Streatley, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Streatley, a parish, with Streatley village and Sharpenhoe hamlet, in Beds, 4½ miles N by W of Luton station. It has a post office under Dunstable; money order office, Barton-in-the-Clay; telegraph office, Luton. Acreage, 2 500; population of the civil parish, 296; of the ecclesiastical, with Snndon, 717. The living is a vicarage, annexed to Sundon. The church is an ancient building in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, and an embattled western tower. There is a 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 | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Streatley 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 1693.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Streatley: Baptisms 1693-1951, Marriages 1693-1983, Burials 1693-1978, Banns 1824-1890. 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. Margaret (parish church)
The church of St. Margaret is an ancient fabric in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and a western embattled tower containing 2 bells: the font is Early English, consisting of an octagonal basin with richly work sides, supported on a solid stone with four attached shafts, between which are spaces filled in with toothed ornament; there are some good benches panelled with the linen pattern: the church was reseated in 1896 and in 1899 the old chancel was taken down and a new one erected at the cost of the trustees of the late Sir Edward B. Page-Turner, 6th and last bart. (d. 1874) and Hugh Smyth and George Townsend Benison esqrs. as joint owners of the great tithes, and affords sittings for 260 persons.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Streatley with Sharpenhoe was in Luton Registration District from 1837 to 1964
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Streatley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Streatley (St. Margaret))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Streatley 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
Streatley was in Luton Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Luton Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Luton Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
SharpenhoeVisitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.