Bedford St John, Bedfordshire

Historical Description

St John's is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in Bedford. St John's church is Later English, and was thoroughly restored in 1869-70. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, £370 with residence, in the gift of a private patron. Population of the ecclesiastical and civil parishes of St John, 672.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Church Records

The parish register dates from the year 1669.

The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Bedford St. John: Baptisms 1669-1987, Marriages 1669-1982, Burials 1669-1855, Banns 1755-1968. 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. John, St. John's Street (parish church)

St. John's church, in St. John street, is a building of stone in the Early English and Decorated styles, and was thoroughly restored by subscription in 1869-70, at a cost of about £1,000, and re-opened in June of the latter year: it consists of chancel, nave, west porch and an embattled western tower containing one bell: on the south side of the chancel are piscina and sedilia, discovered and restored during the repair of the church: in 1890 a stone reredos was presented to the church by the patron: there are upwards of 250 sittings.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

St. John was in Bedford Registration District from 1837 to 1974

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Bedfordshire papers online:

Poor Law

Bedford St John 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.

Population

We have transcribed the list of Private Residents in Bedford, from Kelly's Directory of Bedfordshire, 1890 and 1910.

Visitations Heraldic

A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.