Dunton, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Dunton, a village and parish in Beds, adjacent to the boundary of Herts and Cambridge, 3 miles ESE from Biggleswade town and railway station. The parish contains the hamlets of Millo and Newtown, and its post town, money order, and telegraph office is Biggleswade. Acreage, 2650; population, 434. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; gross value, £235. Patron, Earl Brownlow. The church, a building of stone in which Gothic Perpendicular and Decorated styles of architecture occur, has been very handsomely restored with oak fittings throughout. The spacious chancel, with elaborately carved oak ceiling, was restored by the late Lord Brownlow, the tiles throughout the church being designed by the Bishop of Ely. There is a Baptist chapel.
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 | Dunton St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Biggleswade |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1553.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Dunton: Baptisms 1553-1944, Marriages 1553-1982, Burials 1553-1911, Banns 1823-1954. 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 is a building of stone in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, and an embattled western tower, containing 5 bells (hung in 1887 in commemoration of the Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria), and south porch: it was partially rebuilt in 1861, at a cost of £1,600 (£650 of which was given by Robert Selwyn Pryor esq.): the chancel was restored by the 2nd Earl Brownlow in 1861, and new lamps were provided in 1897: there are 495 sittings.
There is a Baptist chapel.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Dunton was in Biggleswade Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Dunton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Dunton (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 Dunton 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
Dunton was in Biggleswade Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Biggleswade Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Biggleswade Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
MillowVisitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.