Lower Sundon 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 ...
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 ...
, England.
The settlement was established before 1066. The manor of Sundon is listed in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086. The manor was held by the
de Clare
The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales, as well as playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.
They were de ...
,
Badlesmere and
Scrope Scrope (pronounced "scroop") is the name of an old English family of Norman origin that first came into prominence in the 14th century. The family has held the noble titles of Baron Scrope of Masham, Baron Scrope of Bolton, and for a brief time, t ...
families until the mid 16th century, when it passed to the Cheyne family. In 1716 it was sold to
William Clayton, 1st Baron Sundon
William Clayton later Baron Sundon after Godfrey Kneller
William Clayton, 1st Baron Sundon (1671 – 29 April 1752) of Sundon Hall, Sundon, Bedfordshire was a British Treasury official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1716 ...
. It later passed to the Page-Turner family.
The
St Mary the Virgin Church was first built in Lower Sundon in the 13th Century. It is a Grade I listed building. The Victorian vicarage is Grade II listed, and features very fine latticed windows.
Today, Lower Sundon lies in the wider
Sundon 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 authorit ...
, and is close to the large town of
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
.
References
Hamlets in Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire District
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