Samuel Whitbread Academy

Shefford Town & Campton Football Club (The Bluemen) is an English football club based in the town of Shefford, Bedfordshire. The team plays its home matches at Shefford Sports Club on Hitchin Road in Shefford and at Campton Playing Fields, Rectory Road in Campton. The club is competing at the 10th tier of the English football league system in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One. The club also has a reserve side competing in the Premier Division,an U23s team competing in Division 3 and an A Team in Division 4 all in the Bedfordshire County Football League. Originally formed in 1910 as Shefford Town, their first successful period came in the 1950s: starting in 1949–50, the team won two South Midlands League championships and three Beds Senior Cups within five seasons. Subsequently, the club finished as runners-up in the Parthenon League, and won the United Counties League title in 1960–61. Shefford would not match these achievements until the early 1980s, when the club was promoted from the South Midlands League's second tier in 1982–83 and won the league title a year later. After relegation in 1990, Shefford Town folded in 1994. The town remained without a senior football team until 2009, when the club was reformed. In 2010 Shefford Town merged with near neighbours Campton. The club has had success both on and off the pitch in recent years since its reformation, the club were crowned Bedfordshire County Premier Division Winners in 2011–12, 2017–18 and 2018–19. The Bedfordshire County League Britannia Cup was won in both 2011 & 2014 and the East Beds Charity Cup was won by the Reserve team in 2015. The Club has also finished runners up in the Biggleswade knock-out cup in 2015, 2016 & 2017. At the end of 2018–19 season Shefford announced its intentions to seek promotion into the Spartan South Midlands Football League, they duly wrapped up the Bedfordshire County League title and passed the relevant ground grading, so the club is all set to step back into the league it folded out of back in 1994. The club is affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.

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.

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.

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.

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

Stanford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Southill, in the Central Bedfordshire district of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is about 8.5 miles (14 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford. In 1870–72 it had a population of 385.

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.

RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow is a former Royal Air Force unit covering three distinct sites in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The three sites, separately known as RAF Brampton, RAF Wyton and RAF Henlow, housed a number of flying training, intelligence, security and other RAF support organisations. On 2 April 2012 the unit was disbanded with RAF Brampton being renamed Brampton Camp RAF Wyton.

The Bedford–Hitchin line was a branch of the Midland Railway which served stations at Cardington, Southill, Shefford and Henlow Camp in Bedfordshire, England. It opened in 1857, but was largely made redundant as a through-route to London by the extension of the Midland Main Line to St Pancras. The last passenger train ran in December 1961, yet goods services lingered on until 1964.

Southill is a rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about 8 miles (13 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for the civil parish as 1,192. The civil parish includes the villages of Broom and Stanford and the hamlet of Ireland Its eastern fields are on the plain of the River Ivel; its west is hilly. The village centre is located in a close cluster. The principal residence, Southill Park, was one of at least four manors, and was for three generations the home of the local branch of the landed Byng family, the Viscounts Torrington, Navy admirals, by whom it was sold at the end of the 18th century to industrialist Samuel Whitbread. Admiral John Byng is buried in All Saints Church, which is a 14th and 15th century church embellished in 1814.

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.