Harlington, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Harlington, a village and a parish in Beds, with a station on the M.R., 5 miles S from Ampthill, and has a post office under Dunstable; money order and telegraph office, Toddington. Acreage, 1904; population, 504. Woodend was the seat of the Astrey family, but the mansion was destroyed by fire many years ago, and never rebuilt. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, £104 with residence. The church is Decorated English, and consists of nave and chancel, with an embattled tower.
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 | Harlington St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Manshead |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1647.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Harlington: Baptisms 1653-1979, Marriages 1653-1983, Burials 1653-1992, Banns 1824-1992. 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 an edifice of stone, in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, and an embattled tower containing 5 bells: there is a stained window in the chancel, a memorial window to the late George Pearse esq. and his wife, a fine painting of the "Crucifixion" and a tablet to one of the Astry family, dated 1716: the church was partially destroyed in 1867, and a new organ provided in 1878, and during the period 1895-7 was fully restored at a cost of £500.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Harlington was in Woburn Registration District from 1837 to 1899 and Ampthill Registration District from 1899 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Harlington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Harlington (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 Harlington 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
Harlington was in Woburn Poor Law Union from 1835-1899 when it transferred to Ampthill Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Ampthill Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Ampthill Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.