Henlow 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 ...

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 the county 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, about south-east of the county town 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 name Henlow is believed to derive from the old English ''henna hlaw'', meaning in old English "hill of birds" or “hill frequented by birds”. At the 2011

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

the population of the village was 2,253, and 3,815 for the parish. Since

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Henlow has been in the parliamentary constituency of

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

. Henlow is home to Henlow Hurricanes FC. Despite being surrounded by much bigger clubs - Henlow Hurricanes FC have been hugely successful. 2023-24 U14 Division 1 winners and 2024-25 U14 Division 2 winners. Henlow Hurricanes FC took their name from the Hawker Hurricane which was assembled at nearby RAF Henlow during WWII.

Village

Henlow is mentioned (with a degree of dispute recorded) 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: ''Haneslau(ue)/Hanslau(e): Herfast from Nigel d'Aubigny; Hugh from Walter of Flanders; Widder and Bernard from Azelina, Ralph Tailbois' wife (Hugh de Beauchamp claims from her, stating it was never in her dowry); Alric. 2 mills.'' The parish includes RAF Henlow and that part of Henlow Camp situated east of the A600 road. While RAF Henlow is located near Henlow, it is nearer to the village of Stondon. The civilian settlement of Henlow Camp has grown up near to the RAF station. There is a health farm in Henlow at

Henlow Grange Henlow Grange is an English country house in Henlow, Bedfordshire. It is now operated as a spa hotel. Family home The house chiefly dates from the early 18th century. For generations it was the family seat of the Edwards. By 1869 the manor was ...

, part of the Champneys group. The parish church,

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and parts of which are from the

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. The Henlow greyhound racing track closed permanently on 21 January 2024.

Education

It is in the catchment zone for Samuel Whitbread Academy, which has an upper school and sixth form. - Map is on p. 35/35.

References

External links

Parish Council's comprehensive websiteChurch websiteRaynsford VC Lower School's football club website
{{authority control Villages in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District