Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Crawley-Husborne, a parish in Beds, three-quarters of a mile SW of Ridgmount station on the L. & N.W.R., and 1¼ mile NNE of Woburn. Post town, Bletchley station; money order and telegraph office, Aspley Guise. Acreage, 1610; population, 410. Crawley House is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net yearly value, £160 with residence. Patron, the Duke of Bedford. The church, a building of the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, consists of chancel, nave, aisles, and lofty embattled western tower. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel.
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 | Husborn-Crawley St. Mary Magdalene | |
| Hundred | Manshead |
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 Husborne Crawley: Baptisms 1558-1958, Marriages 1558-1986, Burials 1558-1988, Banns 1823-1972. 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. James (parish church)
The church of St. James, situated on an eminence, is an edifice of the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, aisles and a fine and lofty embattled western tower containing a good peal of 6 bells and a clock: in the church is a monument, with the effigies of a knight in armour and his lady, under a canopy, supported by Doric columns, and appears, from the shield of arms thereon, to commemorate some members of the Thomson family, by whom the manor was held in the 17th century; in the church is a curious iron-bound parish chest: there are sittings for 200 persons.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Husborne Crawley 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 Husborne Crawley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Husborn-Crawley (St. Mary Magdalene))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Husborne Crawley 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
Husborne Crawley 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.