Egginton – or Eggington as it is now known – is a 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 authorit ...

in the

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfor ...

district 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 ...

, England, about three miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Apart from the village itself, the parish also includes the

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 ...

of Briggington on the road to Leighton Buzzard, and the hamlet of

Clipstone Clipstone in north Nottinghamshire is a small ex-coal mining village built on the site of an old army base and close to the site of a medieval royal palace. The population of the civil parish was 3,469 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,665 a ...

to the north of

Clipstone Brook The River Ouzel , also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills and flows north to join the Ouse at Newport Pagnell. It is usually called the ''River Ouzel'' ...

. The hamlet of Leedon was in Eggington parish, but became part of Leighton Buzzard when the parish boundary was redrawn in the early 1980s. The village itself is relatively small – with some 190 residents living in 94 houses. It now has an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

restaurant, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

, formerly the village school (which closed in 1984). The Congregational chapel was pulled down in the 1970s: the village shop also closed in that era, and the old Methodist chapel was converted to a dwelling in 1988. Nearby places are Leighton Buzzard, to the west,

Hockliffe Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 and B5704 roads. It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Near ...

, to the east and Stanbridge to the south. At the eastern end of the village is

Eggington House Eggington House is the manor house of the village of Eggington situated near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. The house is regarded as a very fine example of late 17th century domestic architecture, and is a Grade II* listed building. At ...

built in 1696. In the 1960s this was the home of Sir Gilbert Inglefield (a former Lord Mayor of London), then in 1978 it became the home of

Lord Slynn of Hadley Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley (17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life ...

, the first English judge to move from the Queen's Bench Division to the Court of Justice of the European Community in Luxembourg, where he was one of six Advocates General. It is now in the private ownership of the Garrigue family and can be hired as a venue for wedding receptions, events and conferences. The White House – a former parsonage in the village – was used to house the elderly blind who were evacuated from London for the duration of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It was subsequently purchased by Bedfordshire County Council and became Children's Home between 1952 and 1983, since when it has become a private Care Home for the elderly. The Three Horseshoes

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

was eventually taken over by Louis Appert, who ran it as a rural French restaurant. This was replaced by Lavang – an

Indian restaurant Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, her ...

– in 2007. It was then purchased by Mr B. Choudhury who extensively renovated the property in 2011, adding an extension/Function Room to the property. Eggington is part of the political ward of 'Heath and Reach' which sends a Councillor to Central Bedfordshire Council. The ward includes the villages of Heath and Reach, Hockliffe, Eggington, Stanbridge, Tilsworth, Tebworth and Wingrave. The ward was created in 2011 and has since been represented by Councillor Mark Versallion. Eggington was the hometown of the British comedian and gameshow host

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

OBE (1928-2003).

References

External links

History of Eggington
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District

References

Further reading

External links