Sundon, Bedfordshire
Historical Description
Sundon, a parish in Beds, 4 miles NE of Dunstable, 5 NW from Luton, and 2, ½ N from Leagrave station on the M. R. It has a postal pillar-box under Dunstable; money order and telegraph office, Dunstable. Acreage, 2150; population of the civil parish, 42; of the ecclesiastical, with Streatley, 717. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The living is a vicarage, united with Streatley, in the diocese of Ely; net value, £200 with residence. Patrons, the trustees of Sir E. H. P. Turner, Bart. The church is an ancient building in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, S chapel or transept, and a western tower. 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 | Sundon St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Flitt |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1582.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service (BLARS) hold the registers for Sundon: Baptisms 1592-1980, Marriages 1569-1963, Burials 1584-1924, Banns 1833-1981. 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 is an ancient edifice, chiefty in the Decorated style, and consisting of Perpendicular chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, south chapel or transept and a western tower containing one bell: the font is Early English, and there is an interesting Decorated chest, and on the south door a lock of the same date: there are stone seats round the north aisle, and in part round the south aisle: there are a few marble tablets, inscribed to Catherine Faldo, 1697; Thomas Cheyne esq. 1717; Elizabeth Cheyne, 1700; and Thomas Cheyne, 1677-8: during some repairs to the floor of the south transept an arched vault was discovered, containing two velvet-covered coffins, respectively inscribed, on brass plates, to the Right Hon. William Clayton, Baron Sundon, of Ardagh, and M.P. for St. Mawes, who died April 29, 1752; and to Lady Charlotte, his wife, who died Jan. 1, 1741: in 1897 these plates were erected as mural tablets: there are 300 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Sundon was in Luton Registration District from 1837 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Sundon from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Sundon (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Bedfordshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Sundon 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
Sundon 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.
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.