Harrold is a village,

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 ...

and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

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, nine miles north-west 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 ...

on the north bank of 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 ...

, close to the county boundaries of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. An ancient bridge links the village with Carlton with Chellington on the south bank. Immediately to the east of the village is Odell. The Church of St Peter is in the village.

History

Harrold 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 Hundred of Willey is a historical land division, a hundred in the northwest corner of Bedfordshire, England. Its northwestern boundary is the county border with Northamptonshire, and its southwestern boundary the border with Buckinghamshire. ...

. An early medieval sword mount was unearthed by a metal detectorist in 2006. It is believed the tiny phallic decoration could have adorned the sword belt of a high-ranking Saxon warrior. There are two public houses in Harrold. The Muntjac and the Oakley Arms.

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

reputedly gave the first live performance of "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

" in the Oakley Arms in Harrold on 30 June 1968. 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.

Electoral ward

Today an

within the

Borough of Bedford Bedford, or the Borough of Bedford, is a Districts of England, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Bedford Borough Council, ...

, it contains four civil parishes within its boundaries. Civil parishes and settlements within the ward (from south to north) are Harrold CP, Odell parish,

Podington Podington is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The village is within the Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of Harrold, Bedfordshire, Harrold in the Borough of Bedford. Podi ...

CP including

Hinwick Hinwick ( ) is a hamlet in northwest Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom; it is around nine miles north west of Bedford and is about east of the county border with Northamptonshire which is also the postal county. The hamlet is in the paris ...

and Farndish, and Wymington CP including Little Wymington. Harrold itself is near the southern boundary of its ward which follows some of the River Great Ouse. The ward extends northward from Harrold and fills the northwest corner of Bedfordshire, bordering

Twin towns

Sainte-Pazanne Sainte-Pazanne (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. Population Twin towns * Harrold, Bedfordshire Transport Gare de Sainte-Pazanne is served by train services between Pornic, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and ...

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Notable people

* W. T. Godber (1904–1981), English agriculturalist; worked in Harrold. *

George Le Fevre George Le Fevre (14 March 1848 – 17 October 1891) was a politician and surgeon in the colony of Victoria. He served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for North Yarra Province, North Yarra from 1887 until his death in 1891. Bi ...

(1848–1891), surgeon and politician in colonial Australia; born in Harrold. * Leslie Prentice (1886–1928), Australian-born English cricketer; died in Harrold. * Ashley Walker (1844–1927), English amateur cricketer; died in Harrold. * Thomas Leslie Tinkler (1907–1997), Designer of the memorial wall. His name appears on a plaque in the bottom right side of the wall. is wife, Jane Tinkler (1910–2002), is also interred there

Gallery

Image:Harrold-Bridge.jpg, The bridge at Harrold Image:Harrold buttermarket.png, The picture of Harrold Buttermarket, before the new roof tiles. Image:HarroldFireStation.jpg, Harrold Fire Station Image:The Lock-up, Harrold - geograph.org.uk - 1252177.jpg, Harrold lock-up

Freedom of the Parish

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Harrold.

Individuals

* Jason Chandler: April 2023.

References

External links

Harrold Community Website
*
Bedfordshire Archives and Records on Harrold
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Borough of Bedford