A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



CAMPTON CUM SHEFFORD and CHICKSANDS 



Camelton or Campton (xi cent, to xx cent.), 

 Cambleton (xiv cent.), ShyiForth (xvi cent.). 



The parish of Campton cum ShefFord contains the 

 village of Campton and the market town of ShefFord, 

 the outlying parts of which merge into the parishes of 

 Meppershall, Clifton, and Southill. The parish is 

 triangular in shape, the apex being at the north-east, 

 and containing the town of ShefFord ; two tributaries 

 of the River Ivel form the northern and eastern 

 boundaries respectively, that in the east separating 

 the parish from Meppershall and passing close by the 

 village of Campton. The northern branch of the river 

 runs through the grounds of Chicksands Priory, where 

 it widens out into a small lake, passing through two 

 plantations known as the Upper and Lower Alders. 

 The general fall of the ground is from west to east, 

 the highest point being above the 200 ft. line near 

 Highlands Farm on the west boundary, and the 

 lowest about one hundred and thirty feet in the 

 town of ShefFord, which is built round the junction 

 of the Ampthill road with that from Bedford to 

 Hitchin. 



The former becomes the High Street, and runs in 

 an easterly direction, passing under the Bedford and 

 Hitchin branch of the Midland Railway, and is of an 

 ample width, having on the south side the parish 

 church and a large Roman Catholic orphanage, 

 St. Francis's Home, established in 1869. Attached 

 to it is a church of St. Francis, built in 1884. The 

 Bedford road running south and south-east becomes 

 North Bridge Street, taking its nime from the bridge 

 over the stream at the north end of the town, and 

 continues beyond its junction with the High Street 

 to the South Bridge over the second stream. The 

 buildings of the town are in no way remarkable, but 

 there are a number of good red-brick fronts, and 

 some interesting sixteenth-century timber work in 

 North Bridge Street. The railway station is to the 

 north of the High Street, with the old school close 

 by, and the houses run westward from this point as 

 far as the junction with the road to Campton village. 

 Further to the west, opposite the entrance gates of 

 Chicksands Priory, a second road runs due south to 

 Campton, joining the first in the middle of the vil- 

 lage, the church standing on the north side, with the 

 Grange opposite to it. From this point roads run 

 south-west to Upper Gravenhurst, and south to 

 Meppershall, the latter crossing the stream, on which, 

 at the south end of the village, is Campton Mill. 



To the north-west of the church is the rectory, an 

 old house with an eighteenth-century red-brick front. 

 Opposite to it, and standing back from the road is 

 Campton House, now after a period of neglect being 

 put into a state of repair. It is an interesting 

 gabled timber and plaster house of c. 1 590, of two 

 stories, with a central hall and wings at either end. 

 The porch and bay of the hall have developed into 

 small two-story projections with gabled roofs, and 

 the entrance door is now in the middle of the hall, 

 apparently an eighteenth-century insertion. The hall 



stands north and south, and at its lower or south end 

 the screens remain, a beautiful piece of contemporary 

 woodwork with open strap-work cresting. In the west 

 wall is a large four-centred stone fireplace with panel- 

 ling over it, though this latter is for the most part old 

 work brought from a farm-house in the neighbour- 

 hood. The stairs go up from the north-west of the 

 hall, and are of eighteenth-century date, but the west 

 room on the ground floor in the north wing has some 

 very good original panelling with a vine trail frieze 

 and a fine chimney-piece, and stone arched fireplace. 

 The panelling on the north side of the room is of 

 plainer type and partly of deal. A glazed shot- 

 riddled panel on the east side commemorates the 

 escape in 1645 of Sir Charles Ventris, then owner of 

 the house, according to an inscription painted below 

 the panel. He was ' (in the night time) by Oliver's 

 party, shot at, as he was walking in this room, but 

 happily missed him.' The front of the house is 

 rough-cast in panels with vandyked borders, apparently 

 eighteenth-century work, but the back has been refaced 

 with brick. In Fisher's view of the front {Coliections 

 for Beds. pi. xix), the date an" 1591 is shown on the 

 rainwater heads. 



According to the Ordnance Survey Campton has an 

 area of 969 acres, while 144^ acres comprise the town- 

 ship of ShefFord. The Agricultural Returns for 1905 

 show that rather more than half the parish consists of 

 arable land and rather less of grass land and woods respec- 

 tively. The soil is strong clay, but the subsoil is lower 

 greensand and gault ; the chief crops are wheat, barley, 

 beans, peas, and garden produce of all kinds, for which 

 ShefFord is noted. The population of Campton in 

 1901 was 437 and that of ShefFord 874. 



Chicksands Priory possessed in Clifton a meadow 

 called Midsummer Mead, which was given in 1 544 

 to Thomas Harding,' and in 1553 to John earl of 

 Bedford ; ' the priory also possessed other lands in 

 Clifton ; some in Blanchmore Furlong, which were 

 granted to Thomas Harding in 1544,' and were the 

 property of the queen in 1649, who also owned 

 Blomeale Mead.* Some lands in Bumeham Mead 

 were granted to John Gostwick in 1530,' and other 

 lands in the same meadow, which used to belong to 

 Chicksands Priory, were given in 1553 to John earl 

 of Bedford ; " in 1 6 1 8 George Franklin died seised 

 of lands in Bumeham Mead.' Richard earl of Kent 

 possessed lands in Southwater Mead, which were 

 granted in 1590 to Richard Wood,' and were in the 

 possession of Henrietta Maria in 1 649.' Chicksands 

 Priory also owned a close, called Nones Stocking, 

 which was granted in 1553 to John Green and Ralph 

 Hall.'" 



Two saucer brooches have been found at Shefibrd 

 of West Saxon workmanship, in an ancient cemetery, 

 but vases and other remains show that the cemetery | 

 was in use in the Romano-British period." i 



Robert Bloomfield, the shoemaker poet, author of 

 ' The Farmer's Boy,' lived for a few years at Shefford, 

 and died there on 19 August, 1823, in poverty- 



1 L. and F. Hen. VIII, xix (i), p. 649. 

 '^ Pat. 7 Edw. VI, pt. 1 3, m. 7. 

 8 L. and P. Hen. Fill, xix (i), p. 649. 

 * Pari. Surv. 1649, Beds. No. 18. 



* Pat. 22 Hen. VIII, pt. i. 

 » Pat. 7 Edw. VI, pt. 13, m. 

 'i Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), 

 No, loi. 



266 



8 Orig. R. 32 Eliz. pt. 6, rot. 18. 

 7- ° Pari. Surv. 1649, Beds. No. 18. 



voU 374, 10 Pat. 7 Kdw. VI, pt. 10, m. 14. 



" KC.H. Beds, i, 187. 



