Campton

Places > Campton

1086: The Domesday Book records three manors (Norman Estates) in Campton belonging to Walter Gifard, William de Ow and the King. All three manors had sub-tenants

13th Century: Foundation of All Saints Church. The tower dates from the 15th century

1349: Campton looses two priests to the Black Death

1591: Campton Manor House built by John Ventris

1645: Sir Charles Ventris of Campton Manor (a Royalist and ardent supporter of Charles I) is shot at by a group Roundheads while at home. Fortunately, their aim was poor and Sir Charles was unharmed but the shots became embedded in the oak panelling

1786: The White Hart public house established, it became 'The Flowers' in 1954 and Whitbread in 1961

1823: Robert Bloomfield the poet dies at Shefford and is buried in Campton churchyard. His chief work was 'The Farmer's Boy' which sold 26,000 copies within three years of its publication in 1800 but did not prevent its author dying in poverty

1853: The Wheatsheaf public house established, the pub closed in 1956

1876: Campton School opened in Rectory Road

1892: All Saints church thoroughly restored between 1892 and 1896 by Arthur Wellesley Soames, a pupil of Blomfield

1921: Twenty six houses built along the Greenway

1924-1936: Brookside Estate built in two phases

1928: Campton first receives electricity. The supplier was First Garden City

1937: Campton Mill closes. A mill had existed in Campton since Anglo Saxon times and was mentioned in the Domesday Book

1939: Children from the Jewish School in London evacuated to Shefford. Many children and staff were taken to homes in the surrounding villages including Campton

1983: The New Inn at Campton Turn closes. It was built in 1803 by Mr James Bunyan

1987: Campton Post Office closes

Sources:

• Campton, study of a Bedfordshire Village by D.J. Cadman
• Newspaper cuttings and pamphlets in Bedford Central Library Local Studies Collection

Page last updated: 23rd January 2014