Bedfordshire
Natural History
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The Natural History of Bedfordshire by W. Owen
The General Magazine of Arts and Sciences, Temple Bar, 1760.
Page 6
Page six begins with the lines by the poet Michael Drayton in Poly Albion.
"The brook which on her bank doth boast that earth alone,
Which, noted of this isle, converteth wood to stone;
That little Aspley's earth we antiently instile
'Mongst sundry other things, a wonder of our isle."
Higham Gobion is recorded as the birth and burial place of the Orientalist Dr. Edmund Castle who had a hand in the polyglot Bible and was the sole author of the Lexicon Heptogloton.
A brief history of Ampthill - "a pretty market town"- follows with mention of its royal connections and the incarceration of Queen Katherine of Aragon.
Shefford is recorded as having a Chapel of Ease to Compton and a "spacious and beautiful seat" of the Osbourne family.
Biggleswade is noted for its stone bridge and horse fair and Potton for its market days.
Page last updated: 23rd January 2014