Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is bounded by Hertfordshire to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, and Buckinghamshire to the west. It has an area of 1,235 square kilometres (477 sq mi), and population estimated in 2015 at 630,000, with an increase of 10% over the previous ten years. The county town is Bedford, and the name is first recorded in the treaty in about 879 between King Alfred the Great and Guthrum, which divided English and Danish territory by a line which went through Bedford.Southern Bedfordshire is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. North and mid Bedfordshire are undulating claylands with broad river valleys of the River Great Ouse and its tributaries, and the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. Jurassic and Cretaceous clays are overlaid by Quaternary glacial deposits of chalky boulder clay.There are forty Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Bedfordshire, designated by Natural England. Thirty-five are listed for their biological interest, and five for their geological interest. Three of the sites are also national nature reserves, twelve are in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and eleven are managed wholly or partly by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. In 2009 Bedfordshire was divided into three unitary local authorities: thirty-two sites are in Central Bedfordshire, eight in Bedford and none in Luton.

Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is bounded by Hertfordshire to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, and Buckinghamshire to the west. It has an area of 1,235 square kilometres (477 sq mi), and a population estimated in 2016 at 640,000, with an increase of 11% over the previous ten years. Geographically, it is mainly rural, but still the fourteenth most densely populated county of England, with over half the population living in the two largest built-up areas, Luton and Bedford. The county is governed by three unitary authorities, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. The county town is Bedford, and the name is first recorded in the treaty in about 879 between King Alfred the Great and Guthrum, which divided English and Danish territory by a line which went through Bedford.Much of Luton and southern Bedfordshire lies in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. North and mid Bedfordshire are undulating claylands with broad river valleys of the River Great Ouse and its tributaries, and the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. Jurassic and Cretaceous clays are overlaid by Quaternary glacial deposits of chalky boulder clay.Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have a legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it, or having a legal agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.As of March 2016 there are twenty local nature reserves in Bedfordshire: eight in Bedford, eleven in Central Bedfordshire and one in Luton. The largest is Harrold-Odell Country Park with 59.3 hectares (147 acres); it is a former quarry on the bank of the River Great Ouse which has river meadows and two lakes. The smallest is Hill Rise at 0.9 hectares (2.2 acres); it is close to Bedford town centre and surrounded on three sides by houses, but it has a variety of habitats. There is public access to all the sites.

Herrings Green is a hamlet in the civil parish of Cotton End, on the outskirts of Bedford, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement is close to Cotton End and Wilstead. It is a tiny group of just 3 cottages and some farms on the Wilstead Road. Until 2019 Herrings Green forms part of the Eastcotts civil parish.

Eastcotts is an electoral ward within the Borough of Bedford, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was formerly also a civil parish until its abolition on 1 April 2019, when Cotton End and Shortstown parishes were established.The boundaries of Eastcotts are approximately Exeter Wood to the east, Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge to the south and Shocott Spring to the west. There are two woodlands; Shocott Spring and Exeter Wood, two villages; Shortstown and Cotton End and two hamlets; Harrowden and Herrings Green. And some landmarks such as the Cardington Sheds.

Cotton End is a small village and civil parish on the outskirts of Bedford. It became its own parish as of 1 April 2019, having previously been part of the parish of Eastcotts. Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880s show its name as 'Cardington Cotton End'.There is a primary school, a Baptist church, a village hall and a pub. The Baptist chapel was founded here in 1777. In 1912, Cotton End was described as a scattered hamlet with a school and a farm. It lies further down the A600 road from Shortstown. A new woodland created by the Forest of Marston Vale in 2005 called Shocott Spring.

Eastcotts Castle was a medieval castle located in the parish of Eastcotts, at the edge of Exeter Wood, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. Eastcotts Castle is believed to have been constructed during the late 11th, or early 12th, centuries. It was a small motte castle, made of timber, located on the northern edge of the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. It was in a prime location, overlooking the village of Cardington, as well as the River Ouse. Only earthworks remain at the site, which is a Scheduled Monument, located in Exeter Wood, 780m south east of Wood Farm.

