Stevington
Stevington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in northern Bedfordshire, England. It is on the River Great Ouse four to five miles northwest of Bedford. Nearby villages include Bromham, Oakley, Pavenham and Turvey. West End lies northwest of the village, and forms part of the same civil parish.
The village has a fine Medieval Church as well as a number of listed buildings spanning the centuries. The first church on this site was probably a wooden building constructed during the Anglo Saxon period between 886 and 1016; this was later replaced by a stone building.
The earliest surviving part of the present-day church is the lowest third of the tower which probably dates from the early 10th century. As the population and wealth of the village grew so too did the church buildings. This culminated in the fifteenth century with the raising of the church roof and the raising of a second stage to the tower. In 1872 the church was reopened after restoration amounting to £1927. The church has an associated holy well. The holy well is to the north of the church and has never been known to freeze or to fail in times of drought.
In the Middle Ages various miraculous powers were ascribed to the waters, particularly in respect to curing ailments of the eyes. It has been suggested by some researchers that the waters may have been the site of earlier veneration, possibly dating back to the Iron Age. The area around the well is protected as there is a proliferation of Petasites hybridus, a plant commonly known as butterbur, so named because its leaves were commonly used to wrap butter in times past.[1]
The village appears in the Domesday Book (1086) and has been chronicled in a series of publications by the Stevington Historical Trust including Stevington, The Village History, Stevington, a Village in Pictures, Historic Walks in Stevington and a forthcoming study and book about the natural history of Stevington.
The village is also known for being the home of Kathy Brown's garden, a fine landscaped garden open to the public on a number of occasions throughout the year and designed and owned by the landscape gardener Kathy Brown. The gardens are in the grounds of the Old Manor House in Stevington.
One of England's finest examples of a 'post mill' windmill is another prominent feature of the village that can be seen clearly on entering the village from the east. The windmill is open to the public and may be accessed via a public footpath leading from Mill Farm. Keys to the windmill can be obtained from either public house The Royal George (freehouse), or The Red Lion (Greene King tied).
Stevington won the accolade of "Best Kept Village" in 1965,1969,1979 and most recently in 1985.
Stevington was a location for much non-conformist activity, prominent because it is exactly 5 mi from Bedford, allowing Baptist activities to occur under the laws of the 17th and 18th centuries. A fine Baptist Chapel is found at the West End of the Village and it is reputed that John Bunyan preached in the field at Meeting Farm
The village has a fine Medieval Church as well as a number of listed buildings spanning the centuries. The first church on this site was probably a wooden building constructed during the Anglo Saxon period between 886 and 1016; this was later replaced by a stone building.
The earliest surviving part of the present-day church is the lowest third of the tower which probably dates from the early 10th century. As the population and wealth of the village grew so too did the church buildings. This culminated in the fifteenth century with the raising of the church roof and the raising of a second stage to the tower. In 1872 the church was reopened after restoration amounting to £1927. The church has an associated holy well. The holy well is to the north of the church and has never been known to freeze or to fail in times of drought.
In the Middle Ages various miraculous powers were ascribed to the waters, particularly in respect to curing ailments of the eyes. It has been suggested by some researchers that the waters may have been the site of earlier veneration, possibly dating back to the Iron Age. The area around the well is protected as there is a proliferation of Petasites hybridus, a plant commonly known as butterbur, so named because its leaves were commonly used to wrap butter in times past.[1]
The village appears in the Domesday Book (1086) and has been chronicled in a series of publications by the Stevington Historical Trust including Stevington, The Village History, Stevington, a Village in Pictures, Historic Walks in Stevington and a forthcoming study and book about the natural history of Stevington.
The village is also known for being the home of Kathy Brown's garden, a fine landscaped garden open to the public on a number of occasions throughout the year and designed and owned by the landscape gardener Kathy Brown. The gardens are in the grounds of the Old Manor House in Stevington.
One of England's finest examples of a 'post mill' windmill is another prominent feature of the village that can be seen clearly on entering the village from the east. The windmill is open to the public and may be accessed via a public footpath leading from Mill Farm. Keys to the windmill can be obtained from either public house The Royal George (freehouse), or The Red Lion (Greene King tied).
Stevington won the accolade of "Best Kept Village" in 1965,1969,1979 and most recently in 1985.
Stevington was a location for much non-conformist activity, prominent because it is exactly 5 mi from Bedford, allowing Baptist activities to occur under the laws of the 17th and 18th centuries. A fine Baptist Chapel is found at the West End of the Village and it is reputed that John Bunyan preached in the field at Meeting Farm
Map - Stevington
Map
Country - United_Kingdom
 |
 |
| Flag of the United Kingdom | |
The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927. The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | Pound sterling | £ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| GD | Gaelic language |
| CY | Welsh language |