Coordinates: 51°54′14″N 0°31′29″W / 51.9039°N 0.5247°W
| Houghton Regis | |
.png)  Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis shown within Bedfordshire |
|
| Population | 17,000 (est.)[1] |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Central Bedfordshire |
| Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DUNSTABLE |
| Postcode district | LU5 |
| Dialling code | 01582 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | South West Bedfordshire |
| List of places: UK • England • Bedfordshire | |
Houghton Regis (pronounced /ˈhaʊtən ˈriːdʒɨz/) is a town sandwiched between the major towns of Luton to the east and Dunstable to the west. The parish includes the ancient hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its near neighbours of Dunstable and Luton form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area, with a population over 230,000.[2]
Contents |
Ancient history
Relics of Palæolithic man, such as flint implements and the bones of contemporary wild animals, suggest prehistoric settlement. At Maiden Bower within Houghton Regis CP, near Sewell, there is an Iron Age hill fort. This is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey maps.
Maiden Bower has some of the ramparts showing through the edge of an old chalk quarry where there are Bronze age remains of an older Fort. According to W.H. Matthews (Mazes and Labyrinths, 1922), a turf maze once existed at "Maiden Bower".[3]
History
Houghton Regis is considerably older than Dunstable, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book when it was called Houstone.[4] At that time it paid in tax the large amount of three pounds by weight and twenty shillings of blanch silver (to the King)and one ounce of gold for the Sheriff.[5]
Bordered by the Chiltern Hills, the town was once a small village that had its character changed when it was earmarked for a massive "London overspill" estate in the 1950s and 60s. The only remains of the areas around the small village centre are names such as Tithe Farm Road. An indication of the planners' attempts to make the London migrants feel at home is the naming of the local estate roads after London landmarks; Chelsea Gardens is an example. The town lacks identity due to being dwarfed by its much larger neighbours.
Remnants of the town's past are still apparent with, for example, the fifteenth century Parish Church of All Saints (formerly St Michaels) with an excellent example of a Norman tower and the former Squire's residence of Houghton Hall, built in the eighteenth century.
Between the town centre and Dunstable there is the Townsend Industrial Estate, built on the former farm of the same name.
Between the late 1960s & early 1970s many of the high street shops were demolished along with a church to make way for industrial units, many of which have since been demolished themselves. The main shop in town was the Wavy Line store, which has since been used as a motorbike & car showroom.
A fish & chip shop was sited at the entrance to what is now the access into the Co-op; the current fish & chip shop was a splendid toy shop in the 1960s boasting a working model railway in the window.
Modern times
Houghton Regis Town Council organise a Carnival every summer on the Village Green. The town council in 2009 have put work in hand to repair playgrounds at Parkside Lower, and Orchard Close; to begin work to build a small pavilion for bowling and football changing at Moore Crescent; to build a skate park at Tithe Farm recreation ground.
A cycle route runs through the town. The Greenway and the route through Dunstable and Houghton Regis forms part of National Route 6 of the National Cycle Network, which provides walking and cycling routes between Milton Keynes, Luton and London.[6]
Plans for the area
The Highways Agency have had plans out for consultation for two major roads that would relieve Houghton Regis town centre of traffic. The first would be a trunk road (DUNSTABLE NORTHERN BYPASS) joining the A5 to the M1, to the north of Houghton Regis. The second would be a relief road taking traffic from the Woodside Industrial area (situated to the south of Houghton Regis) to either a)from Woodside through Townsend Farm Road and bordering the west of Chalk Hill linking to the A5; b)from Woodside Industrial Estate, eastwards between Sandringham Drive and Wheatfield Road and then northwards to link with a future M1 junction 11a (where Houghton Road meets Luton Road at the M1).[7]
A Luton-Houghton Regis guided busway is to be constructed.[8]
26,000 new homes by 2021 are planned in the former South Bedfordshire area (now part of Central Bedfordshire) and Luton[9] and 43,000 by 2031. 7,000 of these are expected on land adjacent to, and north of Houghton Regis. For the Central Bedfordshire Planning Obligations Strategy, the Council will plan for contributions from housing growth till 2021, of 14,230 houses and 17,000 new jobs.[10]
Political
Houghton Regis Town Council has 14 elected councillors who receive no remuneration. Elections are held every 4 years. In 2007, all 14 elected members were Liberal Democrats.
