Welcome to the Elstow Village Website
Contents
(Items printed in green are hyperlinks - click on them to go direct to that page)
Local History Archive
Picture Archive - includes Old Elstow and Modern Elstow albums
Local Events and news
Information about local groups and organisations.
Links to other useful and informative Elstow websites.
If you find any dead links on this website, do please Contact Us,
so that we can correct them.
New Additions
To help you to quickly find any new items that have recently been added to
either the Picture or the History Archives, simply go to the main page of each.
On both, a little way down the page, you will find a section headed;
'Recent changes and additions'
It is also worth checking the News page regularly.
To search the content of this site;
In your browser's Address/Search box, or on google.com,
type in the name/item you seek, plus; 'elstow.weebly'
In your browser's Address/Search box, or on google.com,
type in the name/item you seek, plus; 'elstow.weebly'
A brief History of Elstow
Located on the edge of Bedford, just north of its southern by-pass (A421), Elstow has a long history; there was a settlement here in Saxon times, but it may actually be far older than that, as both Bronze Age (3300BC to 1200BC) and Neolithic items have been found in the local area.
Although some think that the present day name of Elstow derives from the name of the Abbey - the church of St Helena - it is more likely that 'Elstow' evolved from its Saxon name of Elnestou.
From 1075 until 1539 AD, Elstow was home to a thriving Benedictine Nunnery -Elstow Abbey. The present day Parish Church is the remaining half of the former Abbey church. At the rear of the church are the ruins of 'Elstow Place', a mansion formed out of the nunnery cloisters by Sir Thomas Hillersden 4th, after the death of his father in 1632.
The centre of Elstow is a conservation area and is often described as an 'oasis of tranquillity', with it's attractive village green - a pleasant place for a picnic and for children to play in safety.
On the green stands the Moot Hall, a unique medieval building, in that it was a combined market-house/ Manor courtroom, shopping centre and guesthouse. It was built for the nunnery in c 1440-1450 and restored in 1950 to become a museum of 17th century life. The nearby High Street is lined with attractive timber-framed cottages, some dating back to the 13th century. The Red Lion is nearly as old as Moot Hall - the earliest surviving conveyance document for it is dated 1576.
In the 12th century, the nunnery was granted a Royal Charter to hold markets and fairs on the green and surrounding fields. These were huge events - the field where horses and cattle were sold was about 3/4 mile west of the green. On the green now is a stone stump, the remains of the Market Cross which denoted this location as the site of a Chartered Market. The markets took place at the beginning of May and replaced (and Christianised) the existing May festivals which, in origin, were pagan fertility ceremonies. The Charter fairs continued even after the surrender of the Abbey, with cattle trading only ceasing in 1900, when a purpose-built cattle market was constructed on the north side of the Ouse in Bedford. The fairs then continued as small local fetes, until 1925, when Elstow school decided to revive the May Festival.
Many images (both old and modern) of Elstow events, people and places can be viewed in the Elstow Picture Archive.
Elstow is famous for being the birthplace and home of the 17th century non-conformist preacher, reformer and world-famous author of The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan.
The post-Saxon part of the history of Elstow is well documented and easily accessed -much of it on this website's Local History page. There is further historical information on the Moot Hall website and on Bedfordshire Archive's Elstow Community pages.
You can arrange guided tours of Elstow, and/or visits to Moot Hall, by contacting local historian - Clive Arnold, the Curator of Moot Hall.
Although some think that the present day name of Elstow derives from the name of the Abbey - the church of St Helena - it is more likely that 'Elstow' evolved from its Saxon name of Elnestou.
From 1075 until 1539 AD, Elstow was home to a thriving Benedictine Nunnery -Elstow Abbey. The present day Parish Church is the remaining half of the former Abbey church. At the rear of the church are the ruins of 'Elstow Place', a mansion formed out of the nunnery cloisters by Sir Thomas Hillersden 4th, after the death of his father in 1632.
The centre of Elstow is a conservation area and is often described as an 'oasis of tranquillity', with it's attractive village green - a pleasant place for a picnic and for children to play in safety.
On the green stands the Moot Hall, a unique medieval building, in that it was a combined market-house/ Manor courtroom, shopping centre and guesthouse. It was built for the nunnery in c 1440-1450 and restored in 1950 to become a museum of 17th century life. The nearby High Street is lined with attractive timber-framed cottages, some dating back to the 13th century. The Red Lion is nearly as old as Moot Hall - the earliest surviving conveyance document for it is dated 1576.
In the 12th century, the nunnery was granted a Royal Charter to hold markets and fairs on the green and surrounding fields. These were huge events - the field where horses and cattle were sold was about 3/4 mile west of the green. On the green now is a stone stump, the remains of the Market Cross which denoted this location as the site of a Chartered Market. The markets took place at the beginning of May and replaced (and Christianised) the existing May festivals which, in origin, were pagan fertility ceremonies. The Charter fairs continued even after the surrender of the Abbey, with cattle trading only ceasing in 1900, when a purpose-built cattle market was constructed on the north side of the Ouse in Bedford. The fairs then continued as small local fetes, until 1925, when Elstow school decided to revive the May Festival.
Many images (both old and modern) of Elstow events, people and places can be viewed in the Elstow Picture Archive.
Elstow is famous for being the birthplace and home of the 17th century non-conformist preacher, reformer and world-famous author of The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan.
The post-Saxon part of the history of Elstow is well documented and easily accessed -much of it on this website's Local History page. There is further historical information on the Moot Hall website and on Bedfordshire Archive's Elstow Community pages.
You can arrange guided tours of Elstow, and/or visits to Moot Hall, by contacting local historian - Clive Arnold, the Curator of Moot Hall.
Location map
