Nearby Places

Nearby churches

BLUNHAM

BLUNHAM, a parish (fomerly a market town) in the hundred of WIXAMTREE, county of BEDFORD, 5¼ miles (N.N.W.) from Biggleswade, containing, with the hamlet of Moggerhanger, 945 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's book at £46.2.11., and in the patronage of Countess de Grey. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, contains several ancient monuments to the memory of different members of the families of Longueville and Bromsall. There is a place of worship for Particular Baptists. The market, which was on Wednesday, and a fair on the festival of St. James were granted in 1315. The navigable river Ouse runs on the western, and the Ivel on the eastern, side of the parish. There is a mineral spring, called Poplarwell but the water is not used for medicinal puposes.

[A Topographical Dictionary of England - Samuel Lewis - 1831]

Census

The 1851 Census Index for Blunham can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 3, Book 1 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Church History

Church of England

The church of St. Edmund is a building of sandstone, partly of the Norman period, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and a lofty embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing a clock and 5 bells : in the south wall of the chancel is a monument with recumbent effigy to Susanna (Grey), daughter of Charles, 7th Earl of Rent of that family, and wife of Sjr Michael Longueville, 17th century: there are also memorial slabs to the Bromsall family, including one to Margaretta Bromsall, 1664: the church was restored and entirely reseated in 1860, and in 1862 the organ was considerably enlarged at the expense of Miss Polhill of this place, who also contributed largely to the refitting of the church: the church plate includes a paten of silver given by Dr. Archer, of Blunham, in 1862: there are 350 sittings. The register dates from the year 1571.

[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Non-conformist

There are two Baptist chapels.

[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Peter Holden has researched the link between Our Lady of Messines (Mesen) and the connection with St Edmund's Church Blunham

Church Records

Church of England

The parish record transcripts for St Edmund are available on microfiche for the period 1571-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Description and Travel

• There are two Web sites maintained by people who live in the village of Blunham:
  
  
  • One, maintained by Colin Hinson, contains a short description of the modern village, backed up by over 50 photographs from the year 1905 up to modern times.
    
    
  • The other, maintained by Steve Harris, has some more photographs along with short histories relevant to the village and links to interactive maps showing where the village is.

Directories

• Transcript of the Blunham entry of "professions and trades" in an 1862 Bedfordshire Directory.
• Transcript of the Blunham entry of "professions and trades" in Kelly's 1877 Directory.
• Transcript of the Blunham entry of "professions and trades" in Kelly's 1906 Directory.

Gazetteers

• Transcript of the Blunham entry from Kelly's Directory and Gazetteer for 1877
• Transcript of the Blunham entry from Kelly's Directory and Gazetteer for 1906
• Transcript of the Blunham entry from Imperial Gazatteer of England & Wales, 1866-9, can be found on Craig Pickup's GENOOT site

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