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Bedfordshire

Nearby places

ASPLEY-GUISE

"ASPLEY-GUISE, a parish in the hundred of Manshead, in the county of Bedford, 2 miles to the north of Woburn, its post town. It is situated in a hilly and pleasant country on the borders of Buckinghamshire. Fuller's earth was formerly obtained here; but the ancient pit has long been disused, and is now adorned with fine trees. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Ely, value £325, in the patronage of the Duke of Bedford. The church is dedicated to St. Botolph. There is an altar tomb in the chancel with the figure of a knight, and a brass of one of the Guises, to whom the manor belonged, and who had their seat here. Aspley Wood, which is the property of the Duke of Bedford, is one of the finest pieces of woodland now in England. Aspley-Guise House and Aspley House are the principal residences."

Census

• The 1851 Census Index for Aspley Guise can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 4, Book 4 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Churches

• Here are photographs of Churches etc. in the parish:
  • St. Botolph's Church, Aspley Guise.
  • The following Churches have their own websites:
    • St. Botolph's Church, Aspley Guise

Church History

• Church of England
  • The church of St. Botolph is an elegant building in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, with organ chamber and vestry on the north, and a small chapel on the south, clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles and an embattled western tower .with crocketed pinnacles and containing a clock and 6 bells: the south aisle was added and the whole fabric greatly enlarged and restored through the exertions and almost at the sole expense, as well as under the superintendence, of the Rev. John Vaux Moore, formerly rector: the windows, twenty-eight in number, are stained: there is a memorial window in the vestry to E.R.H. the Prince Consort, placed in 1862, and three memorial windows in the south aisle to the Moore family: in the north aisle is an altar tomb, with fine brass effigy, of a knight in plate armour, worn over a hauberk, to one of the Guise family, circ. 1490, from whom the village derives its adjunct; there is also an ancient slab, from which a floriated cross and marginal inscription are lost, but at the foot are figures in brass of a priest kneeling and St. John the Baptist standing, c. 1410, and there is a tomb with life-sized effigy in stone to Sir - de Tyrington, 1400; another marble monument is to the Rev. J. V. Moore: this pulpit is richly carved in oak, representing the principal incidents in the life, of 0ur Lord: the church was restored in 1853, and in 1884 the upper portion of the tower was rebuilt at a cost of £150, and the peaI of 4 bells increased to 6.: the organ was enlarged in 1897; at a cost of £350 : in 1890 the church was entirely restored, an organ chamber, vestries and chapel erected, and the interior reseated at a total cost of £2,200: there are sittings for 325 persons : the burying-ground has been increased by the addition of an acre, situated on the opposite side of the road, the gift ,of the Rev. H. R. Moody, late lord of the manor. The register dates from the year 1563. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
• Non-conformist
  • There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • The parish record transcripts for St Botolph are available on microfiche for the period 1563-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Description and Travel

• Genweb Bedfordshire contains a descriptive page about Aspley Guise.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the AspleyGuise parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1831 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the AspleyGuise parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,

Military History

• The BFHS Project in conjunction with Roll of Honour contains the Aspley Guise War Memorial transcription for WW1 and WW2 with details of the men found on it.

Societies

• The Woburn Sands & District Society, a registered charity, was formed in 1965 to fight against large-scale industrial developments, to protect the rural qualities of the local villages, to put forward the view of its members and to reflect public opinion in the area.
  The primary aim of the Society is to preserve the amenities of Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise and the neighboring villages and hamlets, including Aspley Heath, the Brickhills, Husborne Crawley, Salford, Wavendon and Woburn, and to ensure as far as possible that any development is harmonious with their pleasant rural setting.