Farndish is a rural hamlet in northwest

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 ...

, located about 500 metres (yards) east of the county border with

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. The village is near the Northamptonshire villages of

Irchester Irchester is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, two miles (3 km) south-east of Wellingborough and two miles south-west of Rushden. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 5,706 and estimated in 2019 at 5,767. ...

and Wollaston and the Bedfordshire village of Wymington. The name Farndish means fern-clad pasture. It is in the

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 ...

Podington Podington is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The village is within the electoral ward of Harrold in the Borough of Bedford. Podington lies around northwest of Bedford and is about east of the county border ...

. Although previously a parish itself, today Farndish is within the

(sometimes called Podington and Hinwick), and part of the electoral ward of Harrold in the

Borough of Bedford The Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based in Bedford, its namesake and principal settlement, which is the county town of Bedfordshire. The borou ...

. Much property in the area is owned by – once famous locally for their

pork pie A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire). It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock ...

s and pastry.

History

Farndish was mentioned in the

Domesday Survey 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 ...

as 'Fernadis'. According to Samuel Lewis The local author

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974), better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer. His best-known works include ''Love for Lydia'', '' The Darling Buds of May'', and '' My Uncle Silas''. Early life H.E. Bates was ...

often would come through the village on his nocturnal walks in the 1920s and 1930s. It was on one of the night walks that he got the inspiration for his first novel, '' The Two Sisters'', when he saw a light burning in a cottage window. In 1937 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' reported the plans being made in Farndish to mark the celebrations for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – "a fine example of how England's villages may make this a memorable day in the lives of their people". On Coronation Day each of the twelve houses in the village was to be decorated to represent a different part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. In the morning there would be a service in the parish church, for which the parson would come from Podington. "Then", according to ''The Times'', "the population of 45 will adjourn to the village hall to drink the health of the King in ale. Port wine will be supplied to those who are

teetotallers Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

, in accordance with a well-known English custom." In the afternoon there were to be sports and games, and in the evening the villagers would return to the village hall for a fancy-dress dance and

whist drive Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...

The church

The church of St Michaels & All Angels appears to have been built sometime between 1180 and 1210. The masonry used to build the church is mainly local rubble along with some rust-coloured ironstone; the window dressings are of local limestone. The tower was added in the 15th century within the nave and houses three bells: *Treble – cast by Christopher Grave – 1663 *Second – cast by James Keene – 1625 *Tenor – cast by Newcombe – 1597 The font dates to circa 1200 and is crowned by a 17th-century wooden cover – this is itself covered in 19th-century inscriptions and patterns. The very low pitched roof still has its original 15th-century timberwork. According to "

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses ...

– the church is "a small building of stone, in the Transitional, Early English and later styles, consisting of

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and a low western tower rising within the nave, and containing 3 bells : the south doorway is a rich example of the Transitional Norman style : a beautiful stained east window was presented by the late Mr. W. H. S. Adcock, of this village, one on the south side by the Rev. Greville Chester, late rector, and there are several other stained windows : in the chancel is a small brass to John Johnston, rector (ob. 1625), being then nearly 100 years old; and there are also inscriptions to the Clark, Adcock and Alderman families : the church plate includes an ancient chalice:there are 69 sittings. The register dates from the year 1587.""

– Bedfordshire – 1898" *The parish records for the church and village are available on microfiche for the period 1550-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society. *Since 1970, the Church has not been used for regular worship but remains consecrated; since 1974 it has been opened and cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust and the donations of visitors. Repairs to the Church have been carried out for the fund by the Bedford architect Victor Farrar. *There is a healthy population of bats living in the belfry of the church. Image:Farndishgate.JPG, The church gates in the autumn sun Image:Farndish2.JPG, The church window in the half light

References

External links

{{Places in Bedford Borough Hamlets in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford