Kempston
Timeline
Places > Kempston
1066: Earl Gyrth, Lord of the Manor, killed at the Battle of Hastings along with his brother King Harold. William the Conqueror grants the vacant manor to his niece Judith
1100: Judith commissions All Saints parish church
1237: The manor of Kempston split between the three sisters of John le Scot after many disputes. The eldest sister, Margaret took Kempston Daubeney, the second sister Isobel took Brucebury (afterwards known as Draytons) and the third sister Ada, took Kempston Hastingsbury
1570: All Saints parish register started
1671: Kempston comprised of 150 houses with a population in the region of 750 people
1719: Cottages at Kempston Church End converted to a workhouse (which remained in use until 1836 when people were sent to the Union Workhouse in Bedford).In 1850 the building was converted into four cottages
1826: A fire destroys forty houses in the High Street including part of the King William public house
1844: Church End School built during the incumbency of Rev. Henry Clutterbuck
1854: Up End School built by the Rev. H. J. Williams
1860: Kempston West Methodist Church opened in the High Street, following the closure of the Bell End Chapel which did not prove large enough
1861: Population of Kempston is 2,191
1863: An Anglo Saxon cemetery uncovered with treasures found such as a tall green drinking glass, beads, bracelets, ornaments, tools and weapons. One grave had pieces of crystal and fine glass, a carbuncle set in gold casing and a necklace of over a hundred beads
1866: Company founded that led to the building of the Bedfordshire Middle Class Public School in Ampthill Road, it was renamed as the County School in 1875 and Elstow School in 1907. In 1916 the school was closed when it was requisitioned as a military college
1868: St John’s Church consecrated (in St. John’s Street). The church cost 2,700 to build. It was demolished in 1965 after being empty for some time
1876: Kempston Barracks completed
1884: Kempston Rovers Football Club founded
1888: St. Stephen's Church built. It was 'temporary' corrugated iron church put up in Spring Road to serve Anglicans in that part of Kempston. It was made redundant in 1940 and was used for some years as a local leather works.
1889: Bedford Road School built
1895: Crystal Electric Lamp Company Ltd. established by Frank Naylor in Woburn Road, later renamed Cryselco Ltd.
1896: First meeting of Kempston Urban District Council held in Bedford Road School.
1904: A fire breaks out in the Half Moon Inn, near Water Lane, destroying what was probably a Tudor hostelry
1904: Kempston East Methodist Church opened
1907: A volunteer fire brigade formed. It was reliant on subscriptions and fundraising in order to pay for expenses including uniforms and equipment. In 1934 Kempston Urban District Council took it over
1920: Cosmic Crayon Company moved to Ampthill Road from Letchworth. It was originally housed in the County School
1921: The Bedfordshire Times and Independent ran a large article on the proposed new Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire war memorial on Kempston Road, Bedford. It was to be designed by Mr P. Allen F.R.I.B.A. of Bedford. The site was received as a free gift by Mr and Mrs Harold Howard of Kempston Grange to whom the land belonged (Bedfordshire Times and Independent, 7th January 1921, p7)
1934: The North Bedfordshire Review Order extended Kempston Urban District Council to include parts of the parishes of Elstow and Kempston Rural
1939: Work on Grange Camp started (now known as Hillgrounds). This was used initially as a training camp for troops used in the Second World War. Later it became a convalescent depot and an emergency evacuation unit
1940: Church of the Transfiguration consecrated. It was designed by Harrold Gibbons in 1929 and is a late example of the Arts and Crafts movement
1941: "The Kempston A.R.P. Spitfire Fund realised the sum of 679 18s 1d and this amount was forwarded by Mr E.E. Smith, Head Warden to the Ministry of Aircraft Production". (Bedfordshire Times, 17th January, 1941)
1944: Railway traffic on the Bedford - Bletchey line stopped for eight hours when a tank went out of control and smashed through the stone parapet on Cow Bridge. None of the crew were seriously injured (Bedfordshire Times, 31 March 1944, p.7) During May 1944 Kempston Urban and District Councils took part in Salute the Soldier Week with the aim of raising 65,000 for ten 5.5 guns and ammunition. Events included a grand parade and march past, a fete, a comic cricket match and whist drives. ( Bedfordshire Times 20th May 1944)
1946: Gordon Fraser Gallery Ltd. opens a factory on the Chantry Estate
1950: The extension to the war memorial opposite Kempston Barracks opened by Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
1954: Balliol County Primary School opened
1958: The Regimental Depot of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment is closed at Kempston Barracks
1960: Robert Bruce School opened
1976: A hoard of silver coins deposited c. AD 395 discovered during house building on the Hillgrounds estate
1992: A Roman villa and a Saxon cemetery excavated near All Saints' church
1993: Public houses in Kempston recorded as 'The Duke' (Woburn Road), 'The Fox and Hounds' (High Street), 'The Half Moon' (High Street), 'The King William IV' (High Street), 'The Mulberry Bush' (Orchard Street), 'The Royal Oak' (Woburn Road), 'The Smith Arms' (Margetts Road), 'The Wellington' (Bedford Road)
2003: Work starts on the Kempston/Bedford Road improvements resulting in the reconstruction of the roads and a new cycle route from Austin Canons to County Bridge in Prebend Street.
Sources:
- Eight thousand years: a Kempston history edited by H.A. Carnell, T. Booth and H.G. Tibbutt
- Old Kempston by Victoria Walker
- Kempston Town Guides from Bedford Central Library Local Studies Collection
- Newspapers and newspaper cuttings from the collections in Bedford Central Library
Page last updated: 30th January 2014