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Pulloxhill
Timeline

Places > Pulloxhill

1219: Pulloxhill church dedicated, a list of incumbents exists from 1220.

1596: Elizabeth Ocle was found guilty of witchcraft and hanged at Bedford.

1653: The church tower collapsed into the nave leaving both the tower and nave in ruins.

1680: Gold was discovered in the parish, however the gold proved to be in such small quantities that it did not cover refining costs and the project was abandoned.

1740s: By this date the church roof had gone and services were held in the chancel. The minor repairs carried out left the village with a church which served the needs of the parish for the next one hundred years.

1809: Pulloxhill Enclosure Act.

1844: The National School opened with accommodation for 140 pupils.

1845-46: By now the condition of the church was giving rise to serious concern. Major restoration of the church after a long period of neglect was undertaken. The old chancel was shortened and a new nave and tower were built. The work was carried out by the Bedford architect James Wing and paid for by Earl de Grey of Wrest Park. The church was re-opened for worship on the 1st May 1846.

c1880: About this date Lady Cowper of Wrest Park provided a Parish Room as a place where ladies of the village could do their sewing and needlework in comfort. The building is now known as the Church Hall.

1923: Church restoration took place at a cost of 350.

1932: By the Flitton and Pulloxhill Order a detached part of Pulloxhill was transferred to Flitton.

1933: Fire started in the engine room of the three storey corn mill causing damage amounting to 2,000 and destroying the whole mill and attached bake house.

1960: Pulloxhill Lower School built.

1978: Church tower renovated at a cost of 7,500.

Sources:

  • The Newspaper Cuttings Collection in the Local Studies Library at Bedford Central Library
  • Victoria County History of Bedfordshire 3 Vols. 1912.
  • Pickford, C.  Bedfordshire Churches in the 19th Century Part 2 Parishes H to R  Bedfordshire Historical Record Society Vol. 77 1998.

Page last updated: 3rd February 2014