Willington, Bedfordshire
Encyclopedia
Willington is a village and civil parish located in the English
county
of Bedfordshire
. It is west of Moggerhanger
on the road from Sandy
to Bedford
. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book
as Welitone and as Wilitona in c. 1150, from Old English
tun (homestead) among the willows, and is part of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree
.
Willington is home to 16th century Willington Dovecote & Stables
, both now owned by the National Trust
.
Willington used to have a railway station
on the Sandy to Bedford railway line, now part of the NCR 51
national cycle route.
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...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
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....
. It is west of Moggerhanger
Moggerhanger
Moggerhanger is a village in the English county of Bedfordshire. It is west of Sandy on the road to Bedford. it has a population of 636. In the twentieth century the village name was spelled variously as: Moggerhanger, Mogerhanger, Muggerhanger and Morehanger...
on the road from Sandy
Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy is a small market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is between Cambridge and Bedford, and on the A1 road from London to Edinburgh. The area is dominated by a range of hills known as the Sand Hills. The River Ivel runs through Sandy. The dedication of the Anglican church is to...
to Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Welitone and as Wilitona in c. 1150, from Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
tun (homestead) among the willows, and is part of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree
Wixamtree
Wixamtree is the name of an ancient hundred located in Bedfordshire, England.Wixamtree was one of the hundreds of Bedfordshire, with its council being the primary form of local government in its area from the Anglo-Saxon times to the nineteenth century....
.
Willington is home to 16th century Willington Dovecote & Stables
Willington Dovecote & Stables
Willington Dovecote & Stables is a National Trust property located in Willington, near Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.The property is a 16th-century stable and stone dovecote, which contains nesting boxes for over 1500 pigeons....
, both now owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Willington used to have a railway station
Willington railway station (Bedfordshire)
Willington was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1903, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968....
on the Sandy to Bedford railway line, now part of the NCR 51
NCR 51
National Cycle Route 51 is an English long distance cycle route running broadly east-west connecting Colchester and the port of Harwich to Oxford via Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge.Links to:* National Cycle Route 1 at Colchester and Ipswich...
national cycle route.
External links
- Willington dovecote and stables at the National Trust.
- Willington station disused station site record
- Willington pages at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records ServiceBedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records ServiceThe Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is a county record office, holding archival material associated with Bedfordshire and Luton. Established in 1913 by George Herbert Fowler as the Bedfordshire Record Office, it was the first county record office in England. It is located in...