Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/231

Rh BEDFORDSHIRE. 221 BEDF011DSHIKE. ns. , or d:ction from Baldock, through Dunstable, to near I ghton Buzzard. During the long struggle between tl Britons and Saxons a battle was fought in the neigh- lirhood of Bedford, in 571, in which the former were ti illy defeated by the Saxons, under Cuthwulf. This r nty, at a later period, formed part of the kingdom of 3 rcia. It suffered greatly from the incursions of the 1 ics in the 10th century, and was comprised within t Danish jurisdiction (J)anelcgc) under Canute. Except ti events connected with the sieges of the castle of 1 Iford, which are related in the article on that town [. BEDFORD], this county has not been the scene of any ii >ortant historical event since the Norman conquest. T3 surface of Bedfordshire is agreeably diversified -i!i gentle hills and fertile plains. It is only in the iicast part of the county that any considerable nonces appear. There it is crossed by the Chiltern hs, a chalk range, in a direction from south-west to tli-east. These hills form the Lutou and Dunstable Skirting them on the north-west is a tract of chalk-marl. To tlu's succeeds a belt of iron- i. extending from Leighton Buzzard through Woburn, ly tract, which constitutes a remarkable feature in physical character of Bedfordshire, is generally hilly. . varies in breadth from 1 to 5 miles, and is now tly enclosed and brought under cultivation. It con- Is of fuller' s-earth and much fossil wood. North i ract ia the Vale of Bedford, in which the dark- o clay, called Oxford clay, prevails. It is a corn dis- t of the county is generally level. Woods and plan- t ons are pleasantly interspersed through the county, fquently clothing the sides of the hills. With the '1'tion. of the bleak downs in the south, there is sc -cely any waste land. Extensive and pleasing pros- p-ts are commanded from many points on the hills, dully from the downs between Streatley and Brton, on the edge of Hertfordshire, and from Mill- lvi,k churchyard, near Ampthill, over the Vale of i. The principal rivers are the Ouse and the ! I. The Ouso enters the county from Backingham- Turvey, flows northward along the boundary a ! miles, and then by a circuitous course of 45 miles -os Bedford, where it becomes navigable. It then
 * it hill, &c., into Cambridgeshire. The surface of this
 * 1 1 of great extent and singular fertility. The northern
 * inues its course by Barford and Tempsford, where

i "ceives the waters of the Ivel, and enters Hunting- d shire, near St. Neot's. The Ivel has its source on t, northern slope of the Dunstablo downs near Bal- d k, in Hertfordshire, and flowing northward joins the (e at Tempsford. The Lea rises near Houghton I ;is, on the south slope of the downs, and runs by 1 :oninto Hertfordshire, falling into the Thames below I idon. The Ouzel, which rises near Whipsnade, runs b Leighton Buzzard, forming, for some distance, the i .ndary between this county and Buckinghamshire. 1 iides these rivers there are many small tributary ji jeral productions of Bedfordshire are few and of small ii lortance. Limestone is obtained in the Vale of Bed- f 1 ; freestone at Tottcrnhoe, where also " crunch " (the l<til designation of the chalk-marl) is quarried and b nt for lime. Traces of coal have been observed, and 'j or' s-earth is found in great abundance. Fossil shells o iiiiitili,aiieawnites, &c., have been discovered, and in tl neighbourhood of Bedford, a largo skeleton of the f iosaurtis was disinterred in 1833. The climate is n d and genial, the greatest cold prevailing in the chalk h 3 in the south, and the chief moisture in the clay d riots. The soils arc very various, embracing almost e ry kind from the heaviest clay to the lightest sand, and a -ach sustains its appropriate vegetation, the botanist fif.s here many rare and interesting plants. Along the r valleys is found a rich loam, the fertility of which is kit up by annual inundations. In the country north o' Bedford there is much poor and wet land. Gravel bis occur along the course of the Ouse, beneath a bed very rich earth. The agriculture of the county has 1 n much improved through the energy of the Duke of Bedford. The principal crops are wheat, barley, beans, turnips, &c. There are numerous dairy-farms, from which large quantities of butter arc supplied to London. In the neighbourhood of Sandy are extensive and valu- able market-gardens, the produce of which is sent to distant markets many miles round. The farms are generally of small extent, not often exceeding 200 acres, and are let on yearly tenancy. Bedfordshire is divided into nine hunds. and the lib. of Bedford borough. The names of the hunds. are Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Mitt, Manshead, Kedbornstoke, Stodden, Willey, and Wixamtree, all which, with the names of several half hundreds since incorporated with them, are mentioned in the Norman survey. The number of pars, is 123, of which 10 are market towns, viz. : Bedford, the county town and a parliamentary borough, Ampthill, Biggies- wade, Dunstable, Han-old, Leighton-Buzzard, Luton, Potion, and Woburn. There are two ext. par. places and many large villages. The county, which has a popu- lation, according to the census of 1861, of 124,478, is divided into six Poor-law Unions and five County Court districts, the former being those of Ampthill, Bedford, Biggleswade, Leighton-Buzzard, Luton, and "Woburn, and the latter the first five of the same. Bedford- shire returns four members to parliament, two for the shire and two for the borough of Bedford. The local government is vested in a lord-lieutenant, about 35 deputy-lieutenants, a high sheriff, and a numerous body of magistrates. Besides Bedford, where the elections for the county take place, there are seven polling-places, being the towns at the head of the Poor-law Unions, with Dunstable and Sharnbrook. The county is in tJie Norfolk circuit, and Bedford is the assize town. It constitutes an archdeac. in the dioc. of Ely, and prov. of Canterbury, and is subdivided into six deaneries, comprising about 85 benefices. It was formerly a part of the dioc. of Lincoln. Bedfordshire has no manu- factures or trade of importance. The occupations of the people are more entirely agricultural than in any other county of England. The making of straw-plait employs most of the female and not a small proportion of the male population in the southern districts. The products of their industry, known as the Dunstable straws and the Luton plait, have a wide reputation. Lace making is carried on in all parts of the county, chiefly, perhaps, in the north, and employs, it is esti- mated, above 2,600 hands. Sedge mats are made in large quantities along the borders of tho Ouse, near Bed- ford. The antiquities of the county are not numerous. On a hill, near Sandy, is a Koman camp, enclosing an area of about 30 acres. It is usually called Caesar's Camp, and is of an irregular oblong form. On the low hills, near Dunstable, are two ancient entrenchments of a circular form, one at Maiden Bower, the other called Totternhoe Castle. They are supposed to be of British origin. The latter is a circular mount, with two ram- parts, one at the base and another a little distance from it. Near this mount is an oblong camp, with rampart and ditch, about 500 feet in length and 250 feet in breadth. This is attributed to the Romans. There are other circular works in the neighbourhood of Leighton- Buzzard and Bedford. The baronial fortresses, most of which were destroyed by King John, have left no remains in the county. The sites of some of them are, however, marked by great earthworks, as at Arlsey, Bedford, Eaton-Socon, Kidgmont, and other places. At the period of the Dissolution, the monastic establish- ments of this county were numerous, and among them were six of the greater monasteries. These were Elstow abbey, near Bedford, Dunstable priory, Warden abbey, Woburn abbey, and the priories at Newenham and Chicksands. The most considerable remains are those at Elstow and Dunstable. There are no traces of Woburn abbey. Several of the churches present interesting examples of ancient architecture. The Norman is ex- hibited, in combination with the early English style, in the churches of Elstow and Dunstable, both of which were conventual. Other instances of the Norman style are seen in the churches of Puddington, St. Peter's,
 * . -.ims, most of them falling into the Onse. The