Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England, covering 477 square miles (1,235 km2) between the Chiltern escarpment and the Great Ouse. About 706,400 people lived there at the 2021 census. Bedford is the county town; Luton is much the larger place.
The county has had no county council since 2009. Three unitary authorities run it: Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Borough.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East of England |
| Area | 477 sq mi (1,235 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 706,405 |
| Density | 572 people per km2 |
| County town | Bedford |
| Largest town | Luton (224,958) |
| Councils | Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton |
| Highest point | Dunstable Downs, 243 m (797 ft) |
Towns and Villages in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire has about 260 named towns, villages and hamlets. They are grouped below by the council that covers them.
Bedford
- Backnoe End
- Bedford
- Biddenham
- Bletsoe
- Bolnhurst
- Bourne End
- Box End
- Bromham
- Bury End
- Cardington
- Carlton
- Channel’s End
- Chawston
- Chellington
- Clapham
- Clapham Green
- Colesden
- Colmworth
- Cople
- Cotton End
- Covington
- Cross End
- Duck’s Cross
- East End
- Elstow
- Farndish
- Felmersham
- Gibraltar
- Great Barford
- Great Denham
- Green End
- Hall End
- Harrold
- Hinwick
- Honeydon
- Kempston
- Kempston Church End
- Kempston Hardwick
- Kempston West End
- Keysoe
- Keysoe Row
- Knotting
- Little Barford
- Little Odell
- Little Staughton
- Littleworth
- Lower Dean
- Melchbourne
- Mill End
- Milton Ernest
- Newton Bromswold
- North End
- Oakley
- Odell
- Pavenham
- Pertenhall
- Podington
- Radwell
- Ravensden
- Renhold
- Riseley
- Rootham’s Green
- Roxton
- Salph End
- Scald End
- Sevick End
- Sharnbrook
- Shortstown
- Souldrop
- Stagsden
- Staploe
- Stevington
- Stewartby
- Swineshead
- Thurleigh
- Turvey
- Upper Dean
- Upper Staploe
- West End
- Wick End
- Wilden
- Willington
- Wilstead
- Wixams
- Wood End
- Wootton
- Workhouse End
- Wyboston
- Wymington
- Yelden
Central Bedfordshire
- Aley Green
- Ampthill
- Appley Corner
- Apsley End
- Arlesey
- Aspley Guise
- Aspley Heath
- Astwick
- Barton-le-Clay
- Battlesden
- Beadlow
- Beeston
- Biggleswade
- Billington
- Birchmoor Green
- Blunham
- Bourne End
- Brogborough
- Brook End
- Broom
- Caddington
- Campton Village
- Caulcott
- Chalgrave
- Chalk Hill
- Chalton
- Chapel End
- Chaul End
- Chicksands
- Chiltern Green
- Church End
- Clifton
- Clophill
- Cockayne Hatley
- Cranfield
- Deadman’s Cross
- Deepdale
- Dunstable
- Dunton
- East Hyde
- Easton
- Eaton Bray
- Edworth
- Eggington
- Eversholt
- Everton
- Eyeworth
- Fancott
- Flitton
- Flitwick
- Gravenhurst
- Green End
- Greenfield
- Hall End
- Hanscombe End
- Harlington
- Harlington Wood End
- Hatch
- Haynes
- Heath and Reach
- Henlow
- Higham Gobion
- Hills End
- Hockliffe
- Hollington
- Holwellbury
- Holywell
- Houghton Conquest
- Houghton Regis
- How End
- Husborne Crawley
- Ickwell
- Kensworth
- Kensworth Lynch
- Langford
- Leighton Buzzard
- Lidlington
- Linmere
- Linslade
- Lower Caldecote
- Lower End
- Lower Gravenhurst
- Lower Shelton
- Lower Sundon
- Marston Moretaine
- Maulden
- Meppershall
- Millbrook
- Millow
- Milton Bryan
- Moggerhanger
- Newmill End
- Newton
- Northill
- Old Linslade
- Old Warden
- Oldhill Wood
- Pegsdon
- Pepperstock
- Potsgrove
- Potton
- Pulloxhill
- Ridgmont
- Salford
- Sandy
- Seddington
- Sewell
- Sharpenhoe
- Sheeplane
- Shefford
- Shillington
- Silsoe
- Slip End
- Snow Hill
- Someries
- Southill
- Speedwell
- Stanbridge
- Stanford
- Steppingley
- Stondon
- Stotfold
- Stotfold Common
- Stratford
- Streatley
- Studham
- Sutton
- Tebworth
- Tempsford
- Thorn
- Thorncote Green
- Thrales End
- Tilsworth
- Tingrith
- Toddington
- Totternhoe
- Upper Caldecote
- Upper Gravenhurst
- Upper Shelton
- Upper Stondon
- Upper Sundon
- Wardhedges
- Water End
- Well Head
- West Hyde
- Westoning
- Wharley End
- Whipsnade
- Wingfield
- Woburn
- Wood End
- Woodbury
- Woodside
- Wrestlingworth
Luton
- Biscot
- Bramingham Park
- Bury Park
- Farleygreen
- Hart Hill
- Leagrave
- Lewsey
- Limbury
- Luton
- Marsh Farm
- Park Town
- Round Green
- Stopsley
- Stopsley Common
- Sundon Park
- Warden Hill
Geography
Bedfordshire is small and mostly farmland. Northamptonshire lies to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south-east and Buckinghamshire to the west.
