Whipsnade is a small 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 ...

in the 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 ...

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 lies on the eastward tail spurs of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

, about 4.2 km south-south-west of

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

on the top of the

Dunstable Downs Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire in England, located near (and named after) the town of Dunstable. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns. At , Dunstable Downs are ...

which drop away steeply to the south of the village.

Etymology

Whipsnade is a compound of the Anglo-Saxon personal name, Wibba, with the word "snæd" an area of woodland, so the name means "Wibba’s wood". A variation may be seen as "Wystnade" in a legal record of 1460, where named people in Dunstable were accused of trespassing.

History

The village is first mentioned in a coroners roll of 1274 when Whipsnade Wood was described as being within the parish of

Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbour ...

. The Old Hunters Lodge at the Crossroads in the village is a Grade II

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and was built in the early 17th Century. It is now a hotel and is the only licensed premises in the village outside of the ZSL grounds.

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...

, explorer of Australia, was born in Whipsnade in 1815. The parish of Whipsnade used to have a detached part at

Ballingdon Bottom Ballingdon Bottom is a valley in Hertfordshire, England. It forms part of the boundary between the civil parishes of Flamstead and Great Gaddesden. Parish and county boundaries Historically, Ballingdon Bottom was the name given to an area to ...

, which formed an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Bedfordshire, surrounded by

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. The county boundary was changed in 1844, transferring Ballingdon Bottom to Hertfordshire, but for parish purposes it remained a detached part of Whipsnade. When district councils were established in 1894, the main part of Whipsnade parish was included in the

Luton Rural District Luton Rural District was a local authority in Bedfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It covered an area which almost surrounded but did not include the towns of Luton and Dunstable. Formation The district had its origins in the Luton Rural ...

in Bedfordshire whilst Ballingdon Bottom became part of the

Markyate Rural District Markyate Rural District was a short-lived rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1897, on the borders with Bedfordshire. The district was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from the parts of the Luton Rural Sanitary D ...

in Hertfordshire. The parish boundaries were rationalised in 1897, when Ballingdon Bottom was transferred to the parish of

Flamstead Flamstead is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire, England, close to the junction of the A5 and the M1 motorway at junction 9. The name is thought by some historians to be a corruption of the original ''Verulamstead''. Fla ...

. In the census of 2011 the population of Whipsnade was 420, a decline from 458 in 2001.

Landmarks

Whipsnade is home to

Whipsnade Tree Cathedral Whipsnade Tree Cathedral is a garden in the village of Whipsnade in Bedfordshire, England. It is planted in the approximate form of a cathedral, with grass avenues for nave, chancel, transepts, chapels and cloisters and "walls" of different spec ...

and

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos (the other being ZSL London Zoo in Regent's Park, London) that are ...

. A chalk image of a lion can be found on Bison Hill and is owned by the zoo. During the Second World War, the lion was covered with a black sheet in order not to attract attention from the German bomber planes.

Whipsnade Park Golf Club Whipsnade is a small village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, about 4.2 km south-south-west of Dunstable on the top of the Dunstable Downs which drop away steepl ...

is also in the vicinity, though it is actually in neighbouring

Dagnall Dagnall is a village in the parish of Edlesborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name is derived from the Old English for "Daegga's Knoll". In manorial rolls of 1196 it was listed as ''Dagenhale''. The spelling ''Dagenhale'' appears ...

. The local Wildlife Trust manages a small

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

north of the village called

Sallowsprings Sallowsprings is a nature reserve in Whipsnade in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a r ...

().

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District