Beeston, Bedfordshire

Beeston
Beeston
	Beeston Green
	Beeston Location within Bedfordshire
OS grid reference	TL168482
Civil parish	Sandy;
Unitary authority	Central Bedfordshire;
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire;
Region	East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Sandy
Postcode district	SG19
Dialling code	01767
Police	Bedfordshire
Fire	Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North East Bedfordshire;
	List of places UK England Bedfordshire 52°07′08″N 0°17′42″W / 52.119°N 0.295°W

Beeston is a hamlet of about 530 acres (2.1 km²) in the town of Sandy in the Wixamtree hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about a half a mile south of Sandy, north of Biggleswade and east of Bedford.^[1] Beeston appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it shown as having a mill: "Bistone: Roland, Norman and Pirot from Eudo FitzHubert; William Speke; Thurstan the Chamberlain; Godmund; Alwin from the King. Mill."

The medieval period saw the construction of the Great North Road, the post road connecting London to Edinburgh, which ran through Beeston. In the 1930s the Ministry of Transport upgraded the Great North Road to a trunk road and it became the A1 in 1923. Subsequent upgrades during the 1960s saw this section of the road become a dual carriageway which effectively split the hamlet and isolated the larger part of Beeston from Sandy, pedestrian access being limited to a footbridge. Plans are afoot to reposition the road to bypass Beeston/Sandy but no date for this work has been set.

Historically the main occupation of the residents of Beeston was market gardening, farming and straw plaiting (woman & girls) for the hat industry.^[2]

Beeston is in the Anglican Parish of St Swithun, Sandy. It has a Wesleyan (Methodist) Chapel built 1865 with seating for 300.^[3] A former chapel on Beeston Green is now a private home.

The major feature of Beeston is the 13-acre (53,000 m²) village green bounded by many of the older residences.

References

^ Post Office Directory 1854
^ The Census of England and Wales 1841 - 1901 - Public Record Office
^ Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898

External links

Media related to Beeston at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] Post Office Directory 1854

[2] The Census of England and Wales 1841 - 1901 - Public Record Office

[3] Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898

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