Radwell, Bedfordshire
| Radwell | |
| Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Radwell | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL005576 |
| Location: | 52°12’30"N, -0°31’47"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 250 |
| Post town: | Bedford |
| Postcode: | MK43 |
| Dialling code: | 01234 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bedford |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North East Bedfordshire |
Radwell is a hamlet in the Willey Hundred in northern Bedfordshire. It stands within a loop of the River Great Ouse, running down to a bridge over the river, a mile to the east of Felmersham. It is also about seven miles north-west of the county town, Bedford.
Excavations of the gravel pits to the north of the settlement showed evidence of occupation during the Roman period, with a field and ditch system and the remains of two timber buildings, probably a farmstead.[1]
The hamlet appears in the Domesday Book as Radeuuelle: the books notes a population of 18 households, under two landowners.[2]
The hamlet has no church, but is part of the parish of St Mary's, Felmersham. A chapel dedicated to St James was first recorded in 1204, but had fallen out of use by the 17th century. A Methodist chapel in Moor End Road, built in 1807, has been converted to a residence.
A public house, the Swan Inn, was first recorded as an ale house in 1728, but it closed in the twenty-first century.
To the south, there is a stone bridge across the river. Built in 1766 by Thomas Morris, it originally cost £292-10s-0d. As it was left in the care of the parish, by 1775 it was "ruinous and in great decay",[3] but the bridge was taken over by the county justices in 1805. The bridge is today a Grade II listed structure.
The road leading into Radwell from the south is Radwell Road and frequently floods after heavy rain.
Between the two World Wars, there was a privately run miniature railway, the Radwell Manor Railway, to the north of the hamlet, which was occasionally open to the public. It was abandoned around 1940, and dismantled later, possibly in the 1960s.
At the end of Moor End Road is a riding stable, and further on are Radwell lakes, a popular fishing spot with many swans.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Radwell, Bedfordshire) |
- Information on Radwell, Bedfordshire from GENUKI
- Felmersham and Radwell War Memorial
- Felmersham and Radwell
References
- ↑ Shrimpton 2003, p. 13.
- ↑ Radwell, Bedfordshire in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "Radwell Bridge". Bedford Borough Council. http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityArchives/MiltonErnest/RadwellBridge.aspx. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- Draycott, W.E. (1985). Grain and Chaff: Threshing out the history of Felmersham. Bedfordshire. Ouse-side Research. ISBN 0-9510725-0-1.
- Shrimpton, Kenneth (2003). Felmersham: the history of a riverside parish. Author. ISBN 0954663802.
- Shrimpton, Kenneth (2011). Bygone Felmersham and Radwell: A pictorial view of the parish. Author. ISBN 0954663810.