Studham, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Studham, a parish in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, 4½ miles S of Dunstable, where there are stations on the G.N.R. and L. & N.W.R. It contains Studham village and Humbershoe hamlet, and has a post office under Dunstable; money order and telegraph office, Little Gaddesden. Acres in Beds, 1584; population, 248; acres in Herts, 1449; population, 128. There is a parish council for Studham, Beds, of five members, and another for Studham, Herts, also of five members. The manor, with most of The land, belongs to Earl Brownlow. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely ½ gross value, £218 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, which dates from the early part of the 13th century, is a building in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular styles. It was restored in 1893. There is a Wesleyan 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 | Studham St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Manshead |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1570.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Studham: Baptisms 1570-1988, Marriages 1570-1989, Burials 1570-1988, Banns 1797-1813, 1851-1977. 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. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, consecrated in 1220, is an edifice of mixed styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and a western embattled tower containing 4 bells: the chancel is Decorated, the arcades of the nave Early English: the windows are mostly Decorated and Perpendicular: the font is circular, and has a broad band of foliage at the base: the bowl is surrounded with figures of dragons and foliage: the roof of the south aisle was restored in 1876, and in 1893 a new pulpit and lectern of Cornish serpentine granite were placed in the church, a new roof added, and the interior renovated, re-floored and re-seated at a cost of £1,200.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Studham was in Luton Registration District from 1837 to 1964
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Studham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Studham (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Studham 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
Parochial History
The parish was formerly partly in Hertfordshire, but under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1888" (section 54), by an Order of the Local Government Board, No. 1,312, dated Sept. 30, 1897, the whole was transferred to Bedfordshire.
Poor Law
Studham 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
HumbershoeVisitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.