•  Kempston, Bedfordshire

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In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Kempston like this:

KEMPSTON, a village and a parish in the district and county of Bedford. The village stands on the river Ouse, 2½ miles SW of Bedford r. station; and has a postoffice under Bedford. The parish comprises 5, 160 acres. Real property, £10, 868. Pop. in 1851, 1, 962; in 1861, 2, 1 91. Houses, 478. ...

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The property is much subdivided. The manor house is the seat of the Williamsons; Hoo House, of Barnard Talbot, Esq.; Kempston House, of Capt. B. Newland; and the Grange, of H. Littledale, Esq. Springfield House, standing on a plot of 18 acres, is a private lunatic asylnm. Roman coins, an ancient spur, and indications of a large Saxon cemetery have been found. Kempston Wood is a meet for the Oakley hounds. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £350. * Patron, J. D. Allcroft, Esq. The church is partly Norman; has decorated clerestory, aisles, and S porch; has a tower partly Norman, partly later; was restored in 1864; and contains a decorated font. Another church, St. John's, was erected in 1868. There are chapels for Baptists, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, a national school, and charities £46. An extensive Saxon burying place was recently discovered, containing a large number of skeletons, an ancient British coin, two coins of Constantine, a variety of weapons, a unique drinkingcup, and a great variety of Saxon ornaments.

Kempston through time

Kempston is now part of Bedford district. Click here for graphs and data of how Bedford has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Kempston itself, go to Units and Statistics.

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