Sundon is a

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 ...

in the English county 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 ...

. There are two settlements: the one called

Upper Sundon Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

at the top of the hill is now the main

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, and the presumably older one by the church is now 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 ...

called

Lower Sundon Lower Sundon is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was established before 1066. The manor of Sundon is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The manor was held by the de Clare, Badlesme ...

. Sundon Lower School is located in the village of Upper Sundon. Sundon has a village hall and a pub, the Red Lion. 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 manusc ...

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 parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is a Grade I listed building. It dates back largely to the 14th century, with some 13th century elements. The Victorian vicarage is Grade II listed, and features very fine latticed windows. Because of changes to its boundary, the parish no longer includes

Sundon Park Sundon Park is a suburb of north Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Leagrave Park to the south, the Midland Main Line to the west, and Spi ...

(which is now an area of Luton) or the "Sundon Substation" of the National Grid for electricity (which lies west of the railway, near the village of Chalton).

References

Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub