Bedfordshire is an English ceremonial county which lies between approximately 25 miles and 55 miles (or approximately 40 and 90 kilometres) north of central London.
Anglo-Saxon Bedfordshire
Early 5th century Saxon burial sites have been discovered at Kempston and Sandy, two Bedfordshire towns on the River Great Ouse and its tributary the River Ivel, as well as at Luton, in the south of the county on the River Lea (a tributary of the Thames). These sites are all in the vicinity of Roman towns, suggesting that these may have been the site of Saxon foederati employed by Romano-British inhabitants to protect their towns. A seventh century settlement at Stratton, near Biggleswade has also been found.
The area may have remained part of a British enclave until the Battle of Bedcanford (Bedford) in 571, when Cuthwulf inflicted a severe defeat on the Britons and took the towns of Eynsham, Aylesbury, Benson and Limbury. This area may have coincided with the "Chilternsetna" who comprised 4,000 hides in the Tribal Hidage (compared to 7,000 for Essex).
During the Heptarchy what is now Bedfordshire formed part of Mercia; by the Treaty of Wedmore it became part of the Danelaw.
The Vikings of Bedford were subdued by King Edward the Elder in 915, and he built two burhs at Bedford on each side of the River Ouse. Four hundreds were formed on each side to support each burgh - Willey, Stodden, Buckelow and Barford in the north and Redbornstoke, Wixamtree, Biggleswade and Clifton in the south. The boundary to the north largely coincides with the watershed between the Nene and Ouse rivers, presumed to also be the boundary between the land of the Vikings based at Bedford and Northampton; the western boundary aligns with the Newport Hundreds, similarly laid out to support the new burh at Newport Pagnell, and the eastern boundary with the hundreds of Huntingdon.
The first mention of the county comes in 1016 when King Canute "laid waste to the whole shire".
Norman Bedfordshire There was no organised resistance to William the Conqueror within Bedfordshire, though the Domesday Book survey reveals an almost complete substitution of Norman for English landholders.
Bedfordshire suffered severely in the civil war of King Stephen's reign; the great Roll of the Exchequer of 1165 proves the shire receipts had depreciated in value to two-thirds of the assessment for the Danegeld. Again the county was thrown into the First Barons' War when Bedford Castle, seized from the Beauchamps by Falkes de Breauté one of the royal partisans, was the scene of three sieges before being demolished on the king's order in 1224 . The Peasants Revolt (1377–1381) was marked by less violence in Bedfordshire than in neighbouring counties; the Annals of Dunstable make brief mention of a rising in that town and the demand for and granting of a charter.
A large part of the county was subject to forest law as a royal forest, until 1191. p221
In 1638 ship money was levied on Bedfordshire, and in the English Civil War that followed, the county was one of the foremost in opposing the king. Clarendon observed that here Charles I had no visible party or fixed quarter.
The earliest original parliamentary writ that has been discovered was issued in 1290 when two members were returned for the county. In 1295 in addition to the county members, writs are found for two members to represent Bedford borough. Subsequently, until modern times two county and two borough members were returned regularly.
Sub county level administration
Before 1835
Bedfordshire was divided into nine hundreds, Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redbornestoke, Stodden, Willey and Wixamtree, and the liberty, half hundred or borough of Bedford. From the Domesday survey it appears that in the 11th century there were three additional half hundreds, viz. Stanburge, Buchelai and Weneslai, which had by the 14th century become parts of the hundreds of Manshead, Willey and Biggleswade respectively.
Until 1574 one sheriff did duty for Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, the shire court of the former being held at Bedford. The jurisdiction of the hundred courts, excepting Flitt, remained in the king's possession. Flitt was parcel of the manor of Luton, and formed part of the marriage portion of Eleanor, sister of Henry III, and wife of William Marshall. The burgesses of Bedford and the prior of Dunstable claimed jurisdictional freedom in those two boroughs. The hundred Rolls and the Placita de quo warranto show that important jurisdiction had accrued to the great over-lordships, such as those of Beauchamp, Wahull and Caynho, and to several religious houses, the prior of St John of Jerusalem claiming rights in more than fifty places in the county.
18351894 Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 the county was divided into poor law unions, each consisting of a town and surrounding rural parishes. The poor law unions based in Bedfordshire towns were Ampthill, Bedford, Biggleswade, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, and Woburn. In addition, a handful of parishes near the boundaries of Bedfordshire were included in poor law unions based in towns in other counties, namely Hitchin in Hertfordshire, St Neots in Huntingdonshire and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.
Urban areas
Bedford was the only ancient borough in the county still operating at the time of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Dunstable was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1864 and Luton in 1876.
Urban local government in Bedfordshire in this period took one of three forms: Municipal Boroughs created under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835; Local Board Districts created under the Public Health Act 1848 and governed by a local board of health; or Local Government Districts created under the Local Government Act 1858 and governed by a local board. Under the Public Health Acts of 1872 and 1875 these areas also became urban sanitary districts, with their existing council or board acting as urban sanitary authority.
Town Type Formed Area covered Notes Ampthill Local Government District 18 February 1893 Parish of Ampthill Bedford Municipal Borough 1 January 1836 Bedford ancient borough Biggleswade Local Government District 22 February 1892 Parish of Biggleswade Dunstable Local Government District 19 May 1863 Parish of Dunstable Abolished on creation of Dunstable Municipal Borough. Dunstable Municipal Borough 8 December 1864 Parish of Dunstable Leighton Buzzard Local Government District 7 July 1891 Part of parish of Leighton Buzzard Luton Local Board District 19 June 1850 Part of parish of Luton Abolished on creation of Luton Municipal Borough. Luton Municipal Borough 25 February 1876 Part of parish of Luton
Rural areas
Until 1872, local government in rural areas was limited to the parish vestries. As well as giving sanitary responsibilities to the urban authorities above, the Public Health Acts of 1872 and 1875 also established rural sanitary districts for the areas of each poor law union outside the urban authorities. These rural sanitary districts were administered by the existing boards of guardians for the poor law unions.
Rural Sanitary District Notes Area covered within BedfordshireAmpthill Bedford Biggleswade Hitchin Mostly in Hertfordshire HolwellLeighton Buzzard Part in Buckinghamshire Luton Part in Hertfordshire St Neots Mostly in Huntingdonshire Dean, Eaton Socon, Little Barford, Little Staughton, Pertenhall, Shelton, TilbrookWellingborough Mostly in Northamptonshire Podington, WymingtonWoburn
18941974 The Local Government Act 1894 replaced the system of sanitary districts with urban and rural districts, each with an elected council. The urban districts, rural districts and municipal boroughs were collectively termed county districts and formed the principal subdivisions for local government for the next eighty years. Where sanitary districts had straddled county boundaries they were split or otherwise boundaries were adjusted so that each county district was solely in one county. Some of the adjustments to boundaries took a couple of years to finalise after the 1894 act, so there were some short-lived anomalies where districts initially straddled county boundaries, but these were all resolved for Bedfordshire by 1897.
District From To Formed from Successor Notes Ampthill Rural District 1894 1974 Ampthill Rural Sanitary District Mid Bedfordshire Ampthill Urban District 1894 1974 Ampthill Urban Sanitary District Mid Bedfordshire Bedford Municipal Borough 1894 1974 Bedford Municipal Borough (pre-existing authority continuing) Bedford Bedford Rural District 1894 1974 Bedford Rural Sanitary DistrictWellingborough Rural Sanitary District within Bedfordshire Bedford Biggleswade Rural District 1894 1974 Biggleswade Rural Sanitary District Mid Bedfordshire Biggleswade Urban District 1894 1974 Biggleswade Urban Sanitary District Mid Bedfordshire Dunstable Municipal Borough 1894 1974 Dunstable Municipal Borough (pre-existing authority continuing) South Bedfordshire Eaton Bray Rural District 1894 1933 Leighton Buzzard Rural Sanitary District within Bedfordshire Luton Rural District Eaton Socon Rural District 1894 1934 St Neots Rural Sanitary District within Bedfordshire Bedford Rural District Included parish of Swineshead which was in Huntingdonshire until transferred to Bedfordshire in 1896. Hitchin Rural District 1894 1897 Hitchin Rural Sanitary District District in Hertfordshire, except initially included parish of Holwell which was in Bedfordshire until transferred to Hertfordshire in 1897. Kempston Urban District 1896 1974 Part of Bedford Rural District Bedford Leighton Buzzard Urban District 1894 1965 Leighton Buzzard Urban Sanitary District Leighton-Linslade Urban District Leighton-Linslade Urban District 1965 1974 Leighton Buzzard Urban District and Linslade Urban District from Buckinghamshire South Bedfordshire Luton Municipal Borough 1894 1964 Luton Municipal Borough (pre-existing authority continuing) Luton County Borough Luton County Borough 1964 1974 Luton Municipal Borough Luton County Borough independent of Bedfordshire County Council although still within the county for ceremonial purposes. Luton Rural District 1894 1974 Luton Rural Sanitary District South Bedfordshire Sandy Urban District 1927 1974 Part of Biggleswade Rural District Mid Bedfordshire St Neots Rural District 1894 1896 St Neots Rural Sanitary District District in Huntingdonshire, except initially included parish of Tilbrook which was in Bedfordshire until transferred to Huntingdonshire in 1896. Woburn Rural District 1894 1900 Woburn Rural Sanitary District Ampthill Rural District
19742009 The Local Government Act 1972 replaced the system of urban and rural district councils with a two-tier system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan county and district councils.
County council (principal authority) Bedfordshire
Borough and district councils Bedford district (renamed North Bedfordshire Borough in 1975, changed name again to Bedford Borough in 1992) Luton Borough Mid Bedfordshire district South Bedfordshire district
In 1997 Luton became a unitary authority, meaning the borough became administratively independent of Bedfordshire County Council. Luton remained part of Bedfordshire for ceremonial purposes.
Since 2009 In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) considered reorganising Bedfordshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The four proposals considered were:
Proposal 1, To abolish the three districts within the county to create a "Bedfordshire unitary authority". (Luton would remain a separate unitary authority.) Proposal 2, To create two unitary authorities: one based on the existing Bedford Borough, and the other, to be known as "Central Bedfordshire", a combination of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire Districts. (Luton would remain a separate unitary authority.)