Bedfordshire 
Contents 
Nearby Places
Nearby churches
SHILLINGTON is a village and large parish on the Hertfordshire border, 2¾ miles south-west from Henlow station on the Bedford and Hitchin branch of the Midland railway, 5½ north-west from Hitchin, and 11 south-east from Bedford, in the Southern division of the county, hundreds of Clifton and Flitt petty sessional division, union and county court district of Ampthill, rural deanery of Shefford, archdeaconry of Bedford and diocese of Ely.
The soil is strong clay; subsoil, clay. The crops are cereals of the usual kind. The the population in 1891 was 1,873.
LOWER STONDON, a hamlet of this place, is given with Upper Stondon.
PEGSDON is a hamlet very picturesquely seated 2 miles south among the range of hills which divides Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and fine views of the surrounding counties are obtained from the Beacon Hill. Trinity College, Cambridge, George Charles Gostelow Lockhart esq. of Holwell Bury, and Mrs. Eyre, who is lady of the manor, are the principal landowners. Here is a Wesleyan chapel.
APSLEY END, 1 mile south; UPTON END, half a mile north ; and HOLWELL BURY, 3 miles east, are other places in this parish,
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
The 1851 Census Index for Shillington can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 4, Book 1 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
Church of England
The church of All Saints, standing on an eminence, and forming a very picturesque landmark for the district, is a large and fine example of the Transitional style which intervened between the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, and consists of chancel and nave, both with clerestory, under a continuous roof, aisles extending the whole length of the church and a western tower with plain parapet, rebuilt in 1750, and containing 5 bells: within, the nave and chancel are divided by an arch, and there are corresponding arches across each of the aisles; at the east end of the building rise two square embattled turrets, the wall between, over the east window, being finished with a horizontal cornice displaying the rebus of Matthew Ashton : beneath the chancel is an Early English crypt with groined vaulting, resting on a central pillar: the interior retains some good wooden screen work, with traces of paintings and the roof of the north aisle has been similarly decorated; there is a large slab with fine brass effigy in cope and hood of Matthew de Asscheton, canon of York and Lincoln, and rector of "Schutlingdone," who died Dec. 31, 1400-1: there is another with effigy in Cope to Thomas Partington, rector, and treasurer of York minster. The east window is a memorial to John and Fanny Ferrian Lines, and was placed by their daughter Sarah. The register dates from the year 1560.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Non-conformist
Here is a union chapel, for the use of the Congregationalists and Baptists, and a Wesleyan chapel, erected in 1872; these have large Sunday schools connected with them. At BURY END is a primitive Methodist chapel with 100 sittings.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
Church of England
The parish record transcripts forAll Saints are available on microfiche for the period 1560-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.
The charities consist of the sum of £12 14s. yearly, called "Pilsworth's charity," paid by the Clothworkers Company, and the interest of £300, left by, Samuel Whitbread esq. to four poor widows, occupying almshouses situated in the churchyard. Mrs. Eyre, who is lady of the manor, Charles W. Wilsbere esq. of the Frythe, Welwyn, and Trinity College, Cambridge, are the principal landowners.
[Extracts from Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
There a two Shillington web sites Shillington Village website which is growing constantly and contains some useful information and also Shillington Information site
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[Last updated 10 March 2007 Martin Edwards]