Langford is a 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 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 ...
. The 2011 census gives the population as 3,091.
Geography
Langford lies alongside the
River Ivel
The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills.
Course
The river Ivel has four headwate ...
about south 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 ...
, 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 ...
and north of
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
The
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...
railway passes through the parish at the eastern edge of the village.
Landscape
The village is within the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands National Character Area (NCA 88) as defined by
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, ...
. Central Bedfordshire Council has designated the local landscape as Lower Ivel Clay Valley in the northern section of the village and parish, and Upper Ivel Clay Valley in the southern section. Large, open arable fields are prominent to the east of the village.
Henlow Common and Langford Meadows local nature reserve is beside the Ivel. Lakes formed from old sand and gravel quarries are to the south of the village.
Seven of the ten
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
s commissioned in 2013 at Biggleswade Wind Farm are within the parish. Each tower is tall with four blades. To the southeast of the village is a
solar farm
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...
commissioned in 2015. The two installations have electrical generating capacities of 20 MW and 13 MW respectively.
Elevation
The village centre is above sea level. The land rises to over towards Topler's Hill in the east of the parish.
Geology and soil type
Langford village lies on
river gravel
River gravel is a name given to gravel composed of small pieces of rounded stone of various colors, usually no larger than a large coin. It is named for the effect of many years of rounding of the edges of the stones due to a flow of water over ...
and the arable fields to the east 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 ...
over
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 ...
. The village itself has highly fertile, freely draining, slightly acid but base-rich soil with a
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
y texture. By the Ivel are loamy and clayey floodplain soils, with moderate fertility and naturally high groundwater. To the east are highly fertile, lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage.
Roads and footpaths
The B659 road (formerly A6001) (High Street/Church Street) is the main route through the village, leading north to Biggleswade and south to
Henlow
Henlow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old Eng ...
. Cambridge Road runs east to the
A1 road from the southern end of the village. Station Road links Church Street to Cambridge Road.
A public bridleway leads from Common Road to Henlow. Separate footpaths from Station Road and Cambridge Road join to reach
Astwick
Astwick is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England. It lies south-east of the county town of Bedford. Its population is included within Stotfold civil parish.
Geography
Astwick is b ...
and
Stotfold
Stotfold is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The town covers and the River Ivel passes through the town. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 9,014. The wider built-up area ...
. There are paths from East Road to Biggleswade.
The night sky and light pollution
The
Campaign to Protect Rural England
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar produ ...
(CPRE) divides the level of night sky brightness into 9 bands with band 1 being the darkest i.e. with the lowest level of light pollution and band 9 the brightest and most polluted. Langford is in bands 4 and 5.
History
The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944 AD and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of the settlement. At the time of the Domesday Book 1086, the population was around 21. The parish church is
St. Andrew's, which is part of the Church of England. Before 1066 the lord of Langford was Lewin, a thane of Edward the Confessor. William the Conqueror granted the village to Walter le Fleming. In 1142 Walter's descendant Simon de Wahull gave land to the Knights Templar, who established themselves as Lords of the Manor of Langford Rectory.
The entry 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 ...
reads: ''Langeford: Walter of Flanders. 2 mills.''
Langford has been a settlement on the east bank of the river Ivel since Saxon times. It is a long straggling village which at one time had two or three fording points over the river, hence its name. The village now starts at the Baulk corner and it is nearly two miles to the Running Waters at the north end of the village.
1960 air accident
On Wednesday 16 November 1960
BAC Jet Provost
The BAC Jet Provost is a British jet trainer aircraft that was in use with the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1955 to 1993. It was originally developed by Hunting Percival from the earlier piston engine-powered Percival Provost basic trainer, and l ...
''G-AOUS'' crashed. The aircraft hit the village playing field, after the wings had snapped beforehand. 34 year old
Lt-Cdr John Richard Stanley Overbury, the company test pilot, at Luton, was killed. He was married, and lived at 'Bircham' on Old Wood Road, in Whipsnade. He had been at Luton as the test pilot since 1957.
Governance
Langford Parish Council consists of ten elected councillors.
Langford is part of Stotfold and Langford ward for elections to 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 ...
Unitary Authority.
Prior to 1894, Langford 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 it 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 ...
.
Langford 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.
Facilities
The Plough, Church Street, first licensed in 1846 is the one remaining pub. The building was formerly a farmhouse.
A small shopping parade on Church Street near to East Road includes a convenience store, Fish and chip/burger take away, pharmacy and hair salon. A convenience store on High Street includes the village Post Office.
The King George V Playing Field has a children's play area and exercise equipment for adults. The village hall is within the grounds. Both are owned and maintained by the parish council.
Local commerce includes a long-established garden centre, a garage and filling station, a private members' club (The Ivy Leaf Club), farm shop, estate agents, curry house (Spice Lounge), beauty salon, barbers, and a dog grooming boutique.
Education
Langford Village Academyfor four to nine year olds is part of the
Bedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST).
OFSTED
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
rated the school as "good" following an inspection in 2017. The Academy transitioned to a Primary School in September 2021 as part of two-tier changes in the wider Central Bedfordshire area,
The village is in the catchment zone for two schools at the same time:
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Samuel Whitbread Academy is an Upper School and Sixth Form with Academy status serving the rural communities around the small market town of Shefford in Central Bedfordshire. Its school campus includes a nursery school and facilities for adul ...
and
Stratton Upper School
Stratton School is a mixed British school and sixth form located in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. It is an academy school, governed by the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust.
