Bedfordshire 
Contents 
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
OAKLEY, a parish forming, with the parishes of Clapham and Milton-Ernest, a detached portion of the hundred of STODDEN, county of BEDFORD, 4 miles (N. W.) from Bedford, containing 486 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £8.14.9., endowed with £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, contains an ancient altar-tomb, and effigy in robes, of the family of Reynes.
[A Topographical Dictionary of England - Samuel Lewis - 1831]
The 1851 Census Index for Oakley can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 1, Book 3 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
Church of England
The church of St. Mary is an ancient edifice of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, porch and a western embattled tower, containing a clock and 5 bells: under a canopy in the south wall is a mutilated recumbent figure : the chancel retains a piscina, and in the churchyard are the remains of a cross. The register dates from the year 1560.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Kindly transcribed by Patrick Benham here is a presentation note given to his wife's greatgrandfather, Alfred Chappell, on the occasion of his leaving the parish of St Mary's, Oakley, in April 1897. It names the choir, curate, organist, parish clerk and a number of members of the congregation - 34 people in all.
Non-conformist
Here is a Primitive Methodist chapel, erected in 1878, with 120 sittings.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Church of England
The parish record transcripts for St. Mary are available on microfiche for the period 1560-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
The manufacture of pillow lace and rush plaiting is carried on. The charities are small. Portions of the parish lie very low, and consequently if there is any influx of water it is inundated as was the case in November, 1823, when the water rose 6 feet above the roads and 16 feet above the customary level of the mill pool; another flood, Nov. 1852, did serious damage both in this and the surrounding villages; and again in 1876. From the summit of Oakley Hill, an elevated landscape is extensive and very beautiful. Oakley House is a modern brick mansion, charmingly situated in grounds of about 40 acres, on the east bank of the river Onse, and commanding an exquisite view over a fine vale of pasture; it is approached from the high road by a carriage drive, and is surrounded by lawns and shrubberies; it is the property of the Duke of Bedford, lord of the manor and sole landowner.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Find help, report problems, and contribute information.
[Last updated 16 March 2003 Martin Edwards]