Lower Caldecote is a

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 ...

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 ...

Northill Northill is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about southeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for Northill village as 338 and for the civ ...

and part of 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 county 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 ...

is to the west.

History

In spring 1989 at Warren Villas Quarry, pits, ditches and wooden structural timbers were uncovered.

Dendrochronological Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...

(tree ringing) analysis dated a sequence of pits containing hurdles to the late

Saxo-Norman Saxo-Norman is the very end of the Anglo-Saxon period in England and the start of the Norman occupation, typically between 1060 and 1100. Often used to refer to architecture and physical culture, the term addresses the combination of Anglo-Saxon ...

period. Excavations between 1990 and 1994, revealed riverside activity and settlement dating from the prehistoric to post-medieval period. Lower Caldecote is first recorded in 1351. The name Caldecote means "cold cottages" and refers to their exposed position on the flat countryside. The Kings Head public house was in business from 1812 until 1985 but has since been demolished.

Geography

Lower Caldecote is north northwest of

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

, south of Sandy, south-west of

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 ...

and north of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. Except for Manor Farm, Lower Caldecote lies to the west of the

A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highwa ...

. The

River Ivel The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills. Course The river Ivel has four headwater ...

forms most of the settlement's eastern boundary, but a section extends across the river to a brook. Lower Caldecote lies within the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands (NCA 88) as designated by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. Central Bedfordshire Council has locally classified the landscape as Lower Ivel Clay Valley. Flat, open arable fields predominate to the west of the A1 road. Alongside the Ivel around Manor Farm, sand and gravel quarrying from the mid 1980s onwards has left a number of lakes. The hamlet is above sea level and the surrounding land is flat. Lower Caldecote stands on first and second terrace

river gravel River gravel is a name given to gravel composed of small pieces of rounded stone of various colors, usually no larger than a large coin. It is named for the effect of many years of rounding of the edges of the stones due to a flow of water over ...

while

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

is by the Ivel. The soil is of low fertility, freely draining and slightly acid with a

loamy Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

texture. Lynton Cottages (built 1902) and York House (1904) directly front the A1 northbound carriageway but the remainder of the hamlet was bypassed in 1960/61. Housing on The Grange was developed in the mid to late 1990s.

Light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

is the level of radiance (night lights) shining up into the night sky. The

Campaign to Protect Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

(CPRE) divides the level of night sky brightness into 9 bands with band 1 being the darkest i.e. with the lowest level of light pollution and band 9 the brightest and most polluted. Lower Caldecote is in bands 4 and 5, affected by lighting along the A1 dual carriageway.

Public transport

Stagecoach East runs service no.73 to Sandy and

. Frequency is normally half-hourly but the interval may be 40 minutes or an hour in the early morning or evening. The journey time to Bedford bus station is 50 minutes. Buses stop outside Lynton Cottages on the A1 northbound, but the closest return stop is 1/4 mile south and necessitates crossing the busy A1 dual carriageway. The nearest railway stations are

and Sandy.

References

External links

Lower Caldecote history pages
{{Places in Bedfordshire Hamlets in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District

History

Geography

Public transport

See also

References

External links