Manshead
Encyclopedia
Manshead was a hundred of Bedfordshire
in England
. It covered an area in the south-west of the county stretching from Salford
to Studham
and from Leighton Buzzard
to Houghton Regis
and Dunstable
.
The hundred was named after a site in Eversholt parish. The area west of the Watling Street
is recorded in the Domesday Book
as the half-hundred of Stanbridge
, and there is also a mention of a hundred called Odecroft which may have covered the area south of the Ouzel Brook. By the early 14th century, these areas had effectively been incorporated into Manshead hundred.
Aspley Guise
, Battlesden
, Chalgrave
, Dunstable
, Eaton Bray, Eversholt, Harlington
, Hockliffe
, Holcot
, Houghton Regis
, Husborne Crawley, Leighton Buzzard
, Milton Bryan
, Potsgrove
, Salford
, Studham
, Tilsworth
, Tingrith
, Toddington
, Totternhoe
, Westoning
, Whipsnade
, Woburn
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....
in 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 covered an area in the south-west of the county stretching from Salford
Salford, Bedfordshire
Salford is a small English village in the county of Bedfordshire, near the large new town of Milton Keynes. It is located near the M1 motorway....
to Studham
Studham
Studham is a village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire. It has a population of 1,125. The parish bounds to the south the Buckinghamshire border, and to the east is the Hertfordshire border. The village lies in the wooded south facing rolls of the Chiltern Hills...
and from Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard
-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
to Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis is a town and civil parish sandwiched between the major towns of Luton to the east and Dunstable to the west. The parish includes the ancient hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell...
and Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
.
The hundred was named after a site in Eversholt parish. The area west of the Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
is recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as the half-hundred of Stanbridge
Stanbridge, Bedfordshire
Stanbridge is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire which lies east of Leighton Buzzard. It also borders the Bedfordshire villages of Hockliffe, Eggington, Tilsworth, Totternhoe and Billington...
, and there is also a mention of a hundred called Odecroft which may have covered the area south of the Ouzel Brook. By the early 14th century, these areas had effectively been incorporated into Manshead hundred.
Parishes
The hundred contained the following parishes:Aspley Guise
Aspley Guise
Aspley Guise is a village and civil parish located in central Bedfordshire, England. It is just over the county border from Woburn Sands in the Borough of Milton Keynes and about by road to Milton Keynes Centre and to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 13.-Notable buildings:The...
, Battlesden
Battlesden
Battlesden is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is just north of the A5, between Dunstable and Milton Keynes. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 38...
, Chalgrave
Chalgrave
thumb|left|Signpost for Chalgrave ParishChalgrave is a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The hamlets of Tebworth and Wingfield are in the west of the parish, with the church and manor in the east. Nearby places are Toddington , Chalton , Houghton Regis ,...
, Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, Eaton Bray, Eversholt, Harlington
Harlington, Bedfordshire
Harlington is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, near the M1 motorway. The nearest town is Flitwick about three miles to the north...
, Hockliffe
Hockliffe
Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 road.It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard...
, Holcot
Holcot
Holcot is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 399 people....
, Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis is a town and civil parish sandwiched between the major towns of Luton to the east and Dunstable to the west. The parish includes the ancient hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell...
, Husborne Crawley, Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard
-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
, Milton Bryan
Milton Bryan
Milton Bryan is a village and civil parish located in Central Bedfordshire. It lies just off the A4012 road, near to its junction with the A5 at Hockliffe. The nearest large town to Milton Bryan is Leighton Buzzard, very closely followed by Dunstable...
, Potsgrove
Potsgrove
Potsgrove is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheep Lane....
, Salford
Salford, Bedfordshire
Salford is a small English village in the county of Bedfordshire, near the large new town of Milton Keynes. It is located near the M1 motorway....
, Studham
Studham
Studham is a village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire. It has a population of 1,125. The parish bounds to the south the Buckinghamshire border, and to the east is the Hertfordshire border. The village lies in the wooded south facing rolls of the Chiltern Hills...
, Tilsworth
Tilsworth
Tilsworth is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It lies to the north west of Dunstable, and the Roman Watling Street forms the north east boundary of the parish of 1200 acres . The village lies on the gault clay, where springs well up just south of a gentle gravelly ridge...
, Tingrith
Tingrith
Tingrith is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located adjacent to the M1 motorway near the large village of Toddington. The nearest major town is Luton, located approximately ten miles to the southeast....
, Toddington
Toddington, Bedfordshire
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England which is situated 5 miles NNW of Luton, north of Dunstable, south west of Woburn and 35 miles NNW of London on the A5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its...
, Totternhoe
Totternhoe
Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England.-Overview:Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fort for many peoples including Romans and Normans...
, Westoning
Westoning
Westoning is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire located about a mile south of the town of Flitwick. It is about two miles north-east of junction 12 of the M1 motorway, and beside the First Capital Connect railway line to London and beyond...
, Whipsnade
Whipsnade
Whipsnade is a small village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, about 2.5 miles South-South-West of Dunstable...
, Woburn
Woburn, Bedfordshire
Woburn is a small Saxon village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway and is a popular tourist attraction.-History:...
Recent use of the name
- When the Manshead Archaeological Society (www.manshead.org.uk) was formed in 1952, the name of the ancient hundred was chosen to embrace the intended area of activity.
- Manshead Upper SchoolManshead Upper SchoolManshead Upper School is a Church of England upper school located on the outskirts of both Caddington and Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. The school is administered by the Dunstable Ashton Foundation....
(www.mansheadschool.co.uk) gained the name after much discussion in 1972 when comprehensive schoolComprehensive schoolA comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
s were introduced in Dunstable.
- Since 2002, the Manshead electoral wardWards of the United KingdomA ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
of South BedfordshireSouth BedfordshireSouth Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.-Creation:...
(now Central BedfordshireCentral BedfordshireCentral Bedfordshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire on 1 April 2009...
) has covered part of Dunstable near to Manshead School.