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Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fourth largest town in Bedfordshire and along with Houghton Regis forms the westernmost part of the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area. Etymology In Ancient Rome, Roman times there was a minor settlement called Durocobrivis in the area now occupied by modern-day Dunstable. There was a general assumption that the nominative form of the name had been Durocobrivae, so that is what appears on the map of 1944 illustrated Dunstable#History, below. But current thinking is that the form ''Durocobrivis'', which occurs in the Antonine Itinerary, is a fossilised locative that was used all the time and Ordnance Survey now uses this form. There are several theories concerning its modern name: *Legend tells that the lawlessness of t ...
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Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fourth largest town in Bedfordshire and along with Houghton Regis forms the westernmost part of the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area. Etymology In Ancient Rome, Roman times there was a minor settlement called Durocobrivis in the area now occupied by modern-day Dunstable. There was a general assumption that the nominative form of the name had been Durocobrivae, so that is what appears on the map of 1944 illustrated Dunstable#History, below. But current thinking is that the form ''Durocobrivis'', which occurs in the Antonine Itinerary, is a fossilised locative that was used all the time and Ordnance Survey now uses this form. There are several theories concerning its modern name: *Legend tells that the lawlessness of t ...
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Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. The parish is located in Central Bedfordshire, which includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbours of Dunstable and Luton, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area, a conurbation with a population over 255,000. Name The name Houghton comes from the Saxon word 'hoe' meaning the spur of a hill, and 'tun' meaning a village. By the 11th century, much of South Bedfordshire had become royal land and Houghton became Houghton Regis or King's Houghton. Ancient history Relics of Paleolithic man, such as flint implements and the bones of contemporary wild animals, suggest prehistoric settlement. At Maiden Bower within Houghton Regis CP, near Sewell, there is an Iron Age hill fort. This is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey maps. Maiden Bower has some of the ramparts showing through the edge of an old chalk quarry where there are Bronze Ag ...
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Luton/Dunstable Urban Area
The Luton/Dunstable Urban Area, according to the Office for National Statistics, is the conurbation (continuous built up area) including the settlements of Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, in Bedfordshire, East of England. Despite straddling district boundaries the conurbation shares many facilities including an integrated bus service and the large Luton and Dunstable University Hospital. The conurbation is located in the southern part of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, and includes the unitary authority of Luton, and part of Central Bedfordshire. The current population (2011 census) is 258,018, this is an increase of 9.2% from the 2001 population of 236,318. Future growth The area is expected to grow due to development within and physical expansion of the three towns and large re-development of Luton, including redevelopment of the former Vauxhall Motors factory complex. The Luton & Dunstable Urban area is considered part of the Milton Keynes and South M ...
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Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in 2009. Bedfordshire is bordered by Cambridgeshire to the east and north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east and south. It is the fourteenth most densely populated county of England, with over half the population of the county living in the two largest built-up areas: Luton (258,018) and Bedford (106,940). The highest elevation point is on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns. History The first recorded use of the name in 1011 was "Bedanfordscir," meaning the shire or county of Bedford, which itself means "Beda's ford" (river crossing). Bedfordshire was historically divided into nine hundreds: Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redbo ...
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Sewell, Bedfordshire
Sewell is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. Sewell is a small rural settlement, though it is located near to the town of Dunstable (and therefore the wider Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis Urban Area). The settlement forms part of the Houghton Regis civil parish. It is north of Dunstable Downs at the northern edge of the Chiltern Hills. The hamlet is beside London and North Western Railway's disused branch line that linked Dunstable with the main line at Leighton Buzzard. This is now a cycle route and consists of Sewell Cutting which heads towards Dunstable and a long embankment in the direction of Stanbridge. One hundred and fifty metres south of the former railway track are Maiden Bower, an Iron Age hill fort and Totternhoe Chalk Quarry. Sewell hosts a collection of listed homes and barns but one of the most prominent properties in the hamlet is Sewell Manor. This grade II list manor house dates back to around the 13th century ...
