Greenfield, Bedfordshire
Encyclopedia
Greenfield is a small village
about 2 km (1.2 mi) from the town of Flitwick
in Bedfordshire
, England
.
It lies across Flitwick Moor
from the larger town and is on the opposite side of the River Flit
. It forms part of the parish of Flitton and Greenfield
. Due to closures, there is now only one public house
in Greenfield called The Compasses. Having been closed for several years the White Hart pub in Flitton reopened in January 2007 as a Gastro-pub. Two former pubs, a post office, the village store (formerly Cockroft's), and the old village school are now private houses. A new village school was built on Pulloxhill road during the 1960s.
Greenfield was expanded in the 19th century as a Methodist settlement alongside the Church of England
settlement at Flitton. Flitton and Greenfield are essentially contiguous and share a village hall and recreation ground.
The area was once well known as a strawberry producing area, and the fields were full of strawberry plants on either side of the main road. Carts would take the strawberries to Luton until the 1920s when a blight destroyed the crop.
The main street (High Street) has junctions with Pulloxhill road, leading to the village of Pulloxhill, School Lane, the site of the old village school, and Mill Lane, which was until the 1960s a cart route to Maulden and Ampthill.
Mill Lane was named after the watermill that milled wheat and barley corn until the 1960s and was located at the bottom of the lane. The mill was fed by a pond, now a stream at the west side of the lane, and the outflow ran downhill into a ford, that is now a stream that leads to a water pumping station. The mill was built in the mid 19th century. It was derelict from 1956 to 1971 when it was demolished. Local legend has it that the ghosts of two grain-delivery men on a horse-drawn cart can be seen or heard chatting and traveling up the lane at twilight. Also, when the spring rains flood the stream, the millpond returns and it is said that the mill wheel can be heard running and grinding corn.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
about 2 km (1.2 mi) from the town of Flitwick
Flitwick
Flitwick, pronounced , is a small town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.-Location:...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It lies across Flitwick Moor
Flitwick Moor
Flitwick Moor is managed as a nature reserve by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and lies between Flitwick and Greenfield in Bedfordshire....
from the larger town and is on the opposite side of the River Flit
River Flit
The River Flit is a short river in Bedfordshire, England. It flows through Flitwick, then past Greenfield and Flitton, then through Clophill, Chicksands, and Shefford, then past Stanford, before meeting the River Ivel at Langford....
. It forms part of the parish of Flitton and Greenfield
Flitton and Greenfield
Flitton and Greenfield is a civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It consists of Flitton and Greenfield.Flitton and Greenfield are two small hamlets in rural Mid Bedfordshire, situated along the river Flitt and adjoining Flitwick moor....
. Due to closures, there is now only one public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Greenfield called The Compasses. Having been closed for several years the White Hart pub in Flitton reopened in January 2007 as a Gastro-pub. Two former pubs, a post office, the village store (formerly Cockroft's), and the old village school are now private houses. A new village school was built on Pulloxhill road during the 1960s.
Greenfield was expanded in the 19th century as a Methodist settlement alongside the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
settlement at Flitton. Flitton and Greenfield are essentially contiguous and share a village hall and recreation ground.
The area was once well known as a strawberry producing area, and the fields were full of strawberry plants on either side of the main road. Carts would take the strawberries to Luton until the 1920s when a blight destroyed the crop.
The main street (High Street) has junctions with Pulloxhill road, leading to the village of Pulloxhill, School Lane, the site of the old village school, and Mill Lane, which was until the 1960s a cart route to Maulden and Ampthill.
Mill Lane was named after the watermill that milled wheat and barley corn until the 1960s and was located at the bottom of the lane. The mill was fed by a pond, now a stream at the west side of the lane, and the outflow ran downhill into a ford, that is now a stream that leads to a water pumping station. The mill was built in the mid 19th century. It was derelict from 1956 to 1971 when it was demolished. Local legend has it that the ghosts of two grain-delivery men on a horse-drawn cart can be seen or heard chatting and traveling up the lane at twilight. Also, when the spring rains flood the stream, the millpond returns and it is said that the mill wheel can be heard running and grinding corn.