Goldington is an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
within the town of
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 ...
,
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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It encompasses much of the historic village and parish of Goldington that was merged with Bedford in 1934, although some parts of the old village are within the neighbouring
Newnham ward. It also includes two modern estates that are part of
Renhold
Renhold is a village and civil parish located on the River Ouse, in the hundred of Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The parish church is situated some 4 miles (6.5 km) east-north-east of Bedford town centre. Bedfordshire Co ...
Parish.
The boundaries of Goldington are approximately The Spires and Aspire estates to the north, Norse Road to the east, Goldington Road to the south, with Church Lane and Bow Hill to the west. The northern part of the area is sometimes known as Elms Farm.
History
Goldington was a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
which grew up along the old
A428 road
The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford. Together with the A421, (and the A43, M40 and the A34), the eastern ...
between Bedford and
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 ...
.
St Mary's
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
in Goldington has parish registers going back to 1559.
In August 1645 Major Walter Baskerville, a
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
cavalry Officer, was killed in a skirmish in Goldington. Goldington Hall (a small mansion) was built in the 1650s. The Hall was rebuilt in 1874.
In 1934 the southern part of the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of Goldington was merged with the expanding Bedford
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
, with the northern rural parts becoming part of
Ravensden
Ravensden is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.
The parish borders the town of Bedford, with Mowsbury Park, farmland and Freeman's Common acting as a buffer between the two settlements. The vi ...
or
Renhold
Renhold is a village and civil parish located on the River Ouse, in the hundred of Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The parish church is situated some 4 miles (6.5 km) east-north-east of Bedford town centre. Bedfordshire Co ...
. The area was greatly expanded to the north in the 1960s and 70s, seeing the return of some of the original parish lost in 1934. This expansion included the development of the Elms Farm estate and the Church Lane shopping parade. The Poppyfields estate was developed in the area in the 1990s.
In the 21st century The Spires and Aspire
housing estate
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States a ...
s have been constructed on the northern boundary of Goldington. These newer estates are in the
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 ...
of
Renhold
Renhold is a village and civil parish located on the River Ouse, in the hundred of Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The parish church is situated some 4 miles (6.5 km) east-north-east of Bedford town centre. Bedfordshire Co ...
.
After many years as a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, the old Goldington Hall became semi-derelict and was the scene of a small fire in 2008.
It is now a private residence.
Coplan Estates were appointed to re-develop the Church Lane shopping area in 2006, and an old
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
called ''The Century'' was demolished in 2008. However the
recession of the late 2000s delayed further progress. Phase one of the regeneration saw the
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
supermarket being constructed at the site and this opened in summer 2010. An
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
supermarket and medical centre were opened in 2015, with the Church Lane
Community Centre
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
refurbished in 2016.
''The Queens Tavern'' pub on Queens Drive was closed in 2017 and replaced with a
Co-op Food
Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom.
Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...
store.
Goldington Castle
Risinghoe Castle, sometimes known as Goldington Castle, is a 20-foot mound, located in the former village of Goldington, a parish in the hundred of Barford, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The village of Goldington has now been incorporat ...
, a
motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, was built sometime after 1066, but is not actually in Goldington despite its name. The castle is located in the neighbouring area of
Newnham.
Governance
The majority of Goldington is an
unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...
, with all community services under the direct control of
Bedford Borough Council
Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the direct ...
. Goldington elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council. The seats were won in 2015 by Anthony Forth and Jade Uko of the
Labour Party. The Spires and Aspire estates are in the area covered by Renhold Parish Council to which they elect one councillor, at a by-election in 2018 Labour councillor Darren Rayner was elected unopposed.
Economy
There are three shopping parades in Goldington at which most shops and services are located -
The first is Goldington Square on Church Lane which includes an Aldi supermarket, a branch of Iceland, a Co-op store and
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 ...
, a hairdressers, a fish & chip shop, a bookmakers, a branch of Subway, a medical centre and a community centre.
Goldington's second shopping hub is on Queens Drive, which has a small convenience store, a post office, a chemist, a hairdresser, a butcher's shop, a
laundrette
A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Uni ...
, a Co-op convenience store, a fish & chip shop,
petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gaso ...
and
GP Surgery.
There is a small shopping parade on The Fairway with a convenience store, ''The Sportsman'' pub and a butchers shop. A greengrocer and fish and chip shop have closed and now stand empty.
There are still a few shops and pubs along the old village High Street (i.e. Goldington Road) including a small
Londis supermarket. There is a small independent supermarket on Elliot Crescent.
To the eastern side of Goldington is the Elms & Viking
Industrial estate
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...
. This large business park (between Goldington Road and Norse Road) houses many firms, including
Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings is an American private holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri in Greater St. Louis. It is the parent company of car rental agencies Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car and also operates s ...
,
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is a British energy company and the largest supplier of energy and renewable electricity in the UK, following its acquisition of Npower. It is a subsidiary of E.ON of Germany and one of the Big Six energy suppliers. It was founded in ...
,
GE Healthcare
GE HealthCare is a subsidiary of American multinational conglomerate General Electric incorporated in New York and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2017, it is a manufacturer and distributor of diagnostic imaging agents and radiopharma ...
and the
East of England Ambulance Service
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the ...
.
Education
Since the alteration of ward boundaries in 2011, and the relocation of Putnoe Primary School, there are no schools within the ward. The ward is served by Putnoe Primary School, The Hills Academy, Goldington Green Academy and Renhold VC Primary School for
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
age pupils.
Goldington Academy
Goldington Academy (formerly Goldington Middle School) is a mixed secondary school located in the Goldington/Putnoe area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.
History
The school on Haylands Way was established in 1965, and was designated as Gold ...
and
Mark Rutherford School
Mark Rutherford School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Bedford, England. The school is named in honour of the Bedford-born writer William Hale White (1831-1913), who used Mark Rutherford as a pseudonym.
Mark Rutherford school ...
serve the area for
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
age pupils.
Religious sites
St Mary's Church (
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
) is a
grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, located on Church Lane
Community facilities
Church Lane Community Centre is located on Goldington Square, Church Lane.
Goldington
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
is the area's largest open space, and is situated on Church Lane and Goldington Road.
Goldington Bury
Goldington Bury is a cricket ground in the Goldington area of Bedford, in England. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1941, when Bedford Town played London Counties. The ground hosted its first Minor Counties Championship match wh ...
cricket ground
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
is situated next to Goldington Green. Goldington Bury is the home ground of Bedford Cricket Club.
References
External links
Goldington timeline{{Areas of Bedford
Areas of Bedford