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South West Bedfordshire (UK Parliament Constituency)
South West Bedfordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all constituencies of the UK Parliament, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The serving Member since 2001 is Conservative Andrew Selous, who succeeded Conservative David Madel. Selous has been re-elected five times: in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Constituency profile At the 2011 Census, the population of the constituency was 102,031, of whom 50,277 were male, and 51,754 were female. 74.30% of residents aged 16–74 are economically active, including 4.22% unemployed. A further 13.27% of the population are retired (lower than both the regional average of 14.4% and national average of 13.7%), and 3.75% are students. A statistical compilation by ''The Guardian'' showed unemployment benefits claimants in the constituency for April 2013 were 3.3% of the population, lower than the regional average of 3.6%. Turnout at ...
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Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main Roman roads in Britannia (Roman-governed Great Britain during the Roman Empire). The route linked Dover and London in the southeast, and continued northwest via St Albans to Wroxeter. The line of the road was later the southwestern border of the Danelaw with Wessex and Mercia, and Watling Street was numbered as one of the major highways of medieval England. First used by the ancient Britons, mainly between the areas of modern Canterbury and using a natural ford near Westminster, the road was later paved by the Romans. It connected the ports of Dubris (Dover), Rutupiae (Richborough Castle), Lemanis (Lympne), and Regulbium ( Reculver) in Kent to the Roman bridge over the Thames at Londinium (London). The route continued northw ...
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Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfordshire. The Bedfordshire County Council and all the district councils in the county were abolished, with new unitary authorities created providing the services which had been previously delivered by both the district and county councils. Central Bedfordshire was created covering the area of the former Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire Districts.http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/907/note/made - The Bedfordshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 The local authority is called Central Bedfordshire Council. Towns and villages Central Bedfordshire comprises a mix of market towns and rural villages. The largest town is Dunstable followed by Leighton Buzzard and Houghton Regis. Dunstable and Houghton Regis form part of the Luton/D ...
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Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, within Great Britain, one of the oldest roads the route of which can still be traced, being one of the few long-distance trackways to have existed before the Romans occupied the country. However, this has been disputed, and the evidence for its being a prehistoric route has been questioned. The name is Celto-British in derivation, and may be named after the Iceni tribe. They may have established this route to permit trade with other parts of the country from their base in East Anglia. It has also been suggested that the road has older prehistoric origins. The name is also said to have been initially used for the part to the west and south (i.e. south of the River Thames) but now refers usually to the track or traces north of the Thames. ...
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Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. The hills are at their widest. In 1965 almost half of the Chiltern Hills was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The northwest boundary is clearly defined by the escarpment. The dip slope is by definition more gradual, and merges with the landscape to the southeast. The southwest endpoint is the River Thames. The hills decline slowly in prominence in northeast Bedfordshire.The Changing Landscape of the Chilterns
Chilterns AoNB, Accessed 19 February 2012
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Maiden Bower Hillfort
Maiden Bower is an Iron Age hillfort near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. The site, which also has traces of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure, is a scheduled monument. Description The fort is situated on a plateau, and there is a disused chalk quarry on the north-western side. The fort has a single rampart, height up to , about of which has been lost to the quarry. It is roughly circular, about in diameter, enclosing an area of about . The interior has been under cultivation in recent times. There is an external ditch, but this is infilled and no longer visible. It has been revealed in section on the side of the chalk quarry; it was V-shaped, about deep and wide.Richard Wainwright. ''A Guide to the Prehistoric Remains in Britain. Volume 1: South and East''. Constable, 1979. Page 283. There is an original entrance gap on the south-east, and other later gaps. There was excavation by Worthington G. Smith, and the owner of the site, in 1913 at the south-east entrance. They fo ...
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Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age system proposed in 1836 by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen for classifying and studying ancient societies and history. An ancient civilization is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age because it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Bronze is harder and more durable than the other metals available at the time, allowing Bronze Age civilizations to gain a technological advantage. While terrestrial iron is naturally abundant, the higher temperature required for smelting, , in addition to the greater difficulty of working with the metal, placed it out of reach of common use until the end of ...
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