Marston Vale
Encyclopedia
Marston Vale is an area of Bedfordshire
. It lies to the south west of Bedford
and Kempston
, down towards the M1 motorway
. Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a division of Hanson plc
. In more recent years the area had become a dumping ground for waste with 2 massive landfills both of which are recently capped and closed down.
Most of the claypits are now exhausted, and most of the brickmaking chimneys have been demolished. The aesthetic and environmental condition of the vale was being restored by a community forest project called the Forest of Marston Vale
. This is being funded in most by business such as Covanta who plan on burning over half a million tonnes of waste each year and building a new and much larger chimney to dominate the skyline. This was opposed by nearly all locals but overridden by a quango prior to its closure.
Villages in Marston Vale include Stewartby
, Kempston Hardwick
, Houghton Conquest, Marston Moretaine
, Lidlington
, Brogborough
, Ridgmont
and Wootton
, and in 2007 construction work began on the new town of Wixams
.
Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 (one hundred and sixty seven!) brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire
produced 20% of England’s bricks. Currently at the Stewartby brickworks there are 2 kilns and 3 chimneys in use, producing a total of 135 millions bricks a year.
The factories used Lower Oxford Clay
, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed. This removed the need to add coal to the fire, as the organic material burned.
Rail transport in the area is served by the Marston Vale Line
.
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....
. It lies to the south west of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and Kempston
Kempston
Kempston is a town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. Once known as the largest village in England, Kempston is now a town with its own town council. It has a population of about 20,000, and together with Bedford, it forms an urban area with around 100,000 inhabitants, which is the...
, down towards the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
. Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a division of Hanson plc
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
. In more recent years the area had become a dumping ground for waste with 2 massive landfills both of which are recently capped and closed down.
Most of the claypits are now exhausted, and most of the brickmaking chimneys have been demolished. The aesthetic and environmental condition of the vale was being restored by a community forest project called the Forest of Marston Vale
Forest of Marston Vale
The Forest of Marston Vale is an evolving community forest in Marston Vale, which runs south west from the towns of Bedford and Kempston in Bedfordshire, England towards the M1 motorway. It is operated by a registered charity called the Marston Vale Trust....
. This is being funded in most by business such as Covanta who plan on burning over half a million tonnes of waste each year and building a new and much larger chimney to dominate the skyline. This was opposed by nearly all locals but overridden by a quango prior to its closure.
Villages in Marston Vale include Stewartby
Stewartby
Stewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
, Kempston Hardwick
Kempston Hardwick
Kempston Hardwick is a small village on the edge of the town of Kempston in Bedfordshire, England. Historically it was one of the hamlets or "ends" scattered across the parish of Kempston. It has a station on the Marston Vale Line which hit the headlines when it was revealed it only has one...
, Houghton Conquest, Marston Moretaine
Marston Moretaine
Marston Moretaine is a large village and civil parish located on the A421 between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It has a population of 3,684, and is served by Millbrook railway station, which is about a mile away, on the Marston Vale Line....
, Lidlington
Lidlington
Lidlington is a small Central Bedfordshire village and civil parish surrounded by farmland, in the Marston Vale. The hamlets of Boughton End and Thrupp End are also part of the parish....
, Brogborough
Brogborough
Brogborough is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, by junction 13 of the M1 motorway. According to the 2001, census it had a population of 343...
, Ridgmont
Ridgmont
Ridgmont is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is located beside junction 13 of the M1 motorway, and close to Milton Keynes and Woburn Abbey...
and Wootton
Wootton, Bedfordshire
Wootton is a large village and civil parish located to the south-west of Bedford, in the north of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlets of Hall End, Keeley Green and Wootton Green....
, and in 2007 construction work began on the new town of Wixams
Wixams
Wixams is a new town in Bedfordshire, England, which has been under construction since early 2007. It is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford after Bedford itself and Kempston, and one of the largest new settlements founded in England since the British new towns...
.
Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 (one hundred and sixty seven!) brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.
In the 1970s 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....
produced 20% of England’s bricks. Currently at the Stewartby brickworks there are 2 kilns and 3 chimneys in use, producing a total of 135 millions bricks a year.
The factories used Lower Oxford Clay
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay is of middle Callovian to lower Oxfordian age and comprises 2 main facies. The lower facies comprises the...
, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed. This removed the need to add coal to the fire, as the organic material burned.
Rail transport in the area is served by the Marston Vale Line
Marston Vale Line
The Marston Vale Line is the railway line from Bletchley to Bedford in England. It is one of two surviving passenger-carrying sections of the "Varsity Line" between Oxford and Cambridge....
.