Silsoe, Bedfordshire Family History Guide
Silsoe is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Bedfordshire, created in 1846 from Flitton Ancient Parish.
Status: Ecclesiastical Parish
Parish church: St. James
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1846
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1846
Nonconformists include:
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Pulloxhill
- Lower Gravenhurst
- Higham Gobion
- Upper Gravenhurst
- Maulden
- Barton-le-Cley
- Flitton
- Clophill
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
SILSOE, a village and a chapelry in Flitton parish, Beds. The village stands near the Midland railway, 3½ miles ESE of Ampthill; was once a market town; and has a post-office under Ampthill, a hotel, and fairs on 13 May and 21 Sept. The chapelry comprises 2,160 acres. Real property, £3,848. Pop., 713. Houses, 150. The manor, with Wrest Park, belongs to Countess Cowper. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Ely. Value, £150. Patron, Countess Cowper. The church was rebuilt in 1830, at a cost of £5,000. There are public schools and a dispensary.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
SILSOE, a chapelry district, in the parish of Flitton, union of Ampthill, hundred of Flitt, county of Bedford, 10 miles (S. by E.) from Bedford; containing 788 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises 2090a. 1r. 37p., of which 662 acres are arable, 1260 pasture and meadow, and 133 woodland. A market and an annual fair were granted to the inhabitants in 1319; the former has been long discontinued, but the fair is still held on the festival of St. Peter and St. James, and an additional fair takes place on the 21st of September. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1809. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, was rebuilt in 1830, chiefly at the expense of Earl de Grey, and is a handsome structure in the later English style: the living is in his Lordship’s gift; income, £150.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1833
Silsoe, or Silvishoe, co. Bedford.
P. T. Bedford (50) 10½ m. S b E. Pop. 568. Fairs, May 13 and Sep. 21, for cattle of all sorts.
A disused market-town and chapelry in the parish of Flitton and hundred of Flitt; living, a curacy subordinate to the vicarage of Flitton, in the archdeaconry of Bedford and diocese of Lincoln, not in charge; chapel ded. to St. James; patronage with Flitton vicarage.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. I; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Flint James, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, shopkeeper, July 11, 1834.
Haytread John, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, innkeeper and farmer, Aug. 2, 1833.
Parish Registers
Flitton with Silsoe Parish Registers 1581 – 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.
Wingate, Sir Francis, knight, of Harlington, Beds, bachelor, about 22, and Mrs. Ann Fish, of Silsoe, said county, spinster, about 18, her parents dead, consent of guardian — at St. Giles or St. Martin-in-the-Fields. 8 May, 1672. 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.
SILSOE, Ampthill
Hotel
George, Charles Browning
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
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: Flitt
- Province: Canterbury