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Bedfordshire

Nearby places

WYMINGTON

"WYMINGTON, a parish in the hundred of Willey, county Beds, 12 miles north west of Bedford, and 3½ south west of Higham Ferrars. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Ely, value £160. The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, is a structure of the 14th century, said to have been built by John Curteys, lord of the manor, and mayor of the staple at Calais. In the interior are stalls, a stone font, and several brasses."

Census

• The 1851 Census Index for Wymington can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 1, Book 2 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Churches

• Here are photographs of Churches etc. in the parish:
  • St. Lawrence's Church, Wymington.
  • The Wesleyan Reform Church, Wymington.

Church History

• Church of England
  • The church of St. Lawrence is an elegant building of stone in the late Decorated style, rebuilt about 1377, by John Curteys, whose tomb is in the church, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch with parvise and a western embattled tower with clock and crocketed spire, containing 6 bells: the spire is singular and very beautiful, rising from eight arches with open Decorated tracery and pedimental canopies, and the angles are richly crocketed : at the east end of the church are two octagonal turrets, and the whole is embattled to a height of four feet: the chancel, retains very rich canopied, sedilia and a piscina of similar character : the original octagonal font also remains : in the window sill of the south chapel are remains of a once magnificent altar, with a niche and piscina, and in the vestry, anciently the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, is another piscina: much of the old pavement, consisting of squares of polished Purbeck marble, still remains: the church contains some fine brasse s, one of which, to Sir Thomas Bromflete, who was cup-bearer to King Henry V. is considered to be the finest brass in existence of a knight in plate armour; the head of the knight rests on a crested helm; on either side of the figure are shields of arms, and overhead a reversed inscription on brass in two columns, with the date 1430 : alongside, on a similar slab, is a much smaller brass of his wife Margaret (Seynt Jon) 1407, with an inscription on a brass fillet surrounding the slab, and inclosing four sh ields: on the floor under the, chancel arch is a brass 22 inches long, to John Stokys, rector, who died about 1520, clad in eucharistic vestments, and holding the chalice in his hands: under the arch between the lady chapel and the chancel is a fine altar tomb, in good preservation, to the memory of John and Albreda Curteys, who built the church: the upper slab of Purbeck marble has perfect brass effigies of both, under a crocketed canopy, with a shield above; surrounding the whole is an inscribed brass fi llet, with the date of the founder's death, 1391, and that of his wife in 1396 : there is another altar tomb in the north aisle, with inscription on brass, to William Bhitsoe, dated 1609; and there are later memorials to Richard Newcome M.A. rector (1655-1698), Richard Newcome M.A. his son, rector (1698-1732), and the families of Scriven, Clark, Kent, Chapman and Kemshead: there are 70 sittings. The register dates from 1662. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898
• Non-conformist
  • Here is a Wesleyan chapel. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • The parish record transcripts for St. Lawrence are available on microfiche for the period 1662-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Description and Travel

• Pillow lace is made here to a small extent. Goosey's charity of £5 yearly, bequeathed in 1844, is for the poor of this parish and of Poddington; the Rev. Joseph Bentham's, of 10s. yearly, left in 1665, is given to the poor in money at Christmas, In this parish remains of ancient weapons have been found. The trustees of the late Mr. John Goosey, of Kettering, are lords of the manor. The principal landowners are Lord Wantage, the trustees of the late John Goosey, William Clarence Watson esq. J.P. of Colwort h, Sharnbrook, the trustees of John Begot-Striven esq. and the Rev., Wm. Ingham Brooke M.A. vicar of Sibton, Suffolk. The soil is clay; subsoil, sand, clay and limestone. The chief crops are wheat, barley and pasturage. The area is 1,760 acres; rateable value, £9,117; the population in 1891 was 336. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Wymington parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1831 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the Wymington parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,

Military History

• The BFHS Project in conjunction with Roll of Honour contains the Wymington War Memorial transcription for WW1 and WW2 with details of the men found on it