Bedford, Bedfordshire Genealogy

Parish History
AMPTHILL, a small town, a park, a parish, a subdistrict, and a district, in Beds. The town stands on a pleasant spot, overlooked by hills... and 7 miles S by W of Bedford. It is neat and regular; and has a head post office, a banking office, two chief inns, an old moot-hall, a new market house, a parish church, three chapels for Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Quakers, a national school, a workhouse, and two alms houses... Most of its inhabitants are agricultural; but some are employed in an extensive brewery, and many are employed in straw-platting and bonnet sewing. A weekly market is held on Thursday; and fairs on 4 May and 30 November... The parish of Ampthill comprises 1,928 acres. Real property, £8,651. Pop., 2,144. Houses, 438. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely... The subdistrict comprises 9 parishes, and part of another. Acres, 19,118. Pop., 9,076. Houses, 1,897.-The district comprehends the subdistrict of Cranfield, containing the parishes of Cranfield, Lidlington, and Marston-Moretainc; the subdistrict of Shillington, containing the parishes of Shillington, Upper Gravenhurst, Lower Gravenhurst, Higham-Gobion, Clophill, and part of Flitton; and the subdistrict of Ampthill, containing the parishes of Ampthill, Houghton-Conquest, Hawnes, Manlden, Pul loxhill, Westoning, Flitwick, Steppingley, Millbrook and part of Flitton. Acres, 41,551... Pop. in 1861, 16,970. Houses, 3,519... The places of worship in 1851 were 20 of the Church of England, with 6,308 sittings; 1 of Independents, with 290 s.; 6 of Baptists, with 1,052 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 220 s.; 13 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 2,360 s.; 3 of Primitive Methodists, with 309 s.; and 3 undefined, with 672 s. The schools in 1851 were 18 public day schools, with 1,209 scholars; 19 private day schools, with 423 s.; 36 Sunday schools, with 3,657 s.; and 3 evening schools for adults, with 91 s.

The above is from John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72), online at Vision of Britain. See online for the full version.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Courtesy of Bedfordshire Parish Registers and Steven Gibbs:


 * St. Cuthbert Marriage Registers: July 1837 - December 1882
 * St. Cuthbert Marriage Registers: January 1883 - March 1901
 * St. John Marriage Registers: July 1837 - March 1901
 * St. Martin Marriage Registers: February 1897 - March 1901
 * St. Mary Marriage Registers: July 1837-December 1870
 * St. Mary Marriage Registers: January 1871-December 1889
 * St. Mary Marriage Registers: January 1890 - March 1901
 * St. Peter Marriage Registers July 1837-March 1901
 * St. Peter Marriage Registers January 1866 - December 1865
 * St. Peter Marriages Registers January 1887 - March 1901

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Bedfordshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain