Woburn (, meaning twisted or crooked stream) is a town 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 ...
in
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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is situated about southeast of the centre of
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 ...
, and about south of junction 13 of the
M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...
. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 933.
History
Woburn was first recorded as a hamlet in 969 and is found 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. It is best known as the location of
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
(a
stately home
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
) and
Woburn Safari Park
Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhino, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates of ...
. The abbey was founded by
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monks in 1145 and granted to the first Earl of Bedford in 1538 after the
dissolution of the monasteries. The town may have been called "Woburne Chapell" in Medieval times, in order to distinguish it from the abbey. Woburn has been burned down and rebuilt three times. A medieval chimney fire spread owing to the prevalence of thatched roofs and closely built houses. Then, during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, the
Cavaliers
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
burned down much of the town and in 1724 a third fire destroyed much of the town, which was rebuilt in the Georgian style that remains today.
During the nineteenth century, Woburn was an important staging post on the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area.
It is separated from the rest of the urban ...
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
. The town had 27 inns and the first 24-hour post office outside London. However, with Woburn being bypassed by (what became) the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
and the
Grand Union canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...
(northsouth and the
Varsity Line
The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.
During World War II the line was ...
(eastwest), Woburn's location ceased to be so significant. The population fell from 2,100 in 1851 to 700 about a century later.
Woburn Town Hall
Woburn Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. The town hall, which has largely been converted for retail use, is a Grade II listed building.
History
The first municipal building in Woburn was a th ...
, designed by
Edward Blore
Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary.
Early career
He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore.
Blore's backg ...
, was completed in 1830. Under the
8th Duke of Bedford, a new parish church was completed in Woburn in 1868. It was equipped with a crypt beneath, which was originally intended as the burial place of the Dukes of Bedford and their family. In the end the dukes continued to use the ancient mausoleum at
St Michael's, Chenies
St Michael's Church at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Oxford in England. It is not of great architectural interest but stands in an attractive position in the Chess Valley near the Chenies Man ...
, and the crypt of St Mary's parish church in Woburn is now used for events and meetings. The hatch through which coffins would have been lowered into the crypt is still visible.
Sports and leisure facilities
Woburn has its own
lido
Lido may refer to:
Geography Africa
* Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco
Asia
* Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing
* Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok
* Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...
(outdoor swimming pool). In addition to the walks and cycling opportunities afforded by the Estate and the local roads, Woburn lies across the routes of both the
Greensand Ridge Walk
The Greensand Ridge Walk is a long-distance walk of that traverses the county of Bedfordshire in England, with brief sections in the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. Its southern endpoint is at Leighton Buzzard and ...
and the
Greensand Cycle Way
(Greensand Cycleway)
Signs for this route appeared in the first half of 2014. It covers roughly 40 miles (64 km), using minor roads and runs roughly in parallel with its sister walk, the Greensand Ridge Walk. The route traverses Bedfordshire ...
.
Woburn Golf Club
Woburn Golf Club is a golf club in England located in Little Brickhill, near Milton Keynes within the county of Bedfordshire, about northwest of central London.
There are three courses at the Woburn property: the "Duke's Course", which op ...
, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Woburn, has hosted the
Women's British Open
The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...
eleven times between 1984 and 2019.
Climate
Woburn experiences an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Cfb'') as is typical of almost all of the United Kingdom.
There is a
Met Office
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
weather station in Woburn.
Recorded temperature extremes range from during July 2022,
to as low as on 25 February 1947; this is the lowest temperature ever reported in England in February. In 2010, the temperature fell to
See also
*
Center Parcs Woburn Forest
Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each covering about of woodland. The company's first village opened ...
( away, between
Millbrook and
Steppingley).
References
External links
Woburn pagesat the
Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is a county record office, holding archival material associated with Bedfordshire and Luton. Established in 1913 by George Herbert Fowler (1861-1940) as the Bedfordshire Record Office, it wa ...
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Bedfordshire
Civil parishes in Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire District