Whipsnade
| Whipsnade | |
| Bedfordshire | |
|---|---|
 St Mary Magdalene, Whipsnade | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL010179 |
| Location: | 51°51’3"N, -0°32’6"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 457 (2001) |
| Post town: | Dunstable |
| Postcode: | LU6 |
| Dialling code: | 01582 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Central Bedfordshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South West Bedfordshire |
Whipsnade is a small village in Bedfordshire, on the Dunstable Downs, an eastward tail spur of the Chilterns. The village is about 2½ miles south of Dunstable.
At Whipsnade is the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, and the famous ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
An earlier recorded version of the name, in 1430, was Wypsnad(e).[1]
Parish church
The parish church is St Mary Magdalene. This is one of the earliest brick churches in the country. It is in a peaceful setting on the edge of the village green. It is essentially of the 18th century, but has a 19th-century apse.
Near the village
The local Wildlife Trust manages a small nature reserve north of the village at Sallowsprings (51°51’21"N, -0°32’21"W).[2]
Whipsnade Park Golf Club is nearby, between here and Dagnall.
Whipsnade Zoo is close by the village, a zoological garden managed by the Zoological Society of London, who own London Zoo. A hill figure can be found in the hills shaped like a lion, a figure carved for Whipsnade Zoo. During the Second World War, this chalk image (on Bison Hill) was covered with a black sheet in order not to attract attention from the German bombers.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Whipsnade) |
References
- ↑ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/677, in 1430; 4th entry, end of line 3
- ↑ Wildlife Trust, Sallowsprings.