Turvey

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Turvey
Bedfordshire

All Saints' parish church
Location
Grid reference: SP943525
Location: 52°9’44"N, -0°37’32"W
Data
Population: 1,225  (2011[1])
Post town: Bedford
Postcode: MK43
Dialling code: 01234
Local Government
Council: Bedford
Parliamentary
constituency:
Mid Bedfordshire
Website: The Turvey Website

Turvey is a village and parish on the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire, adjacent to the border with Buckinghamshire. The villages lies about six miles west of Bedford on the A428 road between Bedford and Northampton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,225.[1]

History

Turvey is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish in the Hundred of Willey.[2] There are eight separate entries for Turvey, including a total of 44 households.[3] The Mordaunt family obtained the manor by marriage in 1197 and were ennobled as Barons of Turvey in the 16th century. The Mordaunt family house, Turvey Old Hall, was replaced by Turvey House in 1792, by which time the estate had passed to the Higgins family. It was extended in the 19th century and still stands. There is a second large house in the village called Turvey Abbey, which was historically a family house, but is now a Benedictine monastery.

The Church of England parish church of All Saints has Saxon origins but is almost certainly a post-Norman building. It is the largest church in the deanery of Sharnbrook and was in the Diocese of Lincoln until it was transferred to the Diocese of Ely in 1837. Since 1914 it has been in the Diocese of St Albans. It has a 13th-century door with its original ironwork, a Norman baptismal font, a wall painting of the crucifixion and some notable monuments, including monumental brasses.[4]

Turvey has a strong history of lace-making: there is evidence of a 19th-century lace-making school.

In the 19th century the Midland Railway line from Bedford to Northampton was built through the parish and opened in 1872. There was a railway station in Station Road about a mile east of the centre of the village. British Railways closed the line in 1962.

Public houses

  • The Three Fyshes – built in 1487 and first sold beer in 1624.
  • The Three Cranes – an historic building next to the church.
  • The Laws Hotel – built 1836–40 the Laws Hotel, now no longer a pub.
  • The Tinker of Turvey – in the High Street, now the village stores. It was an inn until the early 19th century.
  • The Kings Arms – in Jacks Lane, closed since the 1990s, now a private house.

Amenities

Turvey has a village store and post office, village hall and two public houses: the Three Fyshes and The Three Cranes

Transport

Buses between Bedford and Northampton serve the village.[5]

Population

The population of Turvey was 758 in 1801, rising to 1,028 in 1851 and falling to 782 by 1901. In 1951 it had dropped further to 733 but rose to 1,043 by 1991.[6]

References

Sources and further reading

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Turvey)