Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a Districts of England, local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority. It was created ...

district of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, 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 Buckin ...

, England, bordering

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 ...

. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

''.

History

On 25 May 1956 the parish was renamed from "Barton in the Clay" to "Barton-le-Clay".

Ancient history

To the southwest of the town, across the A6 is Sharpenhoe Clappers, an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

The ''Domesday Book''

Barton-Le-Clay ''Domesday Book'' entry, taken from 210d 2.

In FLITT Hundred M. The Abbot also holds Barton (in-the-clay). It answers for 11 hides. Land for 12 ploughs. In lordship 3 hides; 2 ploughs there; a third possible. 20 villagers have 9 ploughs. 7 smallholders and 6 slaves. 1 mill, 2s, meadow for 6 ploughs; woodland, 200 pigs. In total, value £10; the same when acquired; before 1066 £12. This manor always lay in (the lands of) St Benedict's Church. With this manor the Abbot claims against Nigel of Aubigny and Walter the Fleming of meadow which lay there before 1066, but John of Les Roches dispossessed him wrongfully, and this the Hundred testifies.

Location

Barton-le-Clay is in

between

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

and

Luton Luton () is a town and 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 settleme ...

, north of London. Nearby villages include Sharpenhoe,

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish w ...

Westoning Westoning () is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located around south of the town of Flitwick. The River Flit flows behind the Westoning stud farm. History Dark and Middle Ages 1086 The village is mentioned in the D ...

and Pulloxhill. The A6 which runs from Luton (6 miles south of the village) bypasses Barton and continues through Bedford (north of the village) to

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

. The village bypass was constructed in January 1990. In the southeast of the parish are the Barton Hills, which form the northeast extremity of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

and are designated an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. Much of this area of chalk downland is now a nature reserve, managed by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

Places of worship

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

– Hope Chapel *

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

– St. Nicholas Church *

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

– Barton-le-Clay *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

– St. Matthew (Now closed)

Schools

Two major schools are in Barton: Ramsey Manor Lower School and Arnold Academy, a middle school The

lower school Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. Terminology In a three-tier local educa ...

takes children of the village. The

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

usually also takes those of

and Greenfield, its children and those new to Barton meet ex-school and geographic criteria of Harlington

Upper School Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...

admission (13+). The village has a

pre-school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical s ...

. A small private nursery and prep school for children aged 0 to 9, Orchard School & Nursery, is in the parish.

Transportation

The closest railway station is , somewhat more by footpath, in Harlington. No buses link to this. Bus services through Barton are largely those between Luton, south and Bedford, north. A cross-country route joins Barton to other local villages including Shillington and Shefford. There is a weekly (Tuesday) bus to/from Hitchin in the east. The roads are well-bypassed so favoured by experienced cyclists, especially in daylight.

Clubs and groups

Barton-le-Clay has a football club ( Barton Rovers), who play their home matches at Sharpenhoe Road. The club currently competes in the Southern League Division One Central. Organisations offer

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. A

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

meets at The Bull Hotel. Barton Players, the main local amateur dramatics group, hold plays and summer workshops for children in the village hall. However, it is open to new members who wish to join. There is a youth drama group in the village called Up-Stage, including two branches for young people aged 13 and over, called CentreStage and Stage Right. Barton also hosts Scouting and Guide organisations for all ages. A local history group meets in the library on the last Saturday of each month at 10:30 am. The village saw the start-up of Lea Sports Reserves, an active team.

Public services

*Barton Library * GP Surgery * Dental Surgery Richard Miller-White

War memorials

There are two combined World War matching-list memorials, one near the main road (junction of Luton Road and Hexton Road) and the other in the Parish Church. This list is transcribed on a website.

St Nicholas Church restoration of 1879

Published by the NOF Digitise Architecture England Consortium. * St Nicholas Church plans from 1879

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers are delivered free to many houses in Barton, with news about Barton and the surrounding area. * ''Herald and Post'' (Luton based) – delivered every Thursday * ''Luton and Dunstable Express'' (previously titled ''Luton on Sunday'', ''Dunstable on Sunday'' or ''Bedfordshire on Sunday'') – delivered every Sunday

Pictures

Image:Bartonoldmap.PNG, A map of Barton-le-Clay from 1890. Image:Thebull1902.PNG, The Bull Hotel in 1902. File:St Nicholas's Church, Barton in the Clay - geograph.org.uk - 86211.jpg, St Nicholas's Church. The tower in perpendicular style with chequered pattern of ashlar stone and cobbles File:Waggon and Horses, Barton-le-Clay, Beds - geograph.org.uk - 194173.jpg, Bedford Road File:Barton-le-Clay,_an_aerial_view_-_geograph.org.uk_-_611421.jpg, Aerial view File:Barton_Hills_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1337651.jpg, Barton Hills showing their proximity to this place

References

External links

Parish council

Pictures of England – Barton-le-Clay

Barton-Le-Clay History Society
* {{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Hill forts in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District