| Langford | |
|---|---|
 Langford village sign | |
  Langford Location withinBedfordshire | |
| Population | 3,091 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TL185405 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Biggleswade |
| Postcode district | SG18 |
| Dialling code | 01462 and 01767 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Langford is a village andcivil parish in theCentral Bedfordshire district of the county ofBedfordshire, England about 10 miles (16 km) south-east of the county town ofBedford. The 2011 census gives the population as 3,091.[1]
Langford lies alongside theRiver Ivel about 2.3 miles (4 km) south ofBiggleswade, 19.5 miles (31 km) south-west ofCambridge and 38 miles (61 km) north ofLondon.
TheEast Coast Main Line railway passes through the parish at the eastern edge of the village.
Landscape
The village is within the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands National Character Area (NCA 88) as defined byNatural England.[2] Central Bedfordshire Council has classified the local landscape as Lower Ivel Clay Valley for the northern part of the village and parish and Upper Ivel Clay Valley for the southern part. Large, open arable fields dominate to the east of the village.
Henlow Common and Langford Meadows local nature reserve is beside the Ivel.[3][4] Lakes formed from old sand and gravel quarries are to the south of the village.
Seven of the tenwind turbines commissioned in 2013 at Biggleswade Wind Farm are within the parish. Each tower is 65 metres (213 ft) tall with four 45 metres (148 ft) blades. To the southeast of the village is asolar farm commissioned in 2015. The two installations have electrical generating capacities of 20 MW and 13 MW respectively.[5]
Elevation
The village centre is 35 metres (115 ft) above sea level. The land rises to over 70 metres (230 ft) towards Topler's Hill in the east of the parish.[6]
Geology and soil type
Langford village lies onriver gravel and the arable fields to the east onboulder clay overGault.[7] The village itself has highly fertile, freely draining, slightly acid but base-rich soil with aloamy texture. By the Ivel are loamy and clayey floodplain soils, with moderate fertility and naturally high groundwater. To the east are highly fertile, lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage.[8]
Roads and footpaths
The B659 road (formerly A6001) (High Street/Church Street) is the main route through the village, leading north to Biggleswade and south toHenlow. Cambridge Road runs east to theA1 road from the southern end of the village. Station Road links Church Street to Cambridge Road.
A public bridleway leads from Common Road to Henlow. Separate footpaths from Station Road and Cambridge Road join to reachAstwick andStotfold. There are paths from East Road to Biggleswade.
The night sky and light pollution
TheCampaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) divides the level of night sky brightness into 9 bands with band 1 being the darkest i.e. with the lowest level of light pollution and band 9 the brightest and most polluted. Langford is in bands 4 and 5.[9][10]
Places adjacent to Langford, Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 458 | — |
| 1841 | 840 | +83.4% |
| 1881 | 1,242 | +47.9% |
| 1921 | 1,205 | −3.0% |
| 1961 | 1,379 | +14.4% |
| 2001 | 2,876 | +108.6% |
| Source:Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service | ||
The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944 AD and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of the settlement. At the time of the Domesday Book 1086, the population was around 21. The parish church isSt. Andrew's, which is part of the Church of England. Before 1066 the lord of Langford was Lewin, a thane of Edward the Confessor. William the Conqueror granted the village to Walter le Fleming. In 1142 Walter's descendant Simon de Wahull gave land to the Knights Templar, who established themselves as Lords of the Manor of Langford Rectory.[11]
The entry in theDomesday Book reads:Langeford: Walter of Flanders. 2 mills.
Langford has been a settlement on the east bank of the river Ivel since Saxon times. It is a long straggling village which at one time had two or three fording points over the river, hence its name. The village now starts at the Baulk corner and it is nearly two miles to the Running Waters at the north end of the village.
On Wednesday 16 November 1960BAC Jet ProvostG-AOUS crashed. The aircraft hit the village playing field, after the wings had snapped beforehand. 34 year oldLt-Cdr John Richard Stanley Overbury, the company test pilot, at Luton, was killed. He was married, and lived at 'Bircham' on Old Wood Road, in Whipsnade. He had been at Luton as the test pilot since 1957.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
Langford Parish Council consists of ten elected councillors.
Langford is part of Stotfold and Langford ward for elections to theCentral Bedfordshire Unitary Authority.
Prior to 1894, Langford was administered as part of theHundred of Biggleswade.From 1894 until 1974 it was inBiggleswade Rural District and from 1974 to 2009 inMid Bedfordshire District.
Langford was in theMid Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency until 1997. Now inNorth East Bedfordshire, the elected member isRichard Fuller of theConservative Party.
The Plough, Church Street, first licensed in 1846 is the one remaining pub. The building was formerly a farmhouse.
A small shopping parade on Church Street near to East Road includes a convenience store, Fish and chip/burger take away, pharmacy and hair salon. A convenience store on High Street includes the village Post Office.
