Sharnbrook
Timeline
Places > Sharnbrook
13th Century: The oldest part of the church dates from the 13th century - the arcades of the nave, the outer walls of the aisles and the chancel arch. The Tofte chapel on the north side of the chancel, the north and south porches and the lower stages of the west tower date from the 14th century. In the 15th century the spire was added.
1613: Tofte House was built around this date but has been modernised and extended since.
c1715: An Elizabethan House pulled down and Colworth House built by Marc Antonie soon after on the site. The house "is Early Georgian, of ashlar, three storeyed, seven windows wide, with a three bay pediment. The top storey has segment-headed windows." (Pevsner, 1968)
1836: Village school opened.
1855-58: The body of the church was restored between these dates. The roof was restored in 1856-57 and in 1858 the church was re-seated. The work also involved a new pulpit, moving the font and the removal of the old singing gallery.
1857: Sharnbrook Station opened in May.
1865: Sharnbrook Baptist Chapel built.
1871: Sharnbrook Court House opened.
1880: Pinchmill water mill demolished.
1894: Colworth, formerly a parish, under The 1894 Local Government Act became part of the parish of Sharnbrook.
1909: At 4.00am on the 4th February the Manchester-London express goods train travelling about 60mph crashed into a goods train standing at Sharnbrook Station, the driver and fireman of the Manchester train were killed.
1912: The first Council Houses in Bedfordshire built on a site originally known as 1-6 Station Road.
1929: Church Hall built.
1947: Unilever moves into Colworth House.
1960: Sharnbrook Railway station closed on the 2nd May.
1962: The St. Peter's Close houses and bungalows officially opened (Bedfordshire Times 26th October)
1964: Sharnbrook Court House closes after 135 years (Bedfordshire Times 23rd October).
1965: Sharnbrook Grange demolished (Bedfordshire Times 5th January).
1969: Stoke Mills corn mill ceases working on the 29th June, in it's day it was one of the biggest and most successful corn mills in the county.
1974: Sharnbrook Theatre Trust acquire a 99 year lease on the mill site.
1975: Sharnbrook Upper School opens.
1979: Sharnbrook Amateur Theatre Trusts first performance at the converted Sharnbrook Mill with 'Salad Day' (Bedfordshire Times 21st September)
Sources :
- Newspaper articles in The Local Studies Library at Bedford Central Library.
- Victoria County History of Bedfordshire 3 Vols. 1912.
- PICKFORD, Christopher Bedfordshire Churches in the 19th Century Vol.79 Bedfordshire Historical Record Society. 2000.
Page last updated: 4th February 2014