Cranfield, Bedfordshire Family History Guide
CRANFIELD is a parish and large village, 4½ miles north from both the Ampthill and the Woburn Sands stations of the North Western Railway, 7 north west from Ampthill, and 9 south west from Bedford, in the hundred of Redbornstoke, union and county court district of Ampthill, rural deanery of East Fleete, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely1.
Parish church: SS. Peter and Paul1.
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1600
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602
Nonconformists include:
- Baptist
- Independent/Congregational
- Particular Baptist
- Society of Friends/Quaker
- Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Moulsoe Buckinghamshire
- Kempston
- North Crawley Buckinghamshire
- Marston Moreteyne
- Hulcote with Salford
- Wootton
- Broughton Buckinghamshire
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
CRANFIELD, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in Ampthill district, Beds. The village stands near the boundary with Bucks, 3½ miles NW of Lidlington r. station, and 6 NW by W of Ampthill: has a post office under Newport-Pagnell; and gave the title of Baron to the Duke of Dorset.
The parish comprises 3, 500 acres. Real property, 6, 519. Pop., 1, 591. Houses, 315. The property is divided among a few. The parish is a meet for the Oakley hounds. There is a mineral spring. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value, £376. Patron, the Rev. G. G. Harter. The church is later English, in good condition. There are two Baptist chapels, a Wesleyan chapel, an endowed school with £18, alms-houses with £60, and other charities with £28. The sub-district contains three parishes. Acres, 10, 191. Pop., 3, 706. Houses, 753.
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
Cranfield, 5½ m. N.W. Ampthill. P. 1371.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
Parish Registers
Cranfield Parish Registers 1600 – 1812
London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869
The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.
Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.
Dymock, Charles (Dymoke), of Cranfield, Beds, gent., baclielor, 22 and upwards, and Mrs. Elizabeth Odell, of St. Clement Danes, Middlesex, spinster, about 21, consent of father, Thomas Odell, of same, gent. — at St. Sepulchre, St. Bartholome-the-Great or Less, or St. Clement Danes. 21 July, 1673. V.
Franck, Thomas (Frank), of Cranfield, co. Beds, clerk, widower, about 30, and Elizabeth Smith, of St. Martin, Ludgate, spinster, about 24, her parents dead — at St. James, Clerkenwell, or Little St. Bartholomew. 23 July, 1062. V
Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Bedfordshire Historical Directories
Directory Transcriptions
Kelly’s Directory of the Wine and Spirit Trades, with which are included Brewers and Maltsters 1884
Marked thus * are Small Brewers who brew the beer they sell.
CRANFIELD, Newport Pagnell
Maltster
Brown John
Source: The Post office directory of the brewers and maltsters [afterw.] Kelly’s directory of the wine and spirit trades, with which are included brewers and maltsters By Kelly’s directories, ltd. 1884
The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869
CRANFIELD is a parish and large village, 4½ miles north from both the Ampthill and the Woburn Sands stations of the North Western Railway, 7 north west from Ampthill, and 9 south west from Bedford, in the hundred of Redbornstoke, union and county court district of Ampthill, rural deanery of East Fleete, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely.
There is a National school, partly endowed, and a Wesleyan and two Particular Baptist chapels. The charities consist of Grange’s charity, of about £22 per annum, for apprenticing boys, £5 5s distributable to the poor on St Thomas’s Day, and almshouses for three poor widows.
Cranfield Court, the residence of the Rev George Gardner Harter, M.A., J.P., is an elegant and spacious modern mansion, in the French Gothic style, of red brick, with Bath stone facings: it stands upon an eminence, and is a very picturesque object from the surrounding country. Captain Drake, who is lord of the manor, and the Rev G.G. Harter are the principal land owners. The soil is chiefly cold clay; subsoil, cold clay. The chief crops are wheat, oats, beans, and peas. The area is 3,933 acres, and the population in 1861 was 1,591.
Parish Clerk, William Battison
POST OFFICE – Ebenezer Lovell, receiver. Letters through Newport Pagnell, arrive at 8.40 am; box closes at 4.55 pm; & on sundays at 10.25 am. The nearest money order office is at Newport Pagnell
National School, George Winter, master; Mrs Winter, mistress
CARRIERS TO BEDFORD – William Underwood & Joel Read, wednesday & saturday
Birley Rev Hugh Hornby MA [rector]
Coleman Mr George
Faldor William esq
Harter Rev George Gardner MA JP Cranfield court
Langford Rev John Fréré MA [curate]
Milligan Wm Wright esq FRCS
Owen Rev Thomas [Baptist]
COMMERCIAL
Bailey William Crow inn
Baker Mary Ann Mrs farmer Tartlett end
Billington Edward draper
Billington Robert farmer Perry hill
Bliss Matthew Poswell farmer
Bosworth Thomas farmer Rectory farm
Brawn William farmer Leys farm
Brewer Doyley Mrs old George
Caplin John house steward to Rev G G Harter Cranfield court
Clark James farmer Bourn end
Coleman William farmer
Corder Thomas miller Broad green
Cox George blacksmith
Day James farmer
Ellis William farmer & brick maker
Falce Sarah Mrs lace dealer
Faulkner George maltster
Flint Sophia Mrs laundress
Ford Caleb shoe maker
Foskett Joseph saddler
Foster Elizabeth Mrs farmer
Foster George wheelwright
Fountain Thomas shopkeeper
Fowler Joseph farmer Bourn end
Foxley Sophia Mrs Swan inn
Goodman Joseph dealer
Goodman William farmer & corn factor
Green Thomas farmer Conn’s farm
Grimes Thomas farmer Bourn end
Grimes Thomas jun farmer Bourn end
Haines William blacksmith
Hands Richd plumber painter & glazier
Harris Richard butcher
Hewlett James Cross Keys
Jellies Williain farmer Wharley end
Keep James farmer Gossards green
Keep Reuben farmer Moat farm
King William tailor
Lee Peter, New George
Lewis Daniel farmer
Lineham Henry beer retailer
Lorton Joseph farmer
Lorton Thomas farmer Broad end
Lovell Ebenezer shopkeeper
Lovell Thomas mealman
Manning William carpenter
Millard Edward horse dealer
Millard James farmer
Millis William glass china & earthenware dealer
Milligan William Wright surgeon
Munday John butcher
Munday Thomas beer retailer & wheel wright
Osborn James farmer Bourn end
Phillips John butcher
Prentice William farmer
Read James bricklayer
Redman Edward beer retailer
Richardson Ann Mrs farmer
Richardson James baker
Sanders Levi shoe maker
Savage Henry grocer
Savage Mary & Ann Misses drapers
Smith Thomas general dealer
Titmas William baker
Tutt Robert carpenter
Underwood Benjamin shoe maker
Underwood William butcher & carrier
Watling Charles draper & tea dealer
Wells Archibald farmer
White Hugh carpenter
White Wm watch maker & gunsmith
Whitmee Wm farmer Wharley end
Woods John farmer Broad green
Young James bricklayer & beer retailer
Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869
Administration
- County: Bedfordshire
- Civil Registration District: Ampthill
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Fleete
- Poor Law Union: Ampthill
- Hundred: Redbornestoke
- Province: Canterbury
1. The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869