Shefford, Bedfordshire

Shefford
Shefford High Street
Shefford Shefford shown within Bedfordshire
Population	4,928 (2001) 5,881 (2011 Census)^[1]
Civil parish	Shefford
Unitary authority	Central Bedfordshire
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Shefford
Postcode district	SG17
Dialling code	01462
Police	Bedfordshire
Fire	Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Mid Bedfordshire
List of places UK England Bedfordshire

Coordinates: 52°02′13″N 0°19′55″W / 52.037°N 0.332°W / 52.037; -0.332

Shefford is a town and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 4,928, and was estimated to have grown to 5,770 by 2007.^[2]^[3] The population at the 2011 Census had risen to 5,881.^[1]

History

Roman remains were discovered in Shefford in the early 19th century.^[4]

Sir William Lyle was Lord of Camelton (Campton) and Shefford in 1399. Local stories and myths of Camelton and the knights of the round table have become popular in youth culture insighting books and films by a similar name,^[5]

Robert Bloomfield the poet, died in penury in Shefford in 1823.

Between 1868 and 1974 Shefford was the site of St Francis' Boy's Home (orphanage) that was situated on High Street next to the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. The church remains in use as a place of worship. The orphanage buildings, which are seen on the right of the picture, have been turned into flats. The orphanage buildings are the most imposing in the hamlet and date from the 1880s. Many files regarding the home can be found at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service at Borough Hall in Bedford. There are Home Office and Department for Education Inspection Reports available that cover the period from 1962 to 1969.

During World War II an entire Jewish children's community came into being in Shefford as evacuees from Europe were billeted in and around the town as part of "Operation Pied Piper Tomorrow".

Geography

The River Flit and the River Hit run through the hamlet. The Flit runs from Flitwick and joins the River Ivel on the edge of Shefford. The Ivel eventually joins the River Great Ouse just north of Sandy.

The name Shefford is derived from sheep-ford because there had been a sheep market and ford crossings over the two rivers that run through the hamlet.

Shefford Hardwick was a hamlet located west of the parish, north of Ampthill Road. The rural settlement became a civil parish in its own right in 1858, but was merged into the parish of Shefford in 1933 as the farmstead expanded.

As of 2016 shefford is one of three sites given the go ahead by central BEDS for fracking due to its ideally suited Location, although causing a lot of controversy in the area it will create over 200 jobs much needed after the closing of a local workhouse

Facilities

Shefford incorporates a fire station, bowls club and a brewery. As well as this, it has various pubs and restaurants, including Chinese takeaways, award-winning Indian takeaways and restaurants and a fish and chip shop. Shefford has 2 petrol stations, two car dealers, a bank and a pharmacy. There are three estate agents, an electrical shop, two florists, a second-hand clothes shop, an angling centre and a bakery. There are two small cafe and cake/sandwich shops. There is also a post office with sorting facilities. There is also an ironmonger's.

There is a small supermarket, a travel agent and a public library.

The hamlet has a scout group, and a local Army Cadet Force hut at Chicksands on the Army Intelligence Corps base, which is part of Bedfordshire ACF, in A company.

As Shefford's size has increased, a number of multinational brands have expressed interest in investment. This includes Domino's Pizza which opened in 2014. As well as the purchase of a property in southbridge street by Starbucks coffee.

Education

The areas around Shefford are served by the upper school Samuel Whitbread Academy, Robert Bloomfield Academy which has a Grade 1 (outstanding) Ofsted report, Shefford Lower School and Shefford Nursery.

Sport and leisure

References

1 2 "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
↑ Office for National Statistics: Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Mid Bedfordshire Retrieved 31 October 2010
↑ Bedfordshire County Council: Population Estimates and Forecasts: 2007
↑ Shefford Pages at the Community archive. http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/Shefford/Romano-BritishShefford.aspx; Roman cemetery, Roman coins, Possible Roman road.
↑ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/555. http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H4/CP40no555/aCP40no555fronts/IMG_0222.htm; third entry, as defendant in a plea of debt

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shefford, Bedfordshire.

Ceremonial county of Bedfordshire

England Portal

Unitary authorities	Borough of Bedford Borough of Luton Central Bedfordshire

Major settlements	Ampthill Arlesey Barton-le-Clay Bedford Biggleswade Dunstable Flitwick Houghton Regis Kempston Leighton Buzzard Linslade Luton Potton Sandy Shefford Stotfold Wixams See also: List of civil parishes in Bedfordshire

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Settlements in Central Bedfordshire

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.