Holwell, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Holwell, a village and a parish in Bedfordshire, on the M.R., adjacent to Herts, near Henlow station, and 3½ miles NNW from Hitchin. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Hitchin. Acreage, 587; population, 278. The manor belongs to the Radcliffe family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; gross value, £220 with residence. The church is an ancient building of stone, and was restored in 1877. Rand's Charity yields £800 a year, supports a school and almshouses, and also contributes £100 a year to the grammar school at Hitchin. The G.N. main line passes through this parish.
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 | |
Hundred | Clifton | |
Poor Law union | Hitchin |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Holwell: . Transcripts in either book or microfiche form for registers prior to 1813 can be purchased from the BLARS (see website for details).
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Holwell was in Hitchin Registration District from 1837 to 1897
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Holwell from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Holwell 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
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.