Melchbourne Bedfordshire Family History Guide
Melchbourne is an Ancient Parish in the county of Bedfordshire.
Status: Ancient Parish
Alternative names: Melchbourn
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1706
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602
Nonconformists include: Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
MELCHBOURNE, a village and a parish in the district and county of Bedford. The village stands 2 miles E of the boundary with Northampton, 5 NNE of Sharnbrook r. station, and 5½ ESE of Higham-Ferrers; and was once a market-town. The parish comprises 2,574 acres. Post town, Higham-Ferrers. Real property, £3,170. Pop., 251. Houses, 52.
The property belongs to Lord St. John. Melchbourn Hall is Lord St. John s seat; was built about the time of James I. or Charles I.; has been modernized in the front; and stands in a fine park of about 400 acres. A preceptory of Knights Hospitallers was founded here in the time of Henry I., by Alice, Countess of Pembroke; was given, by Queen Elizabeth, to the Russells; and has left some remains.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £150. Patron, Lord St. John. The church is modern; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower; and contains a brass of 1377, and two monuments to the St. Johns.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Registers
Melchbourne Parish Registers 1602-1812
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Bedfordshire Historical Directories
Maps
OS Grid Reference: TL0275965824 (all-numeric format: 502759 265824)
Administration
- County: Bedfordshire
- Civil Registration District: Bedford
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Eaton
- Poor Law Union: Bedford
- Hundred: Stodden
- Province: Canterbury