Ampthill is a small town and civil parish in
BedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, between Bedford and
LutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.
History
The name 'Ampthill' is of
Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origin. The first settlement was called 'Aemethyll', which literally means either 'ant-heap' or 'ant infested hill'. In the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, Ampthill is referred to as 'Ammetelle', with the landholder in 1086 being Nigel de la Vast.
In 1242, King
Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
confirmed the right to hold a market on Thursdays. These continue more than 750 years later.
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
was a frequent visitor to Ampthill Castle, and it was there that
Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
lived from 1531 until divorced in 1533, when she was moved to
KimboltonKimbolton is a large village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is approximately east of Higham Ferrers, west of St Neots and west of Cambridge, north of Bedford and south of Peterborough.-Castle:...
. The castle was built in the 15C by
Sir John CornwallSir John Cornewaille, 1st Baron Fanhope and Milbroke, KG, also known as Sir John Cornwall, and Sir John Cornouayl. An English nobleman, soldier and one of the most respected chivalric figures of his era.-Early life:...
, later Lord Fanhope, from ransoms after the Battle of Agincourt. Although the Castle is now gone, some intriguing indications of castle life remain- such as the local ponds (Westminster pond being one) allegedly built to supply the castle with regular supplies of fish.
St Andrew's Church of England
The church of
St AndrewSaint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
ranges in date from Early English to Perpendicular. It contains a monument to
Richard NicollsRichard Nicolls was the first English colonial governor of New York province....
(1624–1672), an Ampthill native, who, under the patronage of
the Duke of YorkThe Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, brother to
Charles IICharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, to whom the king had granted the Dutch North American colony of
New NetherlandNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, received the submission of its chief town,
New AmsterdamNew Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
, in 1664, and became its first English governor, the town taking the name of New York. Nicolls perished in the action between the English and Dutch fleets at
SolebayThe naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.-The battle:...
, and the ball which killed him is preserved on his tomb. The church also contains a ring of eight
bellsA church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
. There were six until 1981, when the two new bells were installed. Services Run weekly, with Sung Eucharist at 9.30AM and Evensong at 6.30PM. The church has a regular 4 part choir, which has sung morning and evening services for over 100 years.
Houghton House
Houghton House was built in 1621 by Mary,
Countess of PembrokeMary Herbert , Countess of Pembroke , was one of the first English women to achieve a major reputation for her literary works, poetry, poetic translations and literary patronage.-Family:...
and sister of the poet
Sir Philip SidneySir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
. In 1675, the house provided the inspiration for 'House Beautiful' in
John Bunyan'sJohn Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...
The Pilgrim's ProgressThe Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been...
. Bunyan's work is loosely based on his own journey between
BedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and
LutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, and the steep slope leading into Ampthill was the model for the 'Hill of Difficulty'. Houghton House passed to the
Duke of Bedfordthumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...
in 1738 and became a ruin after the removal of the roof in 1794.
Style
In the mid-1780s, John Fitzpatrick, the 2nd
Earl of Upper OssoryJohn FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory , styled Lord Gowran from 1751 to 1758, was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament....
, led a campaign to improve the town centre. He created the current
market placeA marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
, erected the
water pumpA pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
and built a new
clock towerA clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
. Lord Upper Ossory was also responsible for a cross commemorating Katherine of Aragon, with an inscription by Horace Walpole, and a row of
thatched cottagesThatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
built between 1812 and 1816 to house his estate workers.
On the death of Lord Upper Ossory in 1818, Ampthill Park became the seat of
Lord HollandBaron Holland, of Holland in the County of Lincoln, and Baron Holland, of Foxley in the County of Wiltshire, were two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first barony was created on 7 March 1762 for Lady Caroline Fox, the daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and the eldest of...
in whose time Holland House in
KensingtonKensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
,
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, became famous as a
gathering placeA gathering place is any place where people are able to congregate. Gathering places may be public; for example, city streets, town squares, and parks; or private; for example, churches, coffee shops, stadiums, and theaters....
for intellectuals.
Notable 20th century
architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Sir
Albert RichardsonSir Albert Edward Richardson K.C.V.O., F.R.I.B.A, F.S.A., was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century...
lived in Ampthill from 1919 until his death in 1964 at Avenue House, 20 Church Street. Among his last projects was the building that housed Mid Bedfordshire District Council (formerly the
Ampthill Rural DistrictAmpthill was a rural district in Bedfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It entirely surrounded but did not include the urban district of Ampthill. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was merged with other districts to form the new Mid Bedfordshire district .The rural district...
Council offices) until August 2006, at 12
DunstableDunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
Street (1963–1965).
Ampthill Park was the burial place for the golden hare in the
Kit WilliamsChristopher 'Kit' Williams is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his book Masquerade, a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden jewelled hare created by Williams and then buried "somewhere in Britain."Williams wrote another puzzle book with a bee...
treasure huntA treasure hunt is one of many different types of games which can have one or more players who try to find hidden articles, locations or places by using a series of clues. This is a fictional activity; treasure hunting can also be a real life activity. Treasure hunt games may be an indoor or...
