Woburn (, meaning twisted or crooked stream) 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 ...

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, about southeast of

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 south of junction 13 of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 933.

History

Woburn was first recorded as a hamlet in 969 and is listed 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. It is best known as the location of

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

stately home 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a To ...

) and

Woburn Safari Park Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhinos, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates ...

. The abbey was founded by

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks in 1145 and granted to the first Earl of Bedford in 1538 after the dissolution of the monasteries. The town may have been called "Woburne Chapell" in medieval times, in order to distinguish it from the abbey. Woburn has been burned down and rebuilt three times. A medieval chimney fire spread owing to the prevalence of thatched roofs and closely built houses. Then, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, the

Cavaliers The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

burned down much of the town and in 1724 a third fire destroyed much of the town, which was rebuilt in the Georgian style that remains today. During the nineteenth century, Woburn was an important staging post on the

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 ...

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

turnpike. The town had 27 inns and the first 24-hour post office outside London. However, with Woburn being bypassed by (what became) the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

and the

Grand Union canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

(northsouth) and the

Varsity Line The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, a ...

(eastwest), Woburn's location ceased to be so significant. The population fell from 2,100 in 1851 to 700 about a century later.

Woburn Town Hall Woburn Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. The town hall, which has largely been converted for retail use, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building in Woburn was a th ...

, designed by

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

, was completed in 1830. Under the 8th Duke of Bedford, a new parish church was completed in Woburn in 1868. It was equipped with a crypt beneath, which was originally intended as the burial place of the Dukes of Bedford and their family. In the end the dukes continued to use the ancient mausoleum at

St Michael's, Chenies St Michael's Church at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Oxford in England. It is not of great architectural interest but stands in an attractive position in the Chess Valley near the Chenies ...

, and the crypt of St Mary's parish church in Woburn is now used for events and meetings. The hatch through which coffins would have been lowered into the crypt is still visible.

Woburn Cottage Hospital Woburn Cottage Hospital was a hospital in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. History Mary, the Duchess of Bedford (1865–1937) developed an interest in nursing whilst at school in Cheltenham, and in 1898 opened a cottage hospital at Woburn, the Be ...

was established by Mary, the Duchess of Bedford (1865-1937) in 1898. The hospital remained open until at least 1935. Woburn old fire station - geograph

Despite burning down three times in its history, the first permanent fire station was only recorded in 1823, situated in front of the Tudor School. The station moved in 1947 to purpose-built premises on Leighton Street. Today a modern fire station stands on London Road.

Sports and leisure facilities

Woburn has its own

lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...

(outdoor swimming pool). In addition to the walks and cycling opportunities afforded by the Estate and the local roads, Woburn lies across the routes of both the

Greensand Ridge Walk The Greensand Ridge Walk is a long-distance walk of that traverses the county of Bedfordshire in England, with brief sections in the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. Its southern endpoint is at Leighton Buzzard and t ...

and the

Greensand Cycle Way "Greensand Cycleway" signs for this route appeared in the first half of 2014. It covers roughly 40 miles (64 km), using minor roads and runs roughly in parallel with its sister walk, the Greensand Ridge Walk. The route traverses Bedfordshir ...

Woburn Golf Club Woburn Golf Club is a golf club in England located in Little Brickhill, near Milton Keynes within the county of Buckinghamshire, about northwest of central London. There are three courses at the Woburn property: the "Duke's Course", w ...

, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Woburn, has hosted the

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...

eleven times between 1984 and 2019.

Climate

Woburn experiences an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb'') as is typical of almost all of the United Kingdom. There is a

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

weather station in Woburn. Recorded temperature extremes range from during July 2022, to as low as on 25 February 1947; this is the lowest temperature ever reported in England in February. In 2010, the temperature fell to

Freedom of the Town

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Woburn.

Individuals

* Gillian "Gill" Green: 1 February 2025.

References

External links

Woburn pages
at the

Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is a county record office, holding archival material associated with Bedfordshire and Luton. Established in 1913 by George Herbert Fowler (1861-1940) as the Bedfordshire Record Office, it w ...

* {{Authority control Towns in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District