Wilden, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Wilden, a parish in a pleasant vale in Bedfordshire, 5 miles NE of Bedford railway station. It has a post office under Bedford; telegraph office, Renhold. Acreage, 2266; population, 388. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; gross value, £145 with residence. The church is a building of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, S porch, and a tower. East End is an adjoining hamlet.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Bedfordshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Wilden St. Nicholas | |
Hundred | Barford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1545.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Wilden: Baptisms 1545-1992, Marriages 1545-2000, Burials 1545-1939, Banns 1777-1999. Transcripts in either book or microfiche form for registers prior to 1813 can be purchased from the BLARS (see website for details).
Churches
Church of England
St. Nicholas (parish church)
The church of St. Nicholas is an edifice of stone, in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a tower containing 5 bells: there are four monuments, one of which, to a former rector, is dated 1643, and there is another, erected in 1900 to the Rev. R. G. Chalk B.A. rector here 1849-99; the church was re-seated, new-roofed and re-floored in 1902 at a total cost of £550: there are 180 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Wilden was in Bedford Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Wilden from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Wilden are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Bedfordshire papers online:
- Bedfordshire Times and Independent
- Biggleswade Chronicle
- Luton Times and Advertiser
- Luton News and Bedfordshire Chronicle
Poor Law
Wilden was in Bedford Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Bedford Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Bedford Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.