Biddenham is a large village and 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 authorit ...

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 ...

, England, located to the west of

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 t ...

near the

A428 road The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford. Together with the A421, (and the A43, M40 and the A34), the eastern ...

. The village largely serves as a dormitory settlement for Bedford, and also for commuters to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, being on the same side of the town centre as

Bedford railway station Bedford railway station (formerly Bedford Midland Road and historically referred to on some signage as Bedford Midland) is the larger of two railway stations in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Midland Main Line fro ...

. Biddenham is seen as a desirable location, with quaint thatched cottages in the older, southern end of the village, and a high proportion of large detached houses in the modern, northern end.

History

Biddenham is the location of the Manor Hospital, a

BMI Healthcare BMI Healthcare was an independent provider of private healthcare, offering treatment to private patients, medically insured patients, and NHS patients. , it had 54 private hospitals and healthcare facilities across the UK, with headquarters in ...

private

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

. The village also contains St James Church, ''The Three Tuns'' pub, and a sports pavilion with a cricket pitch and a rugby field (interchangeable depending on the season). Sometime before 1920, a short gauge railway was operated by S.W. Jarvis & Son at the Biddenham Gravel Pit. The line was removed in the 1930s.

Biddenham International School and Sports College Biddenham International School and Sports College (formerly John Howard Upper School) is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Biddenham in the English county of Bedfordshire. The school serves the Brickhill, Harpur and Queens ...

is located on Biddenham Turn. It is a state secondary school for Biddenham and the western part of Bedford. The school was originally named John Howard Upper School, but was renamed after a merger with another school in 1988. St Joseph's and St Gregory's Catholic Primary School is also located on Biddenham Turn. The school was formed following the merger of St Joseph's Lower and St Gregory's Middle in September 2017. St. James' Primary School, located on Main Road, is the village's primary school. A sundial was installed in the village in 2000, inscribed with the location (Latitude North 52° 08' 40", Longitude West 000° 30' 05") and the phrase "Times Change and We With Them."

References

External links

Biddenham Parish Council village website

1929 photo showing the gravel pit railway
Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links