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Bedfordshire in Bedford County England History and GeographyBEDFORDSHIRE, an inland county, bounded on the north and north-west by the county of Northampton, on the north-east by the county of Huntingdon, on the east by the county of Cambridge, on the south-east by the county of Hertford, and on the west and south-west by the county of Buckingham. It lies between the parallels of 51?50' and 52?21' (N. Lat.), and the meridians of 12? and 39' (W. Lon.), is about 145 miles in circumference, and contains 297,600 acres, or 465 square miles: the population, in 1821, amounted to 83,716. This county, previously to the invasion of Britain by the Romans, was inhabited by the Cassii, or Catieuchlani, and, on the establishment of the Roman dominion, it formed part of Britannia Superior, was subsequently incorporated in Britannia Prima, and, in the year 310, was comprised in the district of Flavia C'sariensis. During the Saxon Heptarchy, it belonged to the kings of Mercia, who, on the abolition of two of those kingdoms, retained one moiety of Bedfordshire, while the kings of Essex became possessed of the other: after the whole of England had been united into one monarchy, this county was comprised within the Dene-lege, or Danish jurisdiction. Between the years 571 and 580, the Britons were defeated near Bedford, by Cuthwulf, brother of Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons. From this period, history records no events of importance as occurring here till the reign of Edward the Elder, when the county was frequently the scene of action between that monarch and the Danes. Having quitted Huntingdonshire in 921, they stationed themselves at Tempsford, and soon afterwards attacked Bedford, but were repulsed by Edward, with great slaughter, who, in turn, besieged them at Tempsford, destroyed the fortress, and slew their king, together with several of the nobility. The Danes passed through a part of Bedfordshire in their way to Oxford, in 1009, and, in the following year, burned Bedford and Tempsford; but, in 1011, Ethelred obtained entire possession of the county, which, in 1017, when the power of the Danes again prevailed, submitted to Canute. Subsequently to this, nothing worthy of record occurred for several ages, excepting the demolition of some of the baronial castles in the reigns of John, and his son, Henry III. At the commencement of the parliamentary war, Bedfordshire was one of the first counties that evinced symptoms of hostility towards the king, the inhabitants having united in the formation of a body, known by the name of the Eastern Associates, whose infantry were commanded by the Earl of Manchester, and their cavalry by Cromwell. Prince Rupert, at the head of a strong force, took possession of Bedford, in October, 1643, previously to which the king had no station in this county; but Colonel Montague soon after entered the town by stratagem, and carried off some money and horses intended for the use of the royalists: this was the last event of a military nature that took place here during the war. Bedfordshire is in the diocese of Lincoln, and province of Canterbury; it forms an archdeaconry, including the deaneries of Bedford, Clapham, Dunstable, Eaton, Fleet, and Shefford, and contains one hundred and twenty-three parishes, of which fifty-six are rectories, sixty are vicarages, and seven are perpetual curacies and donatives. For civil purposes it is divided into nine hundreds, namely, Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redborne-stoke, Stodden, Willey, and Wixamtree, and contains the borough and county town of Bedford, the corporate and market-town of Dunstable, and the market-towns of Ampthill, Biggleswade, Harrold, Leighton-Buzzard, Luton, Potton, and Woburn. Two knights are returned for the shire, and two burgesses for the borough of Bedford. The county is included in the Norfolk circuit, and the assizes and sessions are held in the shire hall at Bedford, where are the county gaol, and old house of correction, and the penitentiary, or new house of correction, and there are forty-one acting magistrates. The rates raised by the county, for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted to £92,340. 11., and the expenditure to £91,359. 14., of which £81,959. 18. was applied to the relief of the poor. The manufactures are confined almost exclusively to the platting of straw, and making thread lace, in which nearly three-fourths of the female population are employed: a great number of mats are also made, but the spinning of hemp and cotton, which once flourished, has almost been discontinued. Bedfordshire has long been noted for its abundant produce of wheat and barley, the Vale of Bedford being one of the finest corn districts in the county; the southern part contains many large dairy farms, the produce of which, being chiefly butter, is sent to the London market. In the vicinity of Biggleswade, and the parish of Sandy, there is a tract peculiarly favourable to the cultivation of garden produce, and on this account exceedingly valuable. Clay and strong loam prevail in the northern and western parts; light loam, sand, gravel, and chalk, in the southern and eastern; hills of chalk extend across the county from