Old Warden Bedfordshire Family History Guide

OLD WARDEN is a village and parish extending, from 4 to 7 miles north from Shefford, 8 south east from Bedford, and one mile and a half from the Southill station the Bedford and Hitchin branch of the Midland Railway, in the hundred of Wixamtree, union and county court district of Biggleswade, rural deanery of Shefford, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely¹.

Other places in the parish include: Hill.

Parish church: St. Leonard

Parish registers begin:

• Parish registers: 1576
• Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602

Nonconformists include:

Adjacent Parishes

• Cardington
• Haynes
• Willington
• Biggleswade
• Southill
• Cople
• Northill

Old Warden Parish Registers

Search online registers of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials including digitised images of original records and registers and indexed transcriptions.

Baptism Records

These records include indexed transcriptions of parish register baptisms.

Old Warden, Bedfordshire Baptisms, 1576-1885

Marriage and Banns Records

These records include indexed transcriptions of parish register marriages and banns.

Old Warden, Bedfordshire Marriages, 1576-1895

Old Warden Parish Registers 1576-1812

The Old Warden Parish Registers 1576-1812 are available free to read online, with options to download the pdf for personal research

Old Warden Parish Registers 1576-1812 Bedfordshire Parish Registers Edited by F. G. Emmison, Clerk of Records, Bedfordshire. Published under the auspices of the County Records Committee of the Bedfordshire County Council, and of the Ven. the Archdeacon of Bedford. Volume X. Bedford: County Record Office, Shire Hall. 1935.

London Marriage Licences and Allegations

Old Warden London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869

The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.

Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.

Atkins, Thomas, of Lincoln’s Inn, esq., widower, 22, and Bridget Palmer, spinster, 17, daughter of Sir William Palmer, knight, of Warden Street, co. Beds, who consents — at St. Andrew, Holborn, or St. Bride, Fleet Street, London. 11 Oct. 1661. F. 

Bartlett, William, gent., of Ratcliffe, parish of Stepney, bachelor, 23, and Martha Smyth, of Warden, Beds, spinster, 19, consent of parents —at Stepney. 20 Nov. 1678. B. 

Noyse, Richard, of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, gent., widower, about 42, and Mary Rose, of Warden, Beds, spinster, about 23, consent of father, Thomas Rose, of same, gent. — at Shefiord, Beds. 14 Nov. 1662. V.  

Palmer, Thomas, esq., bachelor, about 23, eldest son of Sir William Palmer, of Old Warden, Beds, knight, who alleges, and Elizabeth Edmunds, of St. Andrew, Holborn, spinster, about 17, consent of mother, — Edmunds, widow — at St. Pancras, Kentish Town, Middlesex. 25 June, 1632. V.  

Palmer, William, of Old Wardin, Beds, bachelor. 25, consent of Sir William Palmer, of same, his father, and Elizabeth Clarke, of Tottenham, Middlesex, widow, 25 — at St. Margaret, Lothbury, London. 24 July, 1663. B.

Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887

Old Warden Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

WARDEN, a parish, with a village, in Biggleswade district, Beds; 1½ mile NNE of Southill r. station, and 3½ N of Shefford. Post town, Biggleswade. Acres, 3,330. Real property, £4,760. Pop., 597. Houses, 118. The manor belongs to W. H. Whitbread, Esq. W. House is the seat of Lord Ougley. A Cistertian abbey was founded here, in 1135, by W. L’Espec; and is now a fine ruin. The living is a vicarage, annexed to Southill. The church is good; and there is a national school.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Historical Directory Transcriptions

Directors of Companies

The following people were listed in the Directory of Directors 1881 as directors of companies who were either living in Old Warden or the company was based in Old Warden or both.

Shuttleworth – Mr Joseph_Shuttleworth, J.P., D.L., Hartsholme Hall, near Lincoln, and Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Beds, is a director of the –
Agricultural Hall Company Limited (deputy chairman)
Great Northern Railway Company
Sutton Bridge Dock Company

Old Warden The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869

Parish Clerk William King

National School, Mrs Mary Anne Whiteman, mistress

Baker Rev John Gerrard Andrewes MA vicar Vicarage
Browning Henry esq F.R.G.S. Old Warden park; & 73 Grosvenor street, Grosvenor square, London 10
Ongley Hon George Mount Pleasant
Reynolds Mr Matthew

Barnett Sarah Mrs beer retailer
Bryant John boot & shoe maker

Davis George farmer Hill farm
Dickins David gardener

Fisher John Hare & Hounds inn

Hart John blacksmith
Heading Charles farmer
Heading William farmer

King William shopkeeper

Mantle William carpenter

Neal Robert farmer
Neal William Johnson farm bailiff Sweetbriar farm

Whitteridge Susan Mrs farmer
Woodward George farmer Abbey farm
Woodward Harry farm bailiff Park farm

Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869

Historical Maps

View detailed 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps from the National Library of Scotland Maps – includes OS 25 inch 1892-1918 maps, a vast range of other historical OS maps and land use maps. These maps reveal old street layouts, parish boundaries, and landmarks long since vanished.

Administration

• County: Bedfordshire
• Civil Registration District: Biggleswade
• Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
• Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
• Rural Deanery: Shefford
• Poor Law Union: Biggleswade
• Hundred: Wixamtree
• Province: Canterbury

1. The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869