Little Staughton
Timeline
Places > Little Staughton
13th Century: The church of St. Margaret built.
1766: Baptist Church established.
1846: Village school opened.
1870: William Bull, a 21 year old labourer, murdered Sarah Marshall aged 51 on the 29th November and was hanged at Bedford Prison on the 3rd April 1871.
1900: The Church tower was struck by lightning, part of it crashed through the nave.
1906: A phenomenal storm hit the village on the 2nd August with hailstones larger than walnuts. Most of the houses suffered window damage and the crops in the fields were completely ruined. Damage was estimated to be in excess of 50,000.
1942: The airfield was built during 1942. It started out as an American base for the B17 bombers. The arifield then went on to be a Pathfinder Station housing Lancasters and Mosquitoes from 1944. Two public houses (The Shoulder of Mutton and The Bushel and Strike) and many houses in Top End were demolished due to wartime activities at the airfield. Offensive operations ceased in April 1945 with the aircraft departing in September. After the war Brooklands Aviation used the site for a while. Today many of the buildings remain and the site is used for light industry, agriculture and some private flying.
1944: The Baptist Chapel badly damaged when a Lancaster bomber from Little Staughton Airfield struck the roof of the building. As a result the Chapel had to be demolished.
1956: The Kangaroo Public House was closed on the 17th December.
1957: New Baptist Chapel opened on the 11th April.
1972: On the 14th February, the Crown Public House caught fire and was completely gutted with the chimney stack the only part left standing. In 1973, the New Crown was opened on the site of the old inn, the chimney stack having been incorporated in the new building.
1983: The village school closed.
1984: Village Hall officially opened on the 3rd November.
1997: The village post office demolished and replaced by a house.
Page last updated: 3rd February 2014