Stagsden is a small but historic 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 northwest
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 ...
, near the
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
border. Situated on the main route between nearby
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 ...
and
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
, the village was bypassed by the
A422
The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...
in April 1992, to allow the increasing amount of traffic to avoid the 30 mph speed limit in Stagsden.
The village has at its centre
St. Leonard's Church, where High Street, Bedford Road and Church Lane all meet. Toward the western end of the village, along High Street, is the Royal George pub (now closed) and the Village Hall (formerly the primary school). The village's history is well preserved, and several millennium projects centred on such preservation for
future generations
Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...
.
In 2000, Stagsden acquired two new additions to village life. A Millennium bench was put in place at the corner of Bedford Road and the High Street, and
Bedfordshire Golf Club opened its newly built course on the hillside facing the village, on the other side of the A422.
A latecomer to the 21st century is the village sign, next to the church, which is a quintessentially rural affair and is rather splendid.
For electoral purposes the village is part of Turvey ward and is represented on Bedford Borough Council by Mark Smith, elected in May 2007.
Half a mile east of Stagsden and inside the parish boundary is
Hanger Wood, an
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...
and
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
Stagsden is home to the British Tripod Brand
3 Legged Thing The brand stamps the name "Stagsden" onto each and every product that they manufacture as a tribute to the village
3 Legged Thingis situated in two Chicken Sheds ( Shedquarters
nit 9& Return of the Shedi
nit 10), on the site of Kinsbourne Farm, Bury End, previously a poultry farm that was home to over 30,000 chickens.
References
Villages in Bedfordshire
Civil parishes in Bedfordshire
Borough of Bedford
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