Kempston, Bedfordshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1866.

KEMPSTON:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1866.

"KEMPSTON, a parish and a village in the district and county of Bedford. The village stands on the river Ouse, 2½ miles SW of Bedford railway station; and has a post-office under Bedford. The parish comprises 5,160 acres. Real property, £10,868. Pop. in 1851, 1,962; in 1861, 2,191. Houses, 478. The property is much subdivided. The manor-house is the seat of the Williamsons; Hoo House, of Barnard Talbot, Esq.; Kempston House, of Capt. B. Newland; and the Grange, of H. Littledale, Esq. Springfield House, standing on a plot of 18 acres, is a private lunatic asylum. Roman coins, an ancient spur, and indications of a large Saxon cemetery have been found. Kempston Wood is a meet for the Oakley hounds.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £350. Patron, J. D. Allcroft, Esq. The church is partly Norman; has decorated clerestory, aisles, and S porch; has a tower partly Norman, partly later; was restored in 1864; contains a decorated font; and has, in its N wall, a remarkable monumental slab. There are chapels for Baptists, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, a national school, and charities £46. An extensive Saxon burying-place was recently discovered, containing a large number of skeletons, an ancient British coin, two coins of Constantine, a variety of weapons, a unique drinking-cup, and great variety of Saxon ornaments."