Ampthill Rural District

Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered by Ampthill Town Council. The ward of Ampthill which also includes Maulden and Clophill has an estimated population of 13,280 and is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council.

The town of Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England was administered as a Local Government District from 1893 to 1894 and an Urban District from 1894 to 1974. Prior to 1893 the town had formed part of the Ampthill Rural Sanitary District, which had been created in 1875 covering the same area as the Ampthill Poor Law Union. On 18 February 1893 a Local Government District was established for the town, covering the whole parish of Ampthill, removing it from the Ampthill Rural Sanitary District. The first meeting of the new Local Board was held on 14 April 1893 at the town's courthouse on Church Street.Under the Local Government Act 1894, Local Government Districts became Urban Districts from 31 December 1894.

Cooper's Hill is an 18.1-hectare (45-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ampthill in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1984, and the planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. A smaller area of 12.7 hectares is also a Local Nature Reserve, Part of the site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.The site is described by Natural England as the best surviving example in Bedfordshire of heathland on the thin acidic soils of the Lower Greensand Ridge. It also has areas of marsh and woodland.There is access from Alameda Road and Station Road.

Redborne Upper School & Community College is an academy school and sixth-form located in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England. The school serves the population of Ampthill, Flitwick and surrounding villages. Redborne is a designated Training school. As a training school the school offers a postgraduate programme as well as a Graduate Teacher Programme, and an Access to Education Scheme. Through this the school has links with the University of Bedfordshire, Oxford Brookes University and Bedford College. In July 2019, the school was awarded an Artsmark gold award from Arts Council England. The award is in recognition of the school's excellence in arts education.The school was previously a specialist Sports College, however on 1 April 2011, the school formally gained academy status. The school also has a working farm allowing a qualification in agriculture.As of 2019, the school's most recent Ofsted judgement was Good (2017).

Ampthill Town Football Club is a football club based in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England. The club are currently members of Spartan South Midlands League Division One and play at Ampthill Park. They are affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.

Cut-throat Meadow is a 1.5 hectare nature reserve in Ampthill in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.The reserve is in three separate areas off Ailesbury Road. There is a steeply sloping meadow area at the corner of Ailesbury Road and Church Street, a steeply sloping wood at the corner of Ailesbury Road and Snow Hill, and a pond between Rushbrook Close and Manton Close.Meadow saxifrage and field woodrush flower in the spring in the meadow area, and invertebrates include grasshoppers and bush crickets. The main trees in the wood are beech and scots pine, with an understorey of hawthorn, yew and hazel. The pond has reedmace and celery-leaved buttercup, and there are water boatmen and pond skaters on the surface.

Ampthill Park and Ampthill Park House is a country estate in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England. The park was opened to the public after the Second World War.From the 14th century Ampthill Park was a royal lodge and hunting park. In the 15th century it was occupied by Sir John Cornwall, who had married the king's sister, Elizabeth of Lancaster, Duchess of Exeter. Sir John amassed a large fortune and constructed Ampthill Castle, a fortified house. After his death Ampthill Park passed to Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent before becoming royal property again. Henry VIII used it for hunting and to hold Katherine of Aragon during the annulment of their marriage. By 1600 the castle was ruinous and in 1661 the park was given by Charles II to John Ashburnham, a Royalist supporter.The present house was built from 1687-1689 by architect Robert Grumbold for the Ossory family who held the estate under lease. In the late 1700s the house was remodelled by Sir William Chambers and the grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. On the death of Lord Upper Ossory on 13 February 1818, Ampthill Park became the seat of Lord Holland in whose time Holland House in Kensington, London, became famous as a gathering place for intellectuals. It was home to Sir James Parke, Baron Wensleydale, until 1868, and from 1885 was the residence of Lady Ampthill. Notable 20th-century architect Sir Albert Richardson lived in Ampthill from 1919 until his death in 1964. During World War II the estate was occupied by the army. There was a farming camp near Ampthill, where volunteers recovered sugarbeet and were accommodated in tents in the grounds. After the war it was sold to Bovril Limited, becoming a Cheshire Home for the Disabled in 1955. In 1979, the mansion was rescued from dereliction and divided into four large homes. It is a grade II* listed building. The park is listed grade II.Ampthill Park was the burial place for the golden hare in the Kit Williams treasure hunt Masquerade. Ampthill Park House should not be confused with the former Ampthill House, which was demolished in 1953. The site of Ampthill House 52.031301679473806°N 0.48887789156448314°W / 52.031301679473806; -0.48887789156448314 (Ampthill House location) was developed for housing along today's Church Avenue in Ampthill town.

Ampthill railway station was built over a mile from the historic market town of Ampthill in the English county of Bedfordshire by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St. Pancras.

Houghton House is a ruined mansion house in the parish of Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, positioned above the surrounding countryside, and commands excellent views. Built from 1615 to 1621, it is said that the house was the model for House Beautiful in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678). It was abandoned in 1794 and stripped (by the owner) of its interiors and roof for sale as building supplies. Today the property is owned by English Heritage, and is open to free public access during daylight hours.

Ampthill tunnel is a railway tunnel at Ampthill on the Midland Main Line, being positioned between Bedford and Flitwick. It consists of two separate bores, each one accommodating double-track throughout. The first Ampthill Tunnel was built during the 1860s; growing demand on the line led to the original double-track configuration being inadequate for further growth. Thus, during the 1890s, a second Ampthill Tunnel was constructed directly alongside, facilitating the Midland Railway's expansion plans of running a quadruple-track arrangement between Kettering and London wherever practical to do so. Both bores have remained active through to the present day. During mid 2012, Ampthill Tunnel was subject to a series of high speed evaluation runs, including a record maximum speed for the route of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h); in the following year, the line speeds were increased to 125 mph along much of the Midland Main Line.

Flitwick railway station is in the centre of Flitwick, in Bedfordshire, England. The station is situated on the Midland Main Line. The station is managed by Thameslink, who operate all trains serving it, and is served by Thameslink route services between Bedford and Brighton. As well as Flitwick itself, the station also serves the adjoining town of Ampthill, which no longer has its own station. From Flitwick, trains travel north and serve Bedford and southbound trains serve Luton, Luton Airport Parkway, Harpenden, St Albans, London St Pancras, Gatwick Airport and Brighton.

Flitwick ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling Flytwyk appears in 1381.The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.