Bletsoe Bedfordshire Family History Guide
Bletsoe is an Ancient Parish in the hundred of Willey and county of Bedfordshire.
The petty sessions for the hundred of Barford, Stodden, and Willey, were occasionally held here.
Parish church: St. Mary
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1582
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602
Nonconformists include:
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
BLETSOE, a parish in the district and county of Bedford; on the river Ouse, and on the Midland railway, 1½ mile SSE of Sharnbrook r. station, and 6 NNW of Bedford. It has a post office under Bedford. Acres, 2,239. Real property, £4,021. Pop., 412. Houses, 80. The property is all in one estate; and belonged once to the Pateshulls and the Beauchamps. An old castle, now a farmhouse, was the seat of the ancestors of Lord St. John of Bletsoe. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value, £316. Patron, Lord St. John. The church contains tombs of the St. John family and of Frances Countess of Bolingbroke. Charities, £13.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Bletsoe, 6 m. N. Bedford. P. 420.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1833
Bletsoe, co. Bedford.
P. T. Bedford (50) 6½ m. NNW. Pop. 383.
A parish in the hundred of Willey; living, a rectory in the archdeaconry of Bedford and diocese of Lincoln; valued in K. B. 17 l.; church ded. to St. Mary; patron, Lord St. John. The petty sessions for the hundred of Barford, Stodden, and Willey, are occasionally held here.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. II; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Parish Registers
Bletsoe Parish Registers 1582 – 1812
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Bedfordshire Historical Directories
Directory Transcriptions
The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869
BLETSOE is a small village and parish, 6 miles from Bedford, and 57 from London, in the hundred Willey, union and county court district of Bedford, deanery of Clapham, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely. National schools have been erected by subscription. Petty sessions are held fortnightly at the Falcon inn. Pillow lace is made here also bricks and draining pipes. BONE or BOURNE END is one mile and a half north; Bletsoe Park one mile and a half north north east
Parish Clerk, Frederick Haines
Post Office – Mrs Sarah Bennett, postmistress. Letters received from Bedford at 7.15 a.m. Box closes at 5 pm; on sundays 3 pm. The nearest money order office is at Sharnbrook.
National School, James Green, master; Mrs Sarah Greenm mistress
CARRIERS – Ibbs, from Kimbolton through to Bedford, tuesday; Wise, from Risely, through to Bedford, wednesvery day & saturday
Day Rev John Tomlinson MA rector
Haythorn Colonel
Hipwell Mr Daniel Beall
Beall John Charles farmer Bletsoe park
Bennett Sarah Mrs Falcon
Brown James shopkeeper
Curtis Thomas shopkeeper
Gore Levi shopkeeper
Hipwell & Son millers & farmers Stoke mills
Hipwell Thomas assessor & collector of taxes Stoke mills
King William farmer
Nutter George brick & draining pipe maker Bourne end
Payne William farmer
Spencer John farmer Bourne end
Thomas John farmer Castle farm
Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869
Maps
OS Grid Reference: TL0211858295 (all-numeric format: 502118 258295)
Administration
- County: Bedfordshire
- Civil Registration District: Bedford
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Clapham
- Poor Law Union: Bedford
- Hundred: Willey
- Province: Canterbury