Great Denham is a 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 ...

located in

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, on the western outskirts of

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 ...

. The village is the location of Bedford Golf Course.

History

Great Denham has evidence of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

settlement as well as Roman and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

presence in the form of coins, pottery and other implements. By the 7th century, the Great Denham area had been absorbed into the Saxon kingdom of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

. In 886 the Saxons and Vikings fixed a formal boundary between them, along the rivers Thames, Lea, and Great Ouse. Great Denham was thus on the border between the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

and Saxon England, which remained hostile adversaries. England was eventually united as one kingdom. St James Church, just over the border of Great Denham in the neighbouring village of Biddenham, was first constructed in the Norman period. The Great Denham loop of the river remained undeveloped farmland until the Bedford Golf Course was built in the 1990s, together with a 'golf village', with all roads named after golf courses. It was part of Biddenham parish until April 2007, when the new Parish of Great Denham was created. It covers around 3 km².

Location

Great Denham is on the banks of River Great Ouse, in a loop carved out by the river flow. It borders Biddenham to the north,

on the west and

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, situated around south-west of Bedford town centre. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census, and forms part of the wider Bedford built-up area. The ...

to the south. The A6 road spans across the east.

Community facilities

There is a small parade of shops on Anglia Way which includes a

Sainsbury's Local Sainsbury's Local (a trading name of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd) is a chain of 820 convenience shops operated by the UK's second largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. History In 1998, Sainsbury's piloted its first Local shop in Hammersmith. ...

supermarket,

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

, beauty salon, a

charity shop A charity shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by ...

, cafe, estate agents and off licence with a post office. There is a GP surgery with ProHealth Clinic located inside it on Kingswood Way, and a Community Hall on Saxon Way. The Ouse Valley Way footpath runs through the village. A new bridge across the Great Ouse opened in 2010 which connects the village with

. The country park is a green space providing paths for walking, running, cycling and a number of football pitches available to book for both senior and junior 11-a-side and also a smaller 7-a-side pitch. A sports pavilion provides changing facilities for those using the sports pitches. It is managed by Bedford Borough Council. In the south of Great Denham, there is a football and basketball court, with another cafe and a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

nearby, overlooking the park. Great Denham Primary School opened as part of the development in September 2012. Great Denham Parish Council was created in April 2007 and has nine members elected every four years. The village is represented on the borough council by Cllr Jim Weir.

References

External links

Great Denham Parish Council

Great Denham Primary School

Great Denham Community Hall
Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Populated places established in the 1990s Borough of Bedford {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub