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MOGGERHANGER

MORHANGER (or Moggerhanger) and CHARLTON, a small hamlet, were formed in 1896 into a civil parish from Blunham, under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1894 "; Morhanger is about 1 mile south from Blunham station of the Cambridge branch of the London and North Western railway, 44 north-west from Biggleswade, 6 east from Bedford and a west from Sandy, in the Northern division of the county., Wixamtree hundred, Biggleswade petty sessional division, union and county court district, and in the rural deanery of Biggleswade, archdeaconry of Bedford and diocese of Ely.

The soil is principally gravel; subsoil, gravel. The chief crops are wheat, oats, barley and beans. Market gardening is here carried on to a great extent. The area is 1,800 acres of land and 15 of water; rateable value, £3,047; the population in 1891 with Charlton, was 430.

[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Census

The 1851 Census Index for Moggerhanger 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 ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1860. The church of St. John the Evangelist, consecrated July 31st, 1861, is an elegant building of stone, in the Early Pointed style, and consists of apsidal chancel, nave, aisles and a central tower with pyramidal roof, containing one bell: the church was erected at the expense of the late Mrs. Dawkins, formerly of Morhanger House, as a memorial to her husband, the Rev. E. H. Dawkins (d. 1859), who is buried in the chancel: the chancel windows are stained, and there are memorial windows to Lieut.-Col. H. G. Thornton and Jeremiah Titmas, first parish clerk: the church affords 180 sittings. The register dates from the year 1861.

[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Description and Travel

Morhanger Park is the seat of Richard Mercer esq. who is lord of the manor; the mansion, a building in the Classic style, stands in the contre of a very picturesque and thickly-wooded park; the approaches are lined with some fine elm trees, and the rivers Ivel and Ouse form the boundary. St. John's is the residence of Mrs. Thornton. The principal landowners are Richard Mercer esq. H. F. Dawkins esq. and Arthur Thornton esq. of Bedford.

[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

"The Park" is owned and being restored by The Moggerhanger House Preservation Trust.

Military History


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[Last updated 8 January 2005 Martin Edwards]