Cranfield is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the west of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England, situated between

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001. increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfor ...

unitary authority. It is best known for being the home of

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

and

Cranfield Airport Cranfield Airport is an airfield just outside the village of Cranfield, in Bedfordshire, England. It is south-west of Bedford and east of Milton Keynes. It was originally a World War II aerodrome, RAF Cranfield. It is now used for business a ...

(an airfield). The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Bourne End is located just north of Cranfield, and is part of the civil parish. Wharley End was a separate settlement, but now forms the northern part of Cranfield village, by the university.

Amenities

Cranfield has two public houses, a football club, coffee shop, dog grooming salon, hairdressers, barbers, several take-away restaurants, one small supermarket and two car dealerships. There is also a surgery and dentist's practice along with a pharmacy. Cranfield has a university, three schools, three parks and a multi-use games area. The village

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

is now contained within

The Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

store; previously it was on separate premises near the centre of the village. Cranfield has one of only a small number of Morgan dealerships, in addition to a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

dealer. There are further facilities at the university campus including a Post Office and bookshop. The local newspaper is the ''Cranfield Express''. There is a news hyperlocal website
Cranfield and Marston Vale Chronicle
giving village information, local and national news, etc. The Church of St Peter and St Paul has records going back at least to 1600 and is notable for its recently restored bells.

Cranfield Court Cranfield Court was a country house in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England. It belonged to the Harter family. The last house at the site was Elizabethan, and designed by Thomas Chambers Hine of Nottingham for Reverend G. G. Harter in 1862–4. In 191 ...

belonged to the Harter family. The last house was built in 1862–4 in the French Gothic style, but was later demolished.

Sport and leisure

Cranfield has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

team Cranfield United F.C. who play at their own ground, The Nest, in Crawley Road, Cranfield, MK43 0AA.

Airport

Cranfield's airfield was originally an RAF training airfield and was used after the war by the College of Aeronautics, which has now become Cranfield University. In October 2021,

Marshall Group Marshall Group, formerly Marshall of Cambridge and Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, is a British company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Subsidiaries include Marshall Aerospace, an aircraft maintenance, modification, and desig ...

announced that it is to transfer its Group headquarters and aerospace operations to Cranfield from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

"by 2030". The Group proposes to move its global group headquarters (as well as its Aerospace division) to Cranfield Airport.

University

is adjacent to the village, on the other side of the airfield.

Technology park

The Cranfield Technology Park is west of the University at the entrance to the campus. It is being developed on a phased basis by Cranfield University and its development partner. The park's objective is to encourage knowledge-based companies to locate their activities on the park and to encourage the growth of such companies. A major extension to the technology park was started in January 2007 using land on Cranfield Airport. In August 2005 a new business incubation centre was opened. It was designed to encourage and support hi-tech and knowledge based pre-start and early start companies during the formative stages of their development.

References

External links

Cranfield Football Club

Cranfield Colts Football Club

Cranfield Village Website

Cranfield Technology Park

Account of Cranfield during the second world war
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District