Edworth, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Edworth, a parish in Beds, near the Roman way and adjacent to Herts, 3½ miles NE of Arlesey station on the G.N.R., and 3½ SE of Biggleswade. Post town, Baldock; money order and telegraph office, Ashwell. Acreage, 1122; population, 100. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, £140. The church is a small building of stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles.
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 | Edworth St. George | |
| Hundred | Biggleswade |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1552.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Edworth: Baptisms 1552-1972, Marriages 1552-1971, Burials 1552-1972, Banns 1756-1812, 1839-1971. 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. George (parish church)
The church of St. George is a small building of stone, in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, north and south transepts, north and south porches, and an embattled western tower containing 3 bells: there are two ancient stained windows in good preservation and in the chancel is a memorial window to members of the Smyth family : the church was restored in 1876, at a cost of £800, and again in 1909 at a cost of £466: there are 120 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Edworth was in Biggleswade Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Edworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Edworth (St. George))
- 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 Edworth 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
Edworth 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.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.