Potton
Timeline
Places > Potton
1202: Thomas de Priest listed as the first priest of
Potton.
1237: Potton split onto four manors: Potton Rectoria, Potton Burdetts, Potton Regis and Potton Much Manured. The manors were purchased by the Burgoyne family and eventually brought together by 1637.
1614: Parish register started.
1690s: Unusual 'death's head' gravestones erected in the churchyard.
1775: Potton windmill constructed, it was worked until 1932.
1783: The Great Fire of Potton. Much of the town was destroyed. The parish register makes a brief note of the fire "A few bones, the only remains (though a great fire happened here) of Nicholas Sparkes, were buried Aug. 22 1783."
1787: Bedfordshire Notes and Queries (Vol.1 p21) notes the following inscription "Died at Potton, Co. Bedford, aged 105 years, 3 months and 4 days Mrs Susannah Greenfield a maiden Lady. She had for the last 40 years lived chiefly on flour provisions and her only drink was wine and water."
1800: Potton Baptist Church formed by a group of nine people. The chapel opened in May, 1802.
1826: An inquisition undertaken at Potton in front of Mr Times, the Coroner for Bedfordshire on the unfortunate death of William Circuit aged 45. He had been visiting a display of wild beasts in the town and while under the influence of alcohol had approached the den of a lioness who had struck him with her paws causing him a serious injury and exposing the bone. The wound was not considered to be life threatening but he died suddenly some days later. (Report from The Times April 26th 1826).
1848: Potton Congregational Church opened.
1850: Wesleyan Chapel, Horselow Street, rebuilt and enlarged.
1851: Original Methodist Chapel built. It was rebuilt in 1931 after being thought unsafe. It was eventually closed in 1974.
1857: The Potton-Sandy railway line opened by Sir William Peel.
1876: Potton Board Schools opened. They were demolished in 1982.
1880: Cemetery of two acres formed at a cost of 1,000.
1881: Population of Potton totals 2,006.
1885: Kelly’s Directory notes the following sources of employment in the town. "Coprolites are found in the parish in considerable quantities, and the workings form a useful source of employment…There is also a manufactory of shoes and leather legging, and a large business is done in wool stapling and fellmongery. There are agricultural machine and engineering works, which also employ a numerous body of artizans."
1887: Fire station built and Volunteer Fire Brigade formed.
1890: Potton Brass Band formed.
1895: The first Parish Council took office.
1899: A fire engine purchased for the town.
1911: Population of Potton totals 2,156.
1917: The estate of Mr S. H. Whitbread, then Lord of the Manor, broken up into 75 lots and sold.
1920: The First Potton Guide Company formed.
1931: Potton Technical School opens.
1934: Sir Malcolm Stewart formed the first estate of the Land Settlement Foundation (LSA), designed to resettle individuals from what were then distressed areas. Each family was given a house and five acres of land to work. Prince George visited Potton on the 9th October 1934 to find out more about the scheme and the first batch of 18 settlers from the Durham area arrived on the 21st March 1935. The LSA became state owned in 1948 and was made available for private purchase in 1984.
1939: Sir Malcolm Stewart presented the Shambles to Bedfordshire County Council, the wooden stalls were demolished for safety reasons.
1939/45: Potton Manor requisitioned for the armed forces.
1956: Clock House opened by Sir Frederick Mander in June.
1967: Rail services from Potton to Bedford and Potton to Cambridge closed on the 30th December.
1977: Potton History Society founded.
1984: Potton Sports and Social Club Clubhouse built at The Hollow at a cost of around 40,000.
1986: Twinning charter signed between Potton and the German town of Langenlongsheim in the Market Square. Potton presented a traditional red telephone box to the Germans who reciprocated with a winepress.
1989: Potton United Reformed Church closed.
1994: Celebrations held for the 900th anniversary of St. Mary the Virgin Church.
1998: The new Potton Brewery Company opens in Shannon Place, Potton. The original Potton Brewery Company was on the site of the Co-op store in King Street and started around 1784, closing in 1923.
2005: Tesco Supermarket in King Street opens on 11th July.
Sources:
- Potton Town Guide, 2006
Page last updated: 3rd February 2014