Goldington, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Goldington, a village and a parish in Bedfordshire. The village stands near the river Ouse, 1½ miles NE by E of Bedford, and has a post office under Bedford; money order and telegraph office, Bedford. The parish comprises 2548 acres of land and 40 of water; population, 587. A fort was anciently at Castle Hill, and a priory at Newnham. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. The church, a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consists of a chancel, nave, and aisles, with square tower, and has brasses of 1507 and 1585. There is a Congregational chapel. Goldington Hall, Goldington Bury, and Goldington Grange are chief residences.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Bedfordshire | |
Diocese | Ely | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Goldington St. Mary | |
Hundred | Barford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1559.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Goldington: Baptisms 1559-1978, Marriages 1559-1980, Burials 1559-1960, Banns 1754-1961. 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. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, standing on high ground, is an edifice of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, south transept and porch, and a tower containing 4 bells, rehung in new oak frames in 1899 at a cost of £100: the north and east windows are stained, the latter being a memorial to Mrs. Kenworthy Browne: there are a few brasses and some monuments: in 1859 the church was thoroughly renovated, and in 1876 the chancel was restored and newroofed at a cost of £145: in 1879 an organ was introduced at a cost of £250, and in 1899 the church was completely restored and partly reseated, and the floor of the chancel raised, at a total cost of £500. Dean Bowers, of Manchester, founder of Marlborough school, is buried under the altar, and there is also a tablet to his memory.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Goldington was in Bedford Registration District from 1837 to 1934
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Goldington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Goldington (St. Mary))
- Kelly's Directory of Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Northamptonshire, 1914
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Goldington 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
Goldington 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.