Langford, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Langford, a parish, with a village, in Beds, on the river Ivel, 2 miles S of Biggleswade station on the G.N.R. It has a post and money order office under Biggleswade; telegraph office, Biggleswade. Acreage, 2070; population, 1183. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; gross value,, £270 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, a plain building of stone, is of the 14th century, has a tower, and contains a brass of 1520. There is a Wesleyan chapel. There are some ancient British remains near the W side of the church.
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 | Langford St. Andrew | |
| Hundred | Biggleswade |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1700.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Langford: Baptisms 1717-1964, Marriages 1717-1991, Burials 1717-1992, Banns 1823-1991. 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. Andrew (parish church)
The church of St. Andrew is an ancient building of stone, consisting of chancel and nave of five bays, north aisle, south porch and a south tower containing 3 bells: there are a few ancient monuments: the church was partially restored in 1875 and was reseated in 1884 in oak: a vestry has been erected in memory of the Rev. Henry Addington M.A. vicar 1850-71: a new organ was added in 1906: there are 360 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Langford was in Biggleswade Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Langford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Langford (St. Andrew))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Langford 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
Langford was in Biggleswade Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Biggleswade Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Biggleswade Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.