Profile
The main body of the school educates both male and female st ...
.
Publi
services
/h1>
Langford falls within
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 ...
's Potton Public Water Supply Zone. The water is
chloraminated and
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 supply 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. Poppy Fields
waste water treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...
works is south of the village, alongside the railway.
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.
Cadent Gas
Cadent Gas is a British regional gas distribution company that owns, operates and maintains the largest natural gas distribution network in the United Kingdom, transporting gas to 11 million homes and businesses across North West England, We ...
owns and operates the area's gas distribution network.
The two nearest general hospitals are
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 ...
(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.
The nearest public library is
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 ...
.
Public transport
Centrebus (South) runs an hourly route south to
Henlow
Henlow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old Eng ...
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 35 minutes) and north to
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
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 ...
via
Dunton,
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
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 ...
(service 188) or
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
,
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 ...
,
Gamlingay
Gamlingay is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about west southwest of Cambridge.
The 2011 census gives the village's population as 3,247 and the civil parish's as 3,568.
In addition ...
, and
Everton (service 190).
Weekly services to
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 ...
and Bedford are run by community bus operators Ivel Sprinter and Wanderbus respectively. Wanderbus also operates monthly services to
St Neots
St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...
,
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
and
Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...
.
The nearest railway stations are
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
Arlesey
Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about north-west of Letchworth Garden City, north of Hitchin and south of Biggleswade. Arlesey ra ...
.
Churches
The parish church of St Andrew is part of a united
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
with the
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Henlow
Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 31 October 1966. The original footprint of the church dates back to the 12th century, but the current building dates mostly ...
. Regular Sunday morning services are held.
The Methodist Chapel is in the North Bedfordshire Circuit. Services take place each Sunday morning. The Chapel was constructed in 1862. The two-manual organ, built in 1845 by
Gray and Davison
Gray & Davison was a large-scale manufacturer of church and cathedral pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboar ...
, was initially installed at
St John the Baptist Church, Windsor
St John the Baptist Church is a parish church in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The church was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style in 1822. It is the civic church of Windsor, and many Mayors of ...
before being sold and transferred here in 1906. In 2000, the organ was issued with an ungraded Historic Organ Certificate.
Buildings and monuments
Upon entering the village from Biggleswade is a terrace of ten cottages dated 1862: the Denny Cottages are of yellow brick with red brick trimmings. All bar one have arched front windows and doors.
The Clock Tower Memorial commemorates soldiers who lost their lives in the 1914–18 and 1939–45 World Wars.
Housing developments
The village has grown considerably since 1961. Housing on Riverside Gardens, at the southern end of the village between the Ivel and High Street was built in the late 1960s, followed by nearby Wilmon Court and Ivel Close in the 1980s.
More recently, Garfield, off Station Road, comprising 58 properties was completed in 2010 on former scrubland. The pace of development accelerated following Central Bedfordshire Council's initial call for sites in 2014. At the north of the village on the western side of Church Street is a development of 35 properties called Rowley Fields, built in 2018 on a former meadow. Off the east side of Station Road, 110 houses have been built at Bramble Corner, Mayflower Lane, Campion Edge and Elderberry Close and off the west side another 25 at Merryweather Grove. 22 houses have been completed at Steamer Croft beside the railway off Cambridge Road.
Sport
Langford F.C. compete in the
Spartan South Midlands League
The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...
Division One and play their home matches at Forde Park. The women's team currently compete in the
South East Combination Women's League. A few seasons ago, they were members of the
Women's Premier League, playing against teams such as
Chelsea,
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football.
Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
and
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
.
King George's Field is the home of the Langford Youth football team and Langford Cricket Club. Langford Tennis Club has two floodlit courts and compete in the Bedfordshire LTA leagues.
King George's Field is also the home ground for Langford Cricket Club. Established in 1875 the Club has been providing cricket for the enjoyment of players and families, at their current ground in Langford, for more than 60 years.
The Club holds the ECB Clubmark approval and maintains 9 grass wickets and also has an artificial all-weather wicket, permanent three lane practice nets, mobile net, Home, Away and Officials changing rooms.
The 2023 season sees the club compete with one adult team in the Beds Invitational Saturday Cricket League, and a one adult team in Div 4 of the Beds Country Cricket league. The Club enters youth teams into the Beds Youth Cricket League at development level each season.
Community events
An annual themed raft race is held on the Ivel in July. Costumed competitors are flour bombed by spectators on the river bank and bridges. Money is raised for local clubs. The village
fete follows.
Notable residents
The late
A.W. Lawrence
Arnold Walter Lawrence (2 May 1900 – 31 March 1991) was a British authority on classical sculpture and architecture. He was Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s in Accra ...
, Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, youngest brother of
T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...
(Lawrence of Arabia), lived in Langford with his wife for a time in the 1980s.
[R. M. Cook, ‘Lawrence, Arnold Walter (1900–1991)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2009]
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Whishaw, various accolades, including three British Academy Television Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
, stage and film actor who plays
Q in recent
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
episodes, spent part of his childhood in Langford; he attended local schools as well as taking part in local amateur theatre productions in the village.
References
External links
*
2001 Census - Parish profile for Langford
{{authority control
Villages in Bedfordshire
Civil parishes in Bedfordshire
Biggleswade
Central Bedfordshire District