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County Of Bedford
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Luton (225,262), and Bedford is the county town. The county has an area of and had a population of 704,736 at the 2021 census. ''plus'' ''plus'' Its other towns include Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Biggleswade, Houghton Regis, and Flitwick. Much of the county is rural. For local government purposes, Bedfordshire comprises three unitary authority areas: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton. The county's highest 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, Biggleswad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunstable Downs
Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire, England; and are located near (and named after) the town of Dunstable. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns. At , Dunstable Downs are the highest point in the county of Bedfordshire. Because of its elevation, Dunstable Downs hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth during the years 1808 to 1814. Whipsnade Zoo has cut an enormous lion shape into the chalk on the side of one of the hills. The lion can be seen from the B489 (Aylesbury to Dunstable road). The downs are used by gliders, kite fliers, hang gliders and paragliders in the area because of their height. The London Gliding Club is based at the foot of the downs. Much of the downs is managed by the National Trust as part of the Dunstable Downs & Whipsnade Estate property. Ascents Central Bedfordshire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borough Of Luton
Luton () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settlement on the river, from which Luton derives its name. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Loitone'' and ''Lintone''. One of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, St Mary's Church, Luton, St Mary's Church, was built in the 12th century. There are local museums which explore Luton's history in Wardown Park Museum, Wardown Park and Stockwood Discovery Centre, Stockwood Park. Luton was once known for hatmaking and also had a large Vauxhall Motors factory. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until its closure in 2002. Production of commercial vehicles IBC Vehicles, continues and the head office of Vauxhall Motors is in the village of Chalton, Bedfordshire, Chalton on the northern b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unitary Authorities Of England
In England, a unitary authority or unitary council is a type of local authority responsible for all local government services in an area. They combine the functions of a non-metropolitan county council and a non-metropolitan district council, which elsewhere in England provide two tiers of local government. The district that is governed by a unitary authority is commonly referred to as a unitary authority area or unitary area. The terms unitary district and, for those which are coterminous with a county, unitary county are also sometimes used. The term unitary authority is also sometimes used to refer to the area governed, such as in the ISO 3166-2:GB standard defining a taxonomy for subdivisions of the UK, and in colloquial usage. Unitary authorities are constituted under the Local Government Act 1992, which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to allow the existence of non-metropolitan counties that do not have multiple districts. Most were established during the 1990s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In England
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 Police and crime commissioner, police and crime commissioners, four Police, fire and crime commissioner, police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten National park authority, national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place Local Government Act 1972, in 1974. Civil parish, Civil parishes are the lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover the entirety of England, and are responsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flitwick
Flitwick () is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling ''Flytwyk'' appears in 1381. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Location It is broadly equidistant between Bedford and Luton . It shares many services with the neighbouring town of Ampthill, which lies just to the north. The boundary between the two towns is a watercourse called the Running Waters, which is now the route of the A507. Nearby settlements Ampthill, Maulden, Clophill, Flitton, Greenfield, Bedfordshire, Greenfield, Steppingley, Pulloxhill, Westoning, Harlington, Bedfordshire, Harlington, Barton le Clay, Tingrith, Eversholt, Millbrook, Bedfordshire, Millbrook Governance There are two tiers of local government covering Flitwick, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Flitwick Town Council and Central Bedfordshire Counc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell. Houghton Regis, together with its contiguous neighbours of Dunstable and Luton, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area; this is a conurbation with a population over 286,000. 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 known as Houghton Regis or King's Houghton to distinguish it from the other Houghton in Bedfordshire, which became known as Houghton Conquest. History Before the town 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biggleswade
Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, This figure increased by 36% to 22,541 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census. Evidence of settlement in the area goes back to the Neolithic period, but it is likely that the town as such was founded by Anglo-Saxons. A gold Anglo-Saxon coin was found on a footpath beside the River Ivel in 2001. The British Museum bought the coin in February 2006 and at the time, it was the most expensive British coin purchased. A charter to hold a market was granted by John, King of England, King John in the 13th-century. In 1785 a great fire devastated the town. The Great North Road (Great Britain), Great North Road passed through until a bypass was completed in 1961. A railway station was opened in 1850. From the 1930s to the late 1990s, manufacturing prov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and 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 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 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 the time was personified in a thief called Dun. Wishing to c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwest of Central London and linked to the capital by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line. The built-up area extends on either side of the River Ouzel (here about 2 metres wide) to include its historically separate neighbour Linslade, and is administered by Leighton-Linslade Town Council. History Foundation and development It is unclear when the town was initially founded, although some historians believe that there may have been settlement in the area from as early as 571. There are a number of theories concerning the derivation of the town's name: ‘Leighton’ came from Old English ''Lēah-tūn'', meaning 'farm in a clearing in the woods', and one version of the addition of ‘Buzzard’ was that it was added by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Town
In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in England in 1889, the headquarters of the new councils were usually established in the county town of each county; however, the concept of a county town pre-dates these councils. The concept of a county town is ill-defined and unofficial. Some counties in Great Britain have their administrative bodies housed elsewhere. For example, Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, but the county council is in Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Owing to the creation of Unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities, some county towns in Great Britain are administratively separate from the county. For example, Nottingham is separated from the rest of Nottinghamshire, and Brighton and Hove is separate from East Sussex. On a ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury. The county has an area of and had a population of 840,138 at the 2021 census. ''plus'' Besides Milton Keynes, which is in the north-east, the largest settlements are in the southern half of the county and include Aylesbury, High Wycombe, and Chesham. For Local government in England, local government purposes Buckinghamshire comprises two Unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities, Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council. The Historic counties of England, historic county had slightly different borders, and included the towns of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford. The county has an area of and had a population of 1,198,800 at the 2021 census. After Watford (131,325), the largest settlements are Hemel Hempstead (95,985), Stevenage (94,470) and the city of St Albans (75,540). For local government purposes Hertfordshire is a non-metropolitan county with ten districts beneath Hertfordshire County Council. Elevations are higher in the north and west, reaching more than in the Chilterns near Tring. The county centres on the headwaters and upper valleys of the rivers Lea and the Colne; both flow south and each is accompanied by a canal. Hertfordshire's undeveloped land is mainly agricultural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
