Eyeworth (also Eyworth) is a small, rural 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a Districts of England, local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority. It was created ...

district of the 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; about east south-east of the county town of

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 ...

. Eyeworth had a population of 86 in 2001.

Geography

Eyeworth lies east of

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figur ...

and just under south-west of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The eastern parish boundary borders both

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

at the

River Rhee The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

. Landscape

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

has designated the area as part of The Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands (NCA 88). Central Bedfordshire Council has classified the landscape as Dunton Clay Vale (5G). Most of the parish is open, arable farmland with medium to large fields. Eyeworth lies on a ridge of land that forms part of the watershed between the River Ivel to the west and the Rhee to the east. Tributary streams and drainage channels run through the area. Field boundaries are primarily short flailed, gappy hedges. The limited woodland creates a very open landscape. Occasional mature hedgerow trees and roadside oaks on grass verges are a feature. Elevation The village centre is above sea level and is the highest point in the parish. The land falls away quite sharply to in the east but more gradually to the west and north. Geology and soil type The centre and west of the parish lie on

boulder clay Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...

; with

gault The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in Fo ...

to the east. The whole parish has lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with slightly impeded drainage.

History

The name is spelt ''Aieuuorde'' and ''Aisseuuorde'' 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 ...

. Eyeworth may mean 'island farm'. The majority of the houses are Victorian, though the seventeenth century Church Farm remains. The widow of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

, née

Alice Barnham Alice Barnham, Viscountess St Albans (14 May 1592 – 1650) was the wife of English scientific philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. Family She was born 14 May 1592, to Benedict Barnham and his wife, Dorothy, née Smith. Benedict Barnham ...

, lived in Eyeworth following his death, and she died there in 1650. There were a number of minor skirmishes in the parish during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and it is reputed that

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

visited the village and damaged some of the church's icons.

Population

Governance

Eyeworth is part of Potton ward for elections to the

Unitary Authority. Prior to 1894, Eyeworth was administered as part of the

Hundred of Biggleswade Biggleswade was a historic hundred of English county of Bedfordshire. The hundred consisted of the town of Biggleswade and its surrounding area. The name Biggleswade comes from a concatenation of the Anglo Saxon words 'Biceil' (being a persona ...

. From 1894 until 1974 the village was in

Biggleswade Rural District Biggleswade was a rural district in Bedfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. As initially created the district entirely surrounded but did not include Biggleswade, which was an urban district in its own right. In 1927 the parish of Sandy, which ...

and from 1974 to 2009 in

Mid Bedfordshire District Mid Bedfordshire was a local government district in Bedfordshire, England, from 1974 to 2009. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local authorities in England and Wales carried out under the ...

. Eyeworth was in the Mid Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency until 1997. Now in

North East Bedfordshire North East Bedfordshire was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2024. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolishe ...

, the elected member is Richard Fuller of the Conservative Party.

All Saints' Church

The village is home to a medieval church dedicated to All Saints whose building dates back to the fourteenth century, and is partly constructed from

Totternhoe Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England. Overview Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fo ...

stone. The church's fifteenth-century spire was destroyed by lightning in 1967, and after the subsequent theft of the lead from its roof was replaced by a much smaller modern turret. The interior houses a number of medieval brasses and a monument to Sir Edmund Anderson (d.1605), founder of the Anderson line who were lords of the manor, and who was also a judge during the trial of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

Public services

Eyeworth is in the Potton Public Water Supply Zone (RW50). The water supplied by

Anglian Water Anglian Water Services Limited is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly ...

comes from groundwater

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petr ...

s and is chloraminated and classed as

hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

. The Eastern Power Area of

UK Power Networks UK Power Networks (UKPN) is a distribution network operator for electricity covering South East England, the East of England and London. It manages three licensed distribution networks (Eastern Power Networks, South Eastern Power Networks and Lo ...

is the

distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution netwo ...

for electricity. There is no natural gas supply. The two nearest general hospitals are

(Bedford Hospital NHS Trust) and

Lister Hospital, Stevenage The Lister Hospital is an NHS hospital based on the outskirts of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. It is operated by the East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust along with the New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City. History The Lister Hosp ...

(East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust). Ambulance services are provided by the

East of England Ambulance Service The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in th ...

NHS Trust.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the fire and rescue service for the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, consisting of the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton. Bedfordshire Fire Brigade was recrea ...

and

Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in the town of ...

cover the parish.

Potton Potton is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about east of the county town Bedford. The parish had a population in 2021 of 5,727. In 1783 the Great Fire of Potton destroyed a large part of ...

is the nearest library.

Public transport

Centrebus (South) runs bus route no. 188 south to

and

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

(journey time 45 minutes) and north to

Wrestlingworth Wrestlingworth is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wrestlingworth and Cockayne Hatley, in the Central Bedfordshire district of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England about east of the county town of Bedford. The 2 ...

, and

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

. The service is normally two hourly, daytime only, Monday to Saturday. The nearest railway station is

Notable residents

Notable residents include Sir Peter Kendall, ex President of the National Farmers Union, who farms the land around the village with his brother Richard.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District