Melchbourne and Yielden

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

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.

Melchbourne 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. In 1931 the parish had a population of 160. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished to form "Melchbourne and Yelden".The village is located west of Swineshead and east of Yelden. Melchbourne Preceptory was located in the village. Today the village is the location of the Church of St Mary Magdalene.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Royal Air Force Chelveston or more simply RAF Chelveston is a former Royal Air Force station located on the south side of the B645 (former A45 road), 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, England. During the Second World War the airfield was occupied by both the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces. It was given the USAAF designation Station 105. During the Cold War, Chelveston housed some flying units but its main role was that of a readiness station to receive USAF units from the United States in case of an emergency. In the mid-1970s, the majority of the airfield was sold by the Ministry of Defence to private landholders, with the exception of a military housing area occupied by U.S. service members assigned to RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth.

Church of St Margaret (also known as the Church of St Margaret of Antioch) is a Grade I listed church in Knotting, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964. The church was originally built in the 12th century. It underwent extensive renovation in the late 2000s. The building, which features a west tower, a nave, a chancel and a south aisle, is constructed of limestone rubble and has a clay-tiled roof. The tower is of a much later date than the rest of the building. It has datestone of 1615 in its parapet. The chancel was rebuilt in the 13th century.The church's benches date from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Dean and Shelton is a civil parish in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The two parishes of Dean and Shelton were combined on 1 April 1934. Until 1974 the parish formed part of Bedford Rural District. In 2011 it had a population of 418.