Carlton is a village and former

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of

Carlton and Chellington Carlton with Chellington is a civil parish in the historical Hundred of Willey in Bedfordshire, England, and is within the Borough of Bedford. The parish is situated on the South bank of the River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a ...

, in the

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. The

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

runs just to the north of the village. Nearby places are

Chellington Chellington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Carlton and Chellington, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, situated approximately north-west of Bedford town centre. In 1931 the pa ...

, Harrold, Pavenham, Turvey, Lavendon and Odell. In 1931 the parish had a population of 340. Carleton was recorded 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey. The name Carlton has its origins in the English language and is derived from the combination of two elements: carl meaning free man or peasant, and ton meaning town or settlement. Together, Carlton translates to From the town of the free men. This name sheds light on the historical significance of social classes and demographics in medieval England, where names often represented one's occupation or social status (Ancestry&Wikipedia). In 1934, the separate parishes of Carlton and Chellington merged to become one -the parish named "Carlton and Chellington". The village has historically been laid out in a rectangular road pattern, the main parts of the village being around the roads of Bridgend and the High Street, with The Moor and The Causeway making up the rectangle's other sides. During the twentieth century the areas in between were filled out with housing along the roads of Rectory Close, Carriers Way, Street Close, and Beeby Way. Carlton Park is located in Rectory Close and features three swings, a small basketball court, a football pitch and a 1.5 meter slide. It also features one of the main landmarks of Carlton, its giant oak tree. Carlton's church is

Saint Mary the Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, dating from 950AD with a font from c. 1150 sited outside the current village. Carlton has two pubs, The Royal Oak and The Fox. A third pub, The Angel, traded on the High Street until the 1990s. It has since been converted into a private residence. There is a Post Office and village shop located on Carlton's busiest through road, Bridgend. There is also one school, Carlton C of E Primary School and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

which is also used as the school's assembly and sports hall. The village has an

Emmaus Emmaus ( ; ; ; ) is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus. Although its geograp ...

community which includes a busy cafe / restaurant, furniture repair workshop and secondhand shop with furniture, books, china, clothes, and bric-a-brac. Also situated on the Emmaus site is Carlton Squash Club, a community run club that offers two courts for both squash and racketball. The courts were opened in 1980 by the

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

, who himself was a keen squash player. The village was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. In the late 1980s, Carlton fell victim to a number of "Rubber Santa" events; which saw Christmas trees appear in the middle of the village playing field and on top of the Primary School. The culprits were never identified...

References

External links

Village web siteCarlton History
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Populated places on the River Great Ouse Former civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford