Dean or Over Dene is a 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

Dean and Shelton Dean and Shelton is a civil parish in the Bedford 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 t ...

, 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. It contained

Lower Dean Lower Dean is a village located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Dean is a modernized version of the Anglo-Saxon word "denu," which means "valley." The village forms part of the Dean and Shelton civil parish (where the 2011 ...

and

Upper Dean Upper Dean is a village located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Description The village forms part of the Dean and Shelton civil parish, and is close to the settlements of Melchbourne and Swineshead. Upper Dean is the locati ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 277.

History

The name "Dean" means 'Valley'. Dean 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 ...

as ''Dene''. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedf ...

to form "Dean and Shelton".

References

Former civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub