Houghton Conquest 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 ...
located in the
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 ...
district 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. The parish also includes 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
How End
How End is a Hamlet (place), hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.
The settlement is close to the larger villages of Stewartby and Houghton Conquest. How End forms part of the Houghton Conquest civil paris ...
.
History
Historically in the
hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of Redbornestoke, the name of the village originated from the Conquest family who held a
manor and lands in the area from the 13th century to the 18th century.
The Houghton in Houghton Conquest is pronounced 'how-ton', and this has been the official pronunciation since at least 1998.
The
Church of All Saints was constructed in the village during the 14th century, and is today the largest parish church in Bedfordshire. Features of interest include the wall paintings, sculpture, stained glass, benches and stalls. In 2018 all of the lead, weighing 21 tonnes, was stolen from the church roof.
Manors
The Conquest family owned Conquestbury, a large manor which was left to ruin when the family left the area. The Conquestbury manor house stood near the southeast end of the village on the ground now known as Bury Farm, adjacent to London Lane. The Manor and its lands then passed to the Beauchamp family. Parts of the original house were used to build a house in the 1850s, which today serves as a village shop.
Houghton House
Houghton House is a ruined mansion house in the parish of Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, positioned above the surrounding countryside, and commands excellent views. Built from 1615 to 1621, it is said that the ...
was also built in the area in approximately 1615. In 1794,
Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford
Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (23 July 1765 – 2 March 1802) was an English aristocrat and Whig politician, responsible for much of the development of central Bloomsbury.
Life
Francis Russell, eldest son of Francis Russell, Marquess of ...
stripped Houghton House of its furnishings and removed the roof. Today, the remains of Houghton House stand as ruins.
Geography
The village is located in the northern part of
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 ...
, on the border with the
Borough of Bedford
The Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based in Bedford, its namesake and principal settlement, which is the county town of Bedfordshire. The bor ...
. Local amenities include a village shop, post office, Houghton Conquest
Lower School
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system.
Terminology
In a three-tier local educ ...
, a
village hall
A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as:
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...
, and three pubs named "The Knife and Cleaver", "The Royal Oak" and "The Chequers".
See also
*
List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)
This is a list of some of the endowed schools in England and Wales existing in the early part of the 19th century. It is based on the antiquarian Nicholas Carlisle's survey of "Endowed Grammar Schools" published in 1818 with descriptions of 475 sc ...
References
Further reading
*
*
John William Burgon
John William Burgon (21 August 18134 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defence of the historicity and Mosaic authorship of Gen ...
Memorandum relating to the parish of Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire First published 1903–1904 in the Houghton Conquest Parish Magazine, Edited by Herbert W. Macklin.
External links
in
GENUKI GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. It "provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland". It gives access to a large collection of information, with the emphas ...
Houghton Conquest Lower School
{{authority control
Villages in Bedfordshire
Civil parishes in Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire District