Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. The oldest surviving building, St Peter's Church, is

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. The name is believed to be derived from the

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

word ''sharn'' meaning

dung Dung most often refers to animal feces. Dung may also refer to: Science and technology * Dry animal dung fuel * Manure * Cow dung * Coprolite, fossilized feces * Dung beetle Art * Mundungus Fletcher or "Dung", a character in the Harry Potter n ...

. Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed of the local oolitic limestone, also used in other traditional north Bedfordshire settlements. Situated just north of a loop in the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

and almost due north of Bedford, the village has developed as a ribbon-settlement running south-east to north-west, with the core of the community clustered at the north-western end.

Education

The village has two schools, the larger of which

Sharnbrook Academy Sharnbrook Academy, formerly Sharnbrook Upper School until 2017, is a large, rural Academy (English school), academy school located in Sharnbrook, a village in the English county of Bedfordshire. Built in 1975, the school now has over 1900 s ...

has a campus on the west of the village, serves a wide area and was attended by the marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, who opened th
Paula Radcliffe Sharnbrook Community Sports Centre
named after her in April 2005. This Community Sports Centre is not only for students but also serves the wider local community of North Bedfordshire with sporting facilities. Students are aged from 11 to 18 and take both GCSE and A Level exams. The village's other school is Sharnbrook Primary which caters for young children aged from 3–11 years old who live in the immediate area.

Industry

Another major presence is the multinational company Unilever which has the

Lipton Institute of Tea The Lipton Institute of Tea is a dedicated tea research facility owned by consumer goods company Unilever, which also owns the Lipton tea brand. The Institute conducts studies on the mental and physical health benefits of tea. As well as research ...

research centre on the north-western edge of the village. This uses the grounds of Colworth House, originally built in the early 17th century and rebuilt in its present form by 1774 as a private house. The house itself is used as office space, with modern laboratory buildings beside and behind it. The site is being turned into a science park for use by a number of companies.

Sport

Sharnbrook is home to the village's boys' and men's football teams, which predate by many years the women's team that was established in 2002.

Transport

Sharnbrook railway station Sharnbrook railway station was opened in 1857 by the Midland Railway to serve the village of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire, England. It was on the Midland's extension from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin. It was situated near to Sharnbrook Summi ...

opened in 1857, but was closed in 1960. Sharnbrook is served by bus service 50 which is operated by

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

and operates between Kettering and Bedford. The service is hourly Monday to Saturday and two hourly on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Literature

Sharnbrook is the village where the prototype of Uncle Silas, Joseph Betts, the protagonist of

H.E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974), better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer. His best-known works include ''Love for Lydia'', '' The Darling Buds of May'', and ''My Uncle Silas''. Early life H.E. Bates was ...

's ''

My Uncle Silas ''My Uncle Silas'' is a book of short stories about a bucolic elderly Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of B ...

'' lived.

Wildlife

Sharnbrook is home to a colony of red kites.

Britain's youngest father

In 1998, Sharnbrook resident Sean Stewart become the youngest father in Britain at only twelve years of age. He lived next door to the mother of his child, Emma Webster, who was four years older than he. The child was conceived when the pair were only 11 and 15. The girl said Stewart had told her he was her age when they started going out. Some also consider Stewart to be the youngest father ever recorded.

Gallery

File:St-Peter's-Church-Sharnbrook.jpg, File:SUS-aerial.jpg, File:John-Gibbard-Lower-School-Sharnbrook.jpg, File:Sharnbrook-High-Street.jpg, File:Old-Police-Station-Sharnbrook.jpg, File:Sharnbrook Mill.jpg, File:32 High Street.jpg,

References

External links

Colworth Park

The Sharnbrook Village Website

Sharnbrook Upper School Website

The Sharnbrook Upper School Alumni Website

The Paula Radcliffe Sharnbrook Community Sports Centre Website

Sharnbrook Evangelical Church

Sharnbrook Women's Football Club
*Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk {{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford