Putnoe is an electoral ward on the northern side 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 ...

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 ...

. The boundaries of Putnoe are approximately Mowsbury Park and golf course to the north, Church Lane and Haylands Way to the east, Polhill Avenue to the south, with Kimbolton Road to the west. Part of the area is also known as Woodside.

History

Putnoe was listed in 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 manus ...

: Putenehou: Hugh de Beauchamp. Mill. The name in its present form has been around since the 16th century, but was formerly known as Puttenhoe and Putenho indicating the spur or "hoh" of land belonging to an unknown Anglo-Saxon settler Putta. The original farmstead may have been on the same site as Putnoe Farm which is now occupied by Puttenhoe Elderly Person's Home, next to Putnoe Street. The area remained undeveloped farmland until after

World War II 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 opposing ...

. At this time momentum grew in Bedford to plan the re-development of the town from its population of 58,000 to 75,000. This required the provision of a substantial area of land for housing development. The decision to develop the Putnoe area was taken in 1950, and the first phase of construction of the Putnoe estate occurred between 1953 and 1957.

Governance

Putnoe is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

, with all community services under the direct control of Bedford Borough Council. Putnoe elects two councillors to Bedford Borough Council, both of whom are currently Liberal Democrats.

Economy

Putnoe is almost entirely residential, there are no major

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

or business estates in the area. Most shops and services are clustered around a shopping parade called Library Walk as a public library is situated here, located on Putnoe Street. A

One Stop Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

supermarket, a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who w ...

and

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, a

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

's, an optician's, a

newsagent A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency ( Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of ...

s and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, a

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 ...

named ''The Bluebell'', and an Elderly Persons Home called 'Puttenhoe' are all located here.

Education

There are five state schools in Putnoe - Hazeldene

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and The Hills Academy are both located on the same Stancliffe Road site. Putnoe Primary School is situated over two sites on Overdale and Church Lane, and educates pupils up to the age of 11.

Mark Rutherford School Mark Rutherford School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Bedford, England. The school is named in honour of the Bedford-born writer William Hale White (1831-1913), who used Mark Rutherford as a pseudonym. Mark Rutherford school ...

, located on Wentworth Drive is Putnoe's secondary school and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

Religious sites

* Putnoe Heights

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Church, located on Putnoe Heights * Woodside Church (

Newfrontiers Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a neo-charismatic church network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s co ...

), located on Dover Crescent

Community facilities

Putnoe's largest open space is Mowsbury Park and Putnoe Woods which are located on Wentworth Drive. Bedford Tigers

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

club play their home matches here, and Bedford Athletic Rugby Union Club also has its ground here. The ground is used by local schools, and the club house is used by Putnoe community groups. Mowsbury

Golf Course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

and Squash Complex is located directly to the north of the park, and is operated by Bedford Borough Council. There is a community

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

situated on Putnoe Street. The area has a regular

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

service into Bedford Town Centre, and there are many post and telephone boxes dotted around the locality.

References

External links

Putnoe Community Website
{{Areas of Bedford Areas of Bedford