Lidlington, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Lidlington, a village and a parish in Beds. The village stands adjacent to the Bedford and Bletchley branch of the L. & N.W.R., 3 miles W by N of Ampthill, and has a station on the railway, and a post and money order office under Ampthill; telegraph office, Ampthill. The parish comprises 2544 acres; population, 600. The manor and most of the land belong to the Duke of Bedford. Some of the elder villagers are engaged in lace-making. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net value, £165. Patron, the Duke of Bedford. The old church is very pleasantly situated on a hill, but as from the nature of the foundation it became unsafe, a new church was generously given to the parish by the Duke of Bedford, and opened in 1886. The new building, which stands in the centre of the village, is of sandstone, in the Early Decorated style, and consists of chancel, transepts, and nave. The old church is used for burial purposes only. The churchyard of the old church contains a marble monument to Mrs W. C. C. Bentinck. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.
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 | Lidlington All Saints | |
| Hundred | Redbornestoke |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates prior to the year 1554.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Lidlington: Baptisms 1564-2008, Marriages 1560-1996, Burials 1560-1992, Banns 1823-2008. 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
All Saints (parish church)
The old church of All Saints, prettily situated on a hill, is an edifice of brick and stone, consisting of chancel and nave and a tower containing one bell: in the church is an ancient mural tablet to Edward Platt; also a stone inscribed to Richard Jones, citizen and grocer of London, 1669, and a mutilated brass to the Goldington family, with figures, in the chancel aisle: in the churchyard is an elegant marble bomb to Sinetta, wife of Rev. William Charles Cavendish Bentinck, a former vicar of Ridgmont: this church is now so dilapidated as to be unfit for any religious purposes. The new church of St. Margaret, given to the parish by Hastings, 9th Duke of Bedford, and opened in Nov. 1886, is of sandstone in the Early English style, and consists of chancel, transepts and nave: there are 365 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Lidlington was in Ampthill Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Lidlington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Lidlington, or Litlington (All Saints))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Lidlington 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
Lidlington 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.