The southern edge is the chalk ridge of the Chiltern Hills, which reaches 243 metres on Dunstable Downs, the highest ground in the county. North of the ridge the land falls into the Great Ouse basin. The Ouse loops through Bedford, Great Barford and Willington; the Ivel, Flit and Lea drain the south, the Lea rising near Luton before turning towards London.
Greensand ridge country between Woburn and Sandy carries most of the county’s woodland. The clay vales around Stewartby and Marston Moretaine were dug for brick clay for a century, and the flooded pits are now lakes.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 706,405 residents across the three authorities: Luton 224,958, Central Bedfordshire 295,651 and Bedford 185,796. That works out at roughly 572 people per square kilometre, well above the England average.
Luton is the most diverse place in the county, with large Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian and Polish communities built up around the car works and the airport. Bedford has had an Italian community since the 1950s, when the London Brick Company recruited directly from southern Italy; it remains one of the largest concentrations of Italian descent in Britain.
Economy and Local Life
London Luton Airport is the single biggest economic engine, handling passengers and freight and supporting thousands of jobs on the ground. Luton also keeps a van plant, the long-running successor to Vauxhall’s car works.
The M1 corridor between Luton and Milton Keynes is lined with distribution sheds. Cranfield University, north of Woburn, specialises in aerospace and manufacturing research and runs its own airfield. Elsewhere the county farms arable land and market-garden crops, and Biggleswade and Sandy still trade on their vegetable-growing history.
Visitors come for Woburn Abbey and its safari park, Whipsnade Zoo on the downs, Center Parcs in Woburn Forest and the Shuttleworth Collection of historic aircraft at Old Warden.
History
The shire is first named in 1011, taking its name from Bedford, the fortified crossing of the Great Ouse. John Bunyan, born at Elstow in 1628, wrote most of The Pilgrim’s Progress while imprisoned in Bedford.
Luton grew on straw plaiting and hat making, which employed most of the town’s women by the 1850s, then on car building from 1905. Dunstable sits where Watling Street crosses the Icknield Way, a junction that made it a coaching town.
Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in April 2009 and its area split between Bedford Borough and the new Central Bedfordshire. Luton had already become a unitary authority in 1997.
Getting There
The M1 runs the length of the county, junctions 9 to 14, and the A1 skirts the eastern side through Sandy and Biggleswade. The A5 follows Watling Street through Dunstable, the A6 links Luton to Bedford, and the A421 connects Bedford to Milton Keynes and the M1.
Thameslink trains on the Midland Main Line stop at Bedford, Flitwick, Harlington, Leagrave, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway, running through central London to Brighton. East Coast Main Line services call at Sandy and Biggleswade, and Leighton Buzzard sits on the West Coast Main Line. London Luton Airport has its own rail link from the Parkway station.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Bedfordshire?
706,405 at the 2021 census, split between Central Bedfordshire (295,651), Luton (224,958) and Bedford (185,796).
What is the largest town in Bedfordshire?
Luton, with 224,958 people in the borough. Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Biggleswade follow.
Which councils cover Bedfordshire?
Three unitary authorities: Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Luton Borough Council. The county council was abolished in 2009.
How many towns and villages are in Bedfordshire?
Around 260 named settlements, from the town of Luton down to hamlets such as Wick End and Rootham’s Green.
What are the postcode areas for Bedfordshire?
Mainly LU for Luton and Dunstable, MK for Bedford and the west, and SG for Biggleswade, Henlow and the south-east.