Heath and Reach, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Heath and Reach, a hamlet, a township, and an ecclesiastical parish, in Leighton Buzzard parish, Beds, on the Grand Junction Canal, adjacent to Bucks, 2¼ miles N from Leighton Buzzard station on the L. & N.W.R. There is a post office under Leighton Buzzard; money order and telegraph office, Leighton Buzzard. Acreage, 2390; population, 1090. The manor belongs to the Hanmer family. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, £292 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Leighton Buzzard. The church is modern, and has a low square tower. There are Baptist, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. Rushmere Lodge is a chief residence. A white sand used in glass-making is found here.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Bedfordshire | |
| Civil parish | Leighton Buzzard | |
| Diocese | Ely | |
| Hundred | Manshead |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The earlier parish register is included in that of Leighton Buzzard, which dates from 1562: there is a separate register from the year 1813.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Heath & Reach: Baptisms 1813-1971, Marriages 1826-1995, Burials 1813-1836, Banns 1826-1977, 1850-1954
Churches
Church of England
St. Leonard (parish church)
The church of St. Leonard, rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1829, is a plain building in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a low embattled western tower containing one bell: the chancel was added, and the whole church newly seated in 1866.
Civil Registration
Heath & Reach was in Leighton Buzzard Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Heath and Reach from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Heath, with Reach)
- 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 Heath and Reach 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
Heath and Reach was in Leighton Buzzard Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Leighton Buzzard Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Leighton Buzzard Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.