Houghton Conquest is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009...

 district of Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The parish also includes the hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of How End

How End

How End is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.the settlement is close to the larger villages of Stewartby and Houghton Conquest. How End forms part of the Houghton Conquest civil parish....

.

History

Historically in the hundred of Redbornestoke, the name of the village originated from the Conquest family who held a manor

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

 and lands in the area from the 13th century to the 18th century.

The church of All Saints

All Saints

All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...

 was constructed in the village during the 14th century, and is today the largest parish church in Bedfordshire. Features of interest include the wall paintings, sculpture, stained glass, benches and stalls.

Manors at Houghton Conquest

The Conquest family owned Conquestbury, a large manor which was left to ruin when the family left the area. Parts of the original house were used to build a house in the 1850s, which today serves as a village shop.

Houghton House

Houghton House

Houghton House is a ruined house located near Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire, on the ridge just north of Ampthill, and about 8 miles south of Bedford. It is a Grade I listed building....

 was also built in the area in approximately 1615. In 1794, Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford

Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford

Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford was an English aristocrat and Whig politician, responsible for much of the development of central Bloomsbury.-Life:...

 stripped Houghton House of its furnishings and removed the roof. Today, the remains of Houghton House stand as ruins.

Rectors

The following rectors are named in The History of All Saints Church Houghton Conquest, by G. P. K. Winlaw, and other sources as cited:

• before 1285: William de Lubenham
• 1285: Geoffrey Conquest
• 1303: Robert de Suddebrok
• 1306: Robert de Morecore
• 1312: John de la Bourne
• 1323: John Speling of Kerdington
• 1323: Simon de Northwode
• 1331: William de Gayton
• 1337: William Conquest
• 1337: John Conquest
• 1349: Henry Balle of Aldwyncle
• 1366: Geoffrey Burgh
• 1399: John Drugge of Kerdington
• 1403: John Jainyil
• 1409: John Mason, The Vicar of Ampthill
  Ampthill
  Ampthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
  
  
• 1409: William Stewenys (Stephens)
• 1409: Ralph Conquest
• 1425: W. Gunwardy, The Bishop of Dunkeld
• 1451: William Hoveden
• 1453: John Freman
• 1456: John Cras
• 1457: John Dey
• 1461: John Tapert
• 1461: Thomas Dey
• 1461: John Bowland
• 1464: Henry Abraham
• 1465: William Stanford
• 1483: Thomas Yerburgh
• 1489: Richard Wright
• 1491: John Underhill
• 1509: Thomas Hunne
• 1510: Humphrey Gascoigne
• 1515: William Frankelyn
• 1524: Ralph Cooke
• 1531: William Coven
• 1536: Thomas Birde
• 1542: John Oldestocke
• 1549: William Tatchame
• 1551: William Walker
• 1557: John Holdstocke

from other sources:

• 1589-1631: Thomas Archer (1554 - 1631), local antiquarian
• 1632: Edward Martin (died 1662), dean of Ely
• 1654: John Poynter (1600 - 1684), canon of Christ Church Oxford
• 1656-1662: Samuel Fairclough (c. 1625 - 1691) ejected 1662 in favour of Edward Martin above (who then died)
• 4 April 1725: Zachary Grey (1688 – 1766), and vicar of St. Gile's and St. Peter's in Cambridge
• 1837-1873: Henry John Rose
  Henry John Rose
  Henry John Rose was an English churchman, theologian of High Church views, and scholar, who became archdeacon of Bedford.-Life:Born at Uckfield, Sussex, on 3 January 1800, he was younger son of William Rose , then curate and schoolmaster in the parish, and afterwards vicar of Glynde, Sussex; Hugh...
  
   (1800 - 1873), theologian and antiquarian

In addition, two other people have been named as rector:

• Edward Woodley Bowling, named
• Rev. Birch

Houghton Conquest today

Today, the village of Houghton Conquest is located in the Northern part of Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009...

, on the border with the Borough of Bedford

Bedford (borough)

Bedford is a unitary authority with the status of a borough in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Its council is based at Bedford, which is also the county town of Bedfordshire. The borough contains a single urban area, the 69th largest in the United Kingdom that comprises Bedford and...

. Local amenities include a village shop, Houghton Conquest Lower School, a village hall

Village hall

In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...

, and three pubs named "The Knife and Cleaver", "The Royal Oak" and "The Chequers".

Part of the site designated for the construction of the Wixams

Wixams

Wixams is a new town in Bedfordshire, England, which has been under construction since early 2007. It is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford after Bedford itself and Kempston, and one of the largest new settlements founded in England since the British new towns...

 new town

New town

A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...

 is located in the northern, rural part of Houghton Conquest parish.

External links

• Houghton Conquest in GENUKI
  GENUKI
  GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. Its aim is "to serve as a "virtual reference library" of genealogical information that is of particular relevance to the UK & Ireland"...
  
  
• Houghton Conquest Lower School.