Haynes Park is a Georgian country house which stands in parkland at Haynes Church End, Bedfordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.Originally known as Hawnes Park it was built c.1725 for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, a prominent statesman and remodelled and expanded several times since by his descendants. It is constructed of red and white brick to a square plan in two storeys with attics and slate roofs. Later extensions formed a courtyard. The south front has 13 bays in a 3-7-3 formation surmounted by a parapet, the two outer bays projecting in 2-storey bows. It stands in an estate which today comprises some 800 acres (320ha) of parkland and woodland. The estate passed down to John Thynne, 3rd Baron Carteret, who died childless, leaving it to his nephew Lord John Thynne, sub-Dean of Westminster, thence to his eldest son Francis John Thynne, who was lord of the manors of Kilkhampton, Stratton and Binhamy in Cornwall. Stowe House in Kilkhampton, Cornwall, had been the seat of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), which manor had descended to his third daughter Lady Grace Granville, suo jure 1st Countess Granville (3 September 1654 – 18 October 1744), wife of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret of [Haynes Park, and mother of John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. The progeny of this marriage, Barons Carteret, Earls Granville, and Marquesses of Bath (Thynne), were co-heirs to William Granville, 3rd Earl of Bath (1692–1711) who died of smallpox aged 19 without progeny when the earldom became extinct. Haynes Park was the home of Rev. Lord John Thynne (1798–1881), DD, Canon of Westminster, (whose monument with effigy survives in Westminster Abbey), 3rd son of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath. He inherited it from his childless uncle John Thynne, 3rd Baron Carteret (1772–1849). Francis Thynne's younger brother was Rev. Arthur Thynne (1833–1908), Rector of Kilkhampton, and a Canon of Truro Cathedral, of the newly built Penstowe House, Kilkhampton. Francis Thynne's second son was Lt Col. Algernon Carteret Thynne (1868–1917), DSO, Royal North Devon Hussars, of Penstowe, Kilkhampton, who was killed in action in Palestine during World War I, and whose monument by Sir William Goscombe John R.A. (1860–1952) survives in Kilkhampton Church. His widow (Anita) Constance Thynne (1871–1961), JP, lived on at Penstowe until her death in 1961. Algernon Thynne's brother and heir was George Thynne of Trelana, Poughill, who sold Penstowe in 1963.In 1908 Haynes Park was the residence of Mr. W. B. Greenfield (by apparent co-incidence "Greenfield" was the spelling adopted by the Grenville family during the 16th century), formerly tenant of Beechwood Park, Dunstable, and still contained a notable collection of portraits of Grenvilles, Carterets, and Thynnes, including John Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701), Sir Richard VIII Grenville (1542–1591) "of the Revenge", dated 1571, Sir Bernard Grenville (1567–1636), his son, and Sir Bevil Grenville (1596–1643), his great-grandson, killed at the Battle of Lansdowne. A portrait also existed there of Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet (c.1610–1680), Governor of Jersey, who purchased Haynes in 1667 and whose grandson was the husband of Lady Grace Grenville.In 1929 the house became a boarding school for girls known as Hawnes Girls School which closed in 1975 and was then taken over by Clarendon School for Girls after their previous premises at Abergele had been destroyed in a fire. After Clarendon School merged with Monkton Combe School near Bath, Somerset in 1992 the property was sold to the Radha Soami Satsang Beas British Isles (RSSB), an Indian sect and is still (2019) still occupied by the associated organisation Science of the Soul.

Haynes Church End is located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement is close to the larger villages of Houghton Conquest and Haynes. Haynes Church End forms part of the Haynes civil parish and contains the Grade-II*-listed parish church of St Mary the Virgin, as well as Haynes Park.

Wilstead is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, just off the A6 Bedford to Luton road, about five miles south of Bedford town centre, and within the Borough of Bedford. The name of the village has been spelled in many different ways, including Wilshamstead and Wylhamstead. Wilstead is now the usual name of the village, but the civil parish is named Wilshamstead. The council estimated the population of the parish at 2,550 in 2005. Most of the inhabitants live in the main village, but some live in other hamlets and isolated houses. Near the centre of the village are a small shop that incorporates a sub post office with a sorting office, two pubs, a pharmacy/convenience store, an Indian takeaway, a Chinese takeaway and a small used car sales outlet. Wilstead Primary School is located in Cotton End Road, as is the village hall, a modern building. The village also has a pre-school and two churches. Many allotments are close to the village playing fields. Playgrounds are located next to the primary school, off Long Meadow Drive. The Wilstead Jubilee Centre and Multi Use Games Area are in Jubilee Way, and a lawn bowls club is nearby. On the eastern edge of the village towards the A600 road is the Herrings Green Activity Farm & Bird of Prey Centre. Housing types include traditional farms, older houses (including thatched cottages and several Listed Buildings) and more modern, estate-type housing. Dwellings on the estate are generally of a more spacious character than the most modern developments. There is also a mobile home park called Briar Bank Park on the southern end of the village. On the other (Western) side of the A6 is a large development of new, high density housing called Wixams. The new town is being developed in phases, with the first phase (Lakeview) originally located in the Wilshamstead civil parish, however a new Wixams civil parish was created for the area in 2015. The yearly "Wilstead Ball" takes place the first Saturday of July and is a formal black tie and ball gown event. Taking place in a marquee in the grounds of one of the larger houses in the village, the money made from the event is normally allocated to a charity of the organisers preference. In recent years the event has sold out within days of the tickets sales being announced.

Cardington Airfield, previously RAF Cardington, is a former Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, with a long and varied history, particularly in relation to airships and balloons. Most of the former RAF station is in the parish of Eastcotts, as is the settlement of Shortstown.

Cardington Workmen's Platform was a railway station on the Bedford to Hitchin Line which served the Royal Air Force station near the village of Cardington in Bedfordshire, England. A short-lived halt, it opened during the First World War and closed in 1921.

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