Harlington 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 ...

located 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 ...

, England, near 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 ...

. The nearest town is

Flitwick Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a natur ...

about to the north.

Transport links

Road

The village is about from junction 12 of the M1, north of

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, south 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 ...

and north northwest of London.

Rail

Harlington has a railway station in the west of the village. It was built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

in 1868 on its extension to St Pancras. The original intention had been to call it "Harlington for Toddington". The station is served by Thameslink route trains. From Harlington station, you can travel north to

and

, or south to

, ,

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Ha ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

, Central London,

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Buses

The X42 service provides a direct link to Toddington, Westoning,

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also ...

Houghton Conquest Houghton Conquest is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of How End. History Historically in the hundred of Redbornestoke, the name of the villag ...

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census. Kempston is part of Bedford's built-up area and is situated directly south-west of Bedford proper. The Riv ...

, and

Air

The nearest airport is at

, about to the south.

Amenities

Harlington has two public houses, the Carpenters Arms and The Old Sun. There are several churches, including the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Harlington Methodist Church and Life Church (part of the Pioneer network of churches). There is a small parade of shops consisting of a general store with post office counter, a hairdresser, a cafe and a gunsmiths. Other businesses include an estate agent in Church Road. There are several buildings surrounding the village green used for community activities. These include the parish hall, village hall and scout hut. A

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

pitch adjoins the village green.

Schools

The village is home to two schools, Harlington Lower and Harlington Upper. The lower school takes children from reception class through to age 9 (end of school Year 4), and received an "Outstanding" rating in its 2010 OFSTED Report. Harlington Lower School Also on the Lower School site is Harlington Village Pre-School, a volunteer-run charity accepting children from the ages of two years and nine months. As Central Bedfordshire operates a three-tier system, children aged between 9 and 13 (school Years 5 to 8) attend Parkfields Middle School in nearby Toddington. Harlington Upper School serves a large rural area, and takes children from age 13 (school Year 9) up to

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

. In 2006, Harlington Upper School became a specialist science college, thanks to funding raised by its parent-teacher association, HUSA.

History

*1086: 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 ...

calls the village ''Herlingdone'' and lists Nigel D'Albini as Lord of the Manor; he took over from four Saxon thegns who lost their lands at the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

in 1066. *1300–1350: The Church of St Mary the Virgin was built, replacing what was probably a wooden church with a thatched roof. The church tower was not added until the 15th century. *1349: Over a quarter of the village died of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. *1660:

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

led an unauthorised religious meeting at a farmhouse near Harlington, for which he was arrested and taken to Harlington House (now known as

Harlington Manor Harlington Manor is a grade II* listed manor house in Harlington, Bedfordshire. The house abuts, and has views over, Bury Orchard, the village common, which itself abuts the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History English Heritag ...

- the only currently occupied residential house connected with Bunyan). After being questioned he was imprisoned for 12 years in Bedford county gaol. While serving his sentence he began writing his most famous work, ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of t ...

''. *1830: the first English National

Steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

on record was run from Bury Orchard to Wrest Park Obelisk. *1859: the first village school was built. *1868:

Harlington railway station Harlington railway station is located in Bedfordshire. It is named after the village of Harlington, on the outskirts of which it is located, but serves a wide rural area including the larger villages of Toddington and Barton-le-Clay. History ...

opened. *1920: Harlington War Memorial dedicated to the memory of 27 Harlington men killed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. *1937:

Sir Albert Richardson Sir Albert Edward Richardson (London, 19 May 1880 – 3 February 1964) was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century. He was Professor of Architecture at University College Lond ...

designs a new North range of

References

External links

Harlington Heritage Trust
*
Harlington Church

Harlington.net (village diary)

Harlington Cricket ClubHarlington Manor
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Flitwick Central Bedfordshire District