Melchbourn (St. Mary)
MELCHBOURN (St. Mary), a parish, in the hundred of Stodden, union and county of Bedford, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Kimbolton; containing 274 inhabitants, and comprising by computation 2600 acres. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5; net income, £75; patron and impropriator, Lord St. John: the glebe comprises 30 acres. The church contains some ancient monuments and brasses. Here was a commandery of Knights Hospitallers, to whom a market and an annual fair were granted in 1264; the revenue was £241. 9. 10. Leland, the historian and antiquary, was a native of the parish.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.