The King George V Playing Field has a children's play area and exercise equipment for adults. The village hall is within the grounds. Both are owned and maintained by the parish council.
Local commerce includes a long-established garden centre, a garage and filling station, a private members' club (The Ivy Leaf Club), farm shop, estate agents, curry house (Spice Lounge), beauty salon, barbers, and a dog grooming boutique.
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Langford Village Academy for four to nine year olds is part of theBedfordshire Schools Trust (BEST).OFSTED rated the school as "good" following an inspection in 2017.[18] The Academy transitioned to a Primary School in September 2021 as part of two-tier changes in the wider Central Bedfordshire area,
The village is in the catchment zone for two schools at the same time:Samuel Whitbread Academy andStratton Upper School.[19]
Langford falls withinAnglian Water's Potton Public Water Supply Zone. The water ischloraminated andhard. The supply comes from groundwaterboreholes.[20] Poppy Fieldswaste water treatment works is south of the village, alongside the railway.
The Eastern Power Area ofUK Power Networks is thedistribution network operator for electricity.[21]Cadent Gas owns and operates the area's gas distribution network.[22]The two nearest general hospitals areBedford (Bedford Hospital NHS Trust) andLister Hospital, Stevenage (East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust). Ambulance services are provided by theEast of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service andBedfordshire Police cover the parish.
The nearest public library isBiggleswade.
Centrebus (South) runs an hourly route south toHenlow andHitchin (journey time 35 minutes) and north toBiggleswade andSandy viaDunton,Wrestlingworth andPotton (service 188) orSutton,Potton,Gamlingay, andEverton (service 190).[23]
Weekly services toCambridge and Bedford are run by community bus operators Ivel Sprinter and Wanderbus respectively. Wanderbus also operates monthly services toSt Neots,Milton Keynes andWelwyn Garden City.
The nearest railway stations areBiggleswade andArlesey.
The parish church of St Andrew is part of a unitedbenefice with theChurch of St Mary the Virgin, Henlow. Regular Sunday morning services are held.
The Methodist Chapel is in the North Bedfordshire Circuit. Services take place each Sunday morning. The Chapel was constructed in 1862. The two-manual organ, built in 1845 byGray and Davison, was initially installed atSt John the Baptist Church, Windsor before being sold and transferred here in 1906.[24] In 2000, the organ was issued with an ungraded Historic Organ Certificate.[25]
Upon entering the village from Biggleswade is a terrace of ten cottages dated 1862: the Denny Cottages are of yellow brick with red brick trimmings. All bar one have arched front windows and doors.
The Clock Tower Memorial commemorates soldiers who lost their lives in the 1914–18 and 1939–45 World Wars.
The village has grown considerably since 1961. Housing on Riverside Gardens, at the southern end of the village between the Ivel and High Street was built in the late 1960s, followed by nearby Wilmon Court and Ivel Close in the 1980s.
More recently, Garfield, off Station Road, comprising 58 properties was completed in 2010 on former scrubland. The pace of development accelerated following Central Bedfordshire Council's initial call for sites in 2014. At the north of the village on the western side of Church Street is a development of 35 properties called Rowley Fields, built in 2018 on a former meadow. Off the east side of Station Road, 110 houses have been built at Bramble Corner, Mayflower Lane, Campion Edge and Elderberry Close and off the west side another 25 at Merryweather Grove. 22 houses have been completed at Steamer Croft beside the railway off Cambridge Road.
Langford F.C. compete in theSpartan South Midlands League Division One and play their home matches at Forde Park. The women's team currently compete in theSouth East Combination Women's League. A few seasons ago, they were members of theWomen's Premier League, playing against teams such asChelsea,Ipswich Town andMillwall.
King George's Field is the home of the Langford Youth football team and Langford Cricket Club. Langford Tennis Club has two floodlit courts and compete in the Bedfordshire LTA leagues.
King George's Field is also the home ground for Langford Cricket Club. Established in 1875 the Club has been providing cricket for the enjoyment of players and families, at their current ground in Langford, for more than 60 years.
The Club holds the ECB Clubmark approval and maintains 9 grass wickets and also has an artificial all-weather wicket, permanent three lane practice nets, mobile net, Home, Away and Officials changing rooms.
The 2023 season sees the club compete with one adult team in the Beds Invitational Saturday Cricket League, and a one adult team in Div 4 of the Beds Country Cricket league. The Club enters youth teams into the Beds Youth Cricket League at development level each season.
An annual themed raft race is held on the Ivel in July. Costumed competitors are flour bombed by spectators on the river bank and bridges. Money is raised for local clubs. The villagefete follows.
The lateA.W. Lawrence, Professor of Archaeology at theUniversity of Cambridge, youngest brother ofT. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), lived in Langford with his wife for a time in the 1980s.[26]
Ben Whishaw, stage and film actor who playsQ in recentJames Bond episodes, spent part of his childhood in Langford; he attended local schools as well as taking part in local amateur theatre productions in the village.
