Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Higham Gobion, a village and a parish in Beds, 4½ miles WSW from Henlow station on the M.R., 7 SE from Ampthill, and 8 N from Luton. Post town, Hitchin; money order and telegraph office, Shillington. Acreage, 1298; population, 73. The manor belongs to Earl Cowper. Higham Bury is a chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; net value, £246 with residence. The church, which was restored in 1880, is in the Decorated style, and contains a monument to Dr S. E. Castell, a former rector and author of the "Lexicon Heptaglotton."
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 | Higham-Gobion St. Margaret | |
| Hundred | Flitt |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1558.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Higham Gobion: Baptisms 1654-1993, Marriages 1654-1996, Burials 1654-1996, Banns 1830-1995. 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 or St. Margaret (parish church)
The church of St. Mary or St. Margaret is a plain but good example of the Decorated style, consisting of chancel and nave, and a low embattled modern tower containing one bell: in the chancel is a good monument of freestone and black marble with a Latin inscription, to Dr. S. E. Castell S.T.P. placed by himself in the year 1674, and at the foot a line in Arabic, which has been translated: "Living, here he chose to be buried, in hopes of a better place than this:" there are two other minor memorials and two brasses to the Boteler family, dated 1602 and 1603: the Perpendicular rood screen is gone, but the chancel retains sedilia and piscina: there was formerly a north aisle, the arcade of which is now built up in the north wall: the church was restored in 1880, at a cost of over £1,700.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Higham Gobion was in Ampthill Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Higham Gobion from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Higham-Gobion (St. Margaret))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Higham Gobion 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
Higham Gobion was in 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.