Biddenham

Biddenham is a large village and a civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, located to the west of Bedford near the A428 road.

Biddenham

Pub with thatched roof in Biddenham
Biddenham
Location within Bedfordshire
Population2,620 [1]
1,634 (2011 Census)[2]
OS grid referenceTL024502
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBEDFORD
Postcode districtMK40
Dialling code01234
PoliceBedfordshire
FireBedfordshire and Luton
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament

The village largely serves as a dormitory settlement for Bedford, and also for commuters to London, being on the same side of the town centre as Bedford railway station. Biddenham is seen as a desirable location, with quaint thatched cottages in the older, southern end of the village, and a high proportion of large detached houses in the modern, northern end.

History

Biddenham is the location of the Manor Hospital, a BMI Healthcare private hospital. The village also contains St James Church, The Three Tuns pub, and a sports pavilion with a cricket pitch and a rugby field (interchangeable depending on the season).

Biddenham has one of the few remaining village ponds in Bedfordshire, located just off Gold Lane behind the Manor Hospital. Created as a carp pond by the Boteler family in 1700 to supply fish for the Biddenham Manor table, it eventually became known as the village pond but fell into disuse and became overgrown. In 1986 a group of villagers began a project to restore and maintain it as a nature conservation area and village amenity. The village pond is still going strong today under the guardianship of The Friends of the Biddenham Village Pond, a voluntary organisation. The pond is home to two rare species - the protected great crested newt and the introduced midwife toad. The dovecote built in a field next to the pond by Elizabeth Boteler in 1706 to provide meat and eggs for the manor table was demolished in 1966.

Sometime before 1920, a short 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway was operated buy S.W. Jarvis & Son at the Biddenham Gravel Pit. The line was removed in the 1930s.[3]

Biddenham International School and Sports College is located on Biddenham Turn. It is a state secondary school for Biddenham and the western part of Bedford. The school was originally named John Howard Upper School, but was renamed after a merger with another school in 1988. St Joseph's and St Gregory's Catholic Primary School is also located on Biddenham Turn. The school was formed following the merger of St Joseph's Lower and St Gregory's Middle in September 2017. St. James' Primary School, located on Main Road, is the village's primary school.

A sundial was installed in the village in 2000, inscribed with the location (Latitude North 52° 08' 40", Longitude West 000° 30' 05") and the phrase "Times Change and We With Them."

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See also

References
  1. "Neighbourhood Statistics - Bidenham (CP) Parish". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. Warrington, A.J. (February 1968). "Biddenham Gravel Pit, Bedford". Industrial Railway Record. Industrial Railway Society. 17: 192–193.



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