MasqueradeMasquerade is a children’s book, written and illustrated by Kit Williams, which sparked a treasure hunt by concealing clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare, created and hidden somewhere in Britain by Williams...
.
During WWII there was a farming camp near Ampthill where volunteers recovered sugarbeet and were accommodated in tents in the grounds of a nearby country mansion.
Ampthill today
Ampthill still trades on its "historic market town" reputation, serving as a commercial centre for surrounding villages. The town has several lively pubs, a wide variety of restaurants, a
WaitroseWaitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
supermarket and a selection of small independent specialist shops below flats. A number of
small businessA small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
es such as solicitors,
estate agentAn estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
s,
financial services Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, hairdressers, music schools and a bookshop are also located in town, with larger businesses to be found on the commercial and industrial developments on the outskirts, along the town's bypass. Ampthill also has a high concentration of public amenities, including schools, doctors surgeries, fire and ambulance stations, and a
police stationA police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
.
Ampthill's historic centre, coupled with well-respected schools and the facilities mentioned above has made it one of the most expensive places to buy a house in Bedfordshire, even in comparison to other mid-Bedfordshire towns such as neighbouring Flitwick, and Cranfield. In a survey, it was found that the majority of Ampthill's workers are employed locally, with around 20% working in Ampthill itself, and most of the remainder travelling to nearby centres of employment such as Bedford, Luton and
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
. It is possible to commute from Ampthill to London, and around 13% of workers make this journey daily. The survey also found that the turnover of residents was low, most having been in Ampthill for well over a decade.
Ampthill is twined Nissan-Lez-Enserune In France Since 2011 according to nearby signs.
Mythology
Westminster Pond, a great place for fishing and jogging, located on the outskirts of Ampthill, has been rumoured to be cursed and/or haunted by a variety of paranormal activity. Villagers report seeing faint white lights 'wandering' around the wood then mysteriously disappearing into thin air. Stories and tales say of the place to be built around a historic 'prison' used to give local criminals a place to stay/sleep before being taken off to London for their prosecution. It was also said to be used as a 'camp' for victims of the plague, where which many suffered and died. Though there have been rumours of murders, burials, rituals/sacrifices and of course the village tales of the prisons, plagued camps and paranormal activities, nothing yet has been proven.
Recent and planned developments
Recent years have witnessed substantial development in Ampthill and the surrounding area. The Bedford Street area was substantially redeveloped in 2006/2007, with the demolition of a
ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
petrol station, shopping arcade and small
BudgensBudgens Stores Ltd is a chain of foodstores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first store at Maidenhead, Berkshire. Budgens supermarket chain operates over 227 stores and employs over 6,000 staff...
supermarket, to make way for a new
WaitroseWaitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
supermarket, an improved town car park and a development of shops and apartments known as Oxlet House. The supermarket opened on 29 September 2006, with Oxlet house being completed in late 2007.
The surrounding area will see two major new developments over the next couple of years. Firstly, NIRAH - the National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats - will be constructed in one of the old brick pits at nearby
StewartbyStewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
, just North of Ampthill. The Stewartby brickworks ceased production in February 2008, putting an end to sulphurous smells which affected Marston Vale, and occasionally reached Ampthill and as far as Greenfield. Secondly, a new
Center ParcsCenter Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
site will be constructed at Warren Wood to the West of Ampthill and should be completed by 2013.
The Bedfordshire Railway & Transport Association is campaigning for the reopening of
Ampthill railway stationThis article is about the former Midland Railway station in Bedfordshire. For the similarly named Ampthill station see the article on Millbrook railway station...
which closed in 1959.
Notable residents
- Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls was the first English colonial governor of New York province....
(1624-1672), colonial Governor of the province of New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock
Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock was a British politician and the eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford....
, (1739-1767)
- John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory
John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory , styled Lord Gowran from 1751 to 1758, was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament....
, (1745-1818)
- Joseph Foveaux
Joseph Foveaux was a soldier and convict settlement administrator in colonial New South Wales, Australia.Foveaux was baptised on 6 April 1767 at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England, the sixth child of Joseph Foveaux and his wife Elizabeth, née Wheeler...
(1766-1846), lieutenant governor of Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
and New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
- Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland
Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland PC was an English politician and a major figure in Whig politics in the early 19th century...
, (1773-1840)
- Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens OBE is a British screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
OBE, screenwriter and television producer. Responsible for The AvengersThe Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
among other shows.
- Robert Daws
Robert Daws is an English actor. He is most notable for a variety of roles he has played in television dramas.-Career:Daws played Tuppy Glossop in the early 1990s version of Jeeves and Wooster...
, actor. Most famous for television roles in Jeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
, and The RoyalThe Royal is a British medical drama series produced by ITV. The show comprises one hour episodes which were normally first aired on ITV in the Sunday early evening slot....
.
- Emily Atack
Emily Jane Atack is a British actress best known for her role as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the award winning E4 series The Inbetweeners. She also appeared in Heartbeat , Blue Murder and was featured in a number of lads' mags.Born in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, she is the daughter of actress Kate...
, actress. As seen on The InbetweenersThe Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 to 2010 on E4. Created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will , and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The Inbetweeners Movie was...
and Dancing on IceDancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
.
- David Bass, comedian and TV presenter.
External links