is private land and there is no public access.

Upper Dean is a village located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.

The Church of All Saints is a Grade I listed church in Upper Dean, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.The church escaped restoration in Victorian times and has a perfect country interior. The church was more or less rebuilt in the 15th century when only the tower and spire (14th-century) and the chancel arch (13th-century) were retained. The roofs are all 15th-century and fine specimens of that period. There are fine screens across the chancel arch and at the west ends of both chapels; the pews are old.

Shelton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dean and Shelton, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 101. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Dean to form "Dean and Shelton".It is close to the county border with Northamptonshire and the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire. The 14th century Church of St Mary the Virgin is located in the village. It is a grade I listed building.