Hertfordshire to Buckinghamshire. For its improvements in agriculture, this county is mainly indebted to the late Duke of Bedford. According to a 'General View' of the state of agriculture in the county, published a short time since by the Board of Agriculture, 217,200 acres were in open or common fields, common meadows, commons, and wastes; 68,100 in enclosed meadows, pasture and arable lands; and 21,900 in woodland. The cattle are of a mixed kind, and of an inferior description; the horned and polled sheep are kept together, and their wool is usually of a very indifferent quality. The scenery is mostly of a pleasing, but rarely of an impressive kind: the loftier elevations afford cheering views of rich level tracts, watered by the winding Ouse, and the smaller rivers. Of these, the prospect from Ridgmont, over Buckinghamshire; that from Milbrook church-yard, over the Vale of Bedford; from an ancient encampment, called Toternhoe castle, across part of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire; and that afforded by a ride along the downs, from Stretley to Barton, are the most interesting. The principal rivers are the Ouse and the Ivel: the former flows into this county from Buckinghamshire, in the parish of Turvey, becomes navigable at Bedford, runs into Huntingdonshire between Eaton-Socon and St. Neot's, and discharges itself into the sea near Lynn, in Norfolk, its course through Bedfordshire being about forty-five miles; the latter rises near Baldock, in Hertfordshire, enters the county in the vicinity of Stotfold, becomes navigable at Biggleswade, and falls into the Ouse at Tempsford. The Lea has its source near Houghton Regis, in this county, and, after flowing through Luton parish, enters Hertfordshire between East and West Hide. The Ouzel rises near Whipsnade, and, leaving EatonBray on the right, separates this county from Buckinghamshire, in its course to Leighton-Buzzard. The great northern road from London to Glasgow enters near the forty-first mile-stone, runs through Biggleswade and Tempsford, and passes into Huntingdonshire two miles beyond Eaton-Socon. The great road from London to Chester and Holyhead enters near the thirty-third milestone, and passing through Hockliffe, or Hockley in the Hole, quits it at the forty-second mile-stone: the road to Liverpool branches off near Hockliffe, and enters Buckinghamshire two miles beyond Woburn. The road from London to Higham-Ferrers and Kettering runs into the county from Hertfordshire, near the thirty-sixth milestone, and passing through Bedford, enters Northamptonshire about eleven miles beyond it: a road from London to Bedford enters at the twenty-seventh milestone. The county is crossed by three ancient roads, uiz. the Iknield street, of British name and origin; the Roman Watling-street, stretching across the island, from the Kentish coast to the country of the Guetheli, the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of Britain, who took refuge in Wales and Ireland; and a Roman military way, which, entering the county near Baldock, continues in the line of the present north road, preserving a direct course to Chesterfield. Of the camps and earth-works, the most remarkable is Toternhoe castle, two miles north-west of Dunstable, a camp in the form of a parallelogram, 500 feet long and 250 in width: near the same place there is a circular earthwork, 2500 feet in circumference, commonly called Maiden Bower. On a hill near Sandy, there is a large camp, of an irregular oblong form; and about four miles from Bedford is a circular vallum of considerable height, with openings on the north and south sides, enclosing an area of 112 feet in diameter. Elstow church presents the purest specimen of early English architecture, the chancel being part of the original church of a monastery: the parish church of Dunstable, formerly attached to a convent founded by Henry I. in 1131, also exhibits considerable remains of the original structure. Before the reformation, this county contained fifteen religious houses, including one alien priory, and one preceptory of Knights Hospitallers: there were also six hospitals and one college of priests. The relics of these establishments are few and inconsiderable: besides those just named, portions of Dunstable priory, Elstow abbey, and of the cloisters of the Grey Friars, at Bedford, are still standing. Bedford castle, built by the Beauchamps, was a fortress of great importance, but was dismantled by order of Henry III. Extensive remains of Eaton-Socon castle are still to be seen near the church; and there are also traces of Yielden castle, the seat of the ancient barons of Trally. The elevated keeps of Risinghoe and Cainhoe castles remain, with large earthworks: the foundations of castles may likewise be traced at Bletsoe and Ridgmont, and there are vestiges of castles, or castellated mansions, at Meppershall, Puddington and Thurleigh. Mineral springs exist at Barton, Bedford, Bletsoe, Blunham, Bromham, Bushmead, Clapham, Cranfield, Holcutt, Milton-Ernest, Odell, Pertenhall, Risley, Silsoe, and Turvey; they have different properties, some being saline, others chalybeate, but none are in high repute. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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