Central Bedfordshire came into being on April 1 2009. The first ever elections for Central Bedfordshire took place on June 4 2009, when the four places for Houghton Regis were won by the Liberal Democrats.[11]
Timeline
1066: After the Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror took over the Manor of Houghton. He gave the church and its lands to William the Chamberlain
1100: Henry I of England builds a market town on his estate at Houghton in an effort to raise revenue from rents and levies on trade. About 450 acres (1.8 km2) of land were used
1109: A royal residence for Henry I is completed in Houghton. This is called Kingsbury
1121: Henry I gives the church lands in Houghton to his illegitimate son, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
1130: Henry I gives the new market town of Houghton to Dunstable Priory
1153: Robert Earl of Gloucester gives Houghton church and its lands to St. Albans Abbey who continue to own and run them until the dissolution
1340: At this time Houghton was a very impoverished place. When the tax collectors came they found a small impoverished population who had "neither seed to sow, nor oxen to plough"
1538: Houghton Regis Parish Registers started
1652: Henry Brandreth, a rich London merchant, buys Sewell. He later purchased much land in the area including the Manor of Houghton. The Manor remained in the ownership of the family until 1913, when it was sold to Col. Dealtry Part. He built the original Manor House.
1654: The 'Free' School founded by Thomas Whitehead and built on the village green. Thomas Whitehead stipulated that the school be made up of 15 boys from poor families in Houghton and 5 boys from poor families in nearby hamlets. The school has been replaced by Red House Court old people's flats.
1700: Houghton Hall built and completed for Alice (daughter of Henry Brandreth ) and William Millard.
1829: A well was discovered during the building of the Dunstable-Leighton Buzzard railway line. It was at least 120 ft (37 m) deep and was filled with Roman material including pottery, tiles, human and animal bones, burnt wood and ashes. The well was recorded by James Wyatt and W. Monkhouse.
1863: Houghton Regis Baptist Church, foundation stone laid in July 1863. It closed in 1970's and the congregation moved to a new church at Parkside in 1975.[12]
1913: Houghton Hall sold by the Brandreth family to Col.(later Sir) Dealtry Charles Part
1926: A cement plant began operation: it was acquired in 1932 by Blue Circle Industries.
1936: The old 'Kings Arms' pulled down and replaced by the present building.
1958: The Crown beat teams from the Five Bells, the Red Lion and the Chequers in the Houghton Regis beer barrel rolling relay along High Street on May 31.
1964: The tithe barn demolished, as the timbers were too rotten to be preserved. This originally stood on the ground now occupied by the youth centre. It was originally built in the fifteenth century, possibly by Abbot John Moore (1396-1401)
1966: Carry On star Hattie Jacques opened the Bedford Square shopping centre in September 1966.[13]
1969: Parkside Estate built on land east of Sundon Road.
1975: Houghton Regis Baptist Church opens at Parkside, in November.
1976: The cement plant chimneys were blasted, production having ceased in 1971. Although these chimneys were blasted in 1976, the Blue Circle Cement works continued as a shipping depot until the 1990s. The first chimney was blown up and the second demolished with the aid of an enormous steel ball.
1986: New club house built for the Dunstablian's Rugby Club at Bidwell Hill, costing £400,000.
1986: Houghton Regis Community Centre opens on the High Street.
2006: 7th June. Houghton Regis Community Centre burnt down by an arson attack, along with the Co-Op.[14]
2009: Houghton Regis Skate Park opens at Tithe Farm Recreation Ground.[15]
2009: Bedford Square Centre opens. Facilities include library and health services.[16]
References
- ^ Houghton Regis Town Council.
- ^ Luton Population
- ^ http://sacred-texts.com/etc/ml/ml14.htm
- ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.1361
- ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.563
- ^ http://www.sustrans.org.uk/webfiles/leaflets/sewell_greenway.pdf
- ^ http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=129083
- ^ http://www.luton.gov.uk/busway/
- ^ http://www.shapeyourfuture.org.uk/index.html
- ^ http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/images/Planning%20Obligations%20Strategy%20Consultation%20Document_tcm5-20980.pdf
- ^ http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elected_representatives/results/Houghton_Regis/default.aspx
- ^ http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=26725§ionID=5645
- ^ http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=26725§ionID=5645
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/image_galleries/houghton_fire_gallery.shtml
- ^ http://www.groundwork-luton-southbedfordshire.org.uk/default.aspx?page=192
- ^ http://www.dunstabletoday.co.uk/dunstable-news/Book-lovers-flock-to-browse.5632095.jp
External links
- Houghton Regis Town Council official site
- Google people and place name map for Houghton Regis
- Picture the Past ~ HOUGHTON REGIS BYGONES
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