Little Staughton 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 ...

located in the north 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 ...

. The parish church, All Saints, is set apart from the present village – the previous village having been abandoned following an outbreak of the

Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

History

Little Staughton, known at the beginning of the 11th century as ''Stoctun'' from the

old english Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

meaning "farmstead at an outlying hamlet". It was referred to in

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 ...

simply as ''Staughton'', although it does not refer to any taxes being collected in the area. However, by the time of the

Hearth tax A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is con ...

return in 1671, there were approximately 250 individuals living there. The population rose to a peak of 572 in 1861, then fell due to 218 by 1951, due to the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

Church

The Church of All Saints, previously dedicated to St Margaret's, originally had a spire that was destroyed by lightning. The building has been

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 ...

since 1964.

RAF Little Staughton

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was the home of 109 Squadron ( Mosquito bombers) and 582 Squadron ( Lancaster bombers) at RAF Little Staughton. The airfield is now largely used for other purposes but retains a recently listed

Control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...

. In January 2020, Little Staughton Airfield and Industrial Park applied for planning permission to develop the site to re-open the airfield.

Geography

Little Staughton is a village in

, in the

Borough of Bedford Bedford, or the Borough of Bedford, is a Districts of England, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Bedford Borough Council, ...

, south east of

Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire Kimbolton (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. Kimbolton is about west of Huntingdon and north of Bedford. Kimbolton was also situated within historic Huntingdo ...

The parish is part of the Stodden Hundred (which comprises

Bolnhurst Bolnhurst is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bolnhurst and Keysoe, in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The village is about north-northeast of Bedford town centre and about west of St Neots. In 1931 ...

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

, Dean and Shelton,

Keysoe Keysoe is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bolnhurst and Keysoe, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 432. On 1 April 1934 the parish was aboli ...

Knotting Knotting may refer to: *tying a knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, b ...

, Little Staughton, Melchbourne, Milton Ernest, Oakley, Pertenhall & Swineshead, Riseley, Shelton,

Tilbrook Tilbrook is a village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, approximately west of Huntingdon and north-west of Cambridge. Though administered as part of Cambridgeshire, the village historically belonged ...

and Yelden). The village sits on

Oxford Clay The Oxford Clay (or Oxford Clay Formation) is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic, specific ...

and is located away from the parish Church of All Saints, it is possible that the villagers moved away from the church due to victims of an outbreak of

black death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

in 1349 where 1 in 3 members of the local population were killed and likely buried in the church graveyard. An alternative theory is that the village moved to follow the local road network.

References

External links