Lidlington is a small village and

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 ...

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 ...

, England surrounded by farmland, in the

Marston Vale Marston Vale is an area of Bedfordshire. It lies to the south west of Bedford and Kempston, near Junction 13 of the M1 motorway. Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a divis ...

. The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

s of Boughton End and Thrupp End are also part of the parish. The village has an unusual Gothic-style church built by the Duke of Bedford in 1845 and a thatched pub on its High Street. Lidlington is set on the Southern part of the vale's 'basin'. The village has a lower school for 5–9 year olds named after Thomas Johnson, a

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...

-type character who was Lord Mayor of London in 1840–41. Brogborough Lake (also known as Lidlington Lake) at the edge of the village is popular for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and fishing. The lake is also used for

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

and

stand up paddle surfing Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Standup paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was documen ...

. The nearby landfill site (which was known as Brogborough Landfill site) was the largest landfill in Europe before closing to new deposits in 2009. With a population of about 1300 voters and over 500 homes, Lidlington is defined as a small village. It has a village hall, a pub, a hairdresser and a general store, plus a "farm store" on the A421. Lidlington has retained a daily doorstop milk and newspaper delivery service, but has lost its village post office. The village also has a single congregation

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 ...

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 ...

church,Lidlington Church. About Us http://www.lidlingtonchurch.org.uk/index.php/about-us members of which worship regularly in the chapel. The village lies between the main A421

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 ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

road and the A507

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies between Bedford, Bedfordshire, Bedford and Luton. At the 2021 census it had a population of 8,825. Histor ...

to Woburn road. Lidlington railway station is on the

Marston Vale Line The Marston Vale line is the line between and in England, a surviving remnant of the former Varsity Line between and , most of which was closed in the late 1960s. The line is sponsored by the Marston Vale community rail partnership. The line ...

which gives good access for walkers along the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand, is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it ...

long-distance footpath which passes nearby the village. Local speculation is that the ridge was the model for the "Delectable Mountains" in

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

's ''

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

''. Lidlington Hill may also be Bunyan's "Hill of Difficulty". Lidlington is adjacent to the site of the

Millbrook Proving Ground Millbrook Proving Ground is an English vehicle testing centre located at Millbrook, Bedfordshire. One of the largest vehicle testing centres in Europe, it is near to the M1 and Bedford. History Modelled on the Milford Proving Ground operated ...

(formerly the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

test track), which is distinguishable from the air by its large circular track. To the north of the Parish of Lidlington is

Cranfield Airport Cranfield Airport is an airfield just outside the village of Cranfield, in Bedfordshire, England. It is south-west of Bedford and east of Milton Keynes. It was originally a Second World War aerodrome, RAF Cranfield. It is now used for busin ...

, used by small aircraft and for training flights. To the west of the village at the former brick works is a business park which is home to

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

UK. The former brickworks to the east of the village are known as Lidlington Pit and forms part of the regeneration of the

Forest of Marston Vale The Forest of Marston Vale is an evolving community forest in Marston Vale, which runs south west from the towns of Bedford and Kempston in Bedfordshire, England towards the M1 motorway. It is operated by a registered charity called the Forest o ...

area. Like many other villages in the area it was formerly part of the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

's estate. Hence some London place names e.g.

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many disti ...

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

, Eversholt Street,

Woburn Place The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station, via Holborn, Bloomsbury, Euston and Somers Town. Kingsway ...

and in Camden, NW1, Lidlington Place can be found near Mornington Crescent underground station. Lidlington United currently play in the Bedfordshire Football League Premier Division after being promoted in three successive seasons. The village also has a cricket team, and all-weather tennis courts at the recreation ground. Lidlington 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 ...

. The entry reads ''Litinclitone: Abbess of Barking''. In April 2008 the area was listed as a site for the Government's 'ECO-town' competition. In July 2008 the

brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

locations for the 'ECO-town' were dropped in favour of using the prime farmland surrounding Lidlington. Early in 2009 the developers' plans for an 'ECO-town' were dropped.

References

External links

Lidlington website

Lidlington during WW2

British History On-line

Lidlington Village Hall Website
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District

See also

References

External links