Brief History

1066: Earl Gyrth, Lord of the Manor, killed at the Battle of Hastings along with his brother King Harold. William the Conqueror grants the vacant manor to his niece Judith

1100: Judith commissions All Saints parish church

1237: The manor of Kempston split between the three sisters of John le Scot after many disputes. The eldest sister, Margaret took Kempston Daubeney, the second sister Isobel took Brucebury (afterwards known as Draytons) and the third sister Ada, took Kempston Hastingsbury

1570: All Saints parish register started

1671: Kempston comprised of 150 houses with a population in the region of 750 people

1719: Cottages at Kempston Church End converted to a workhouse (which remained in use until 1836 when people were sent to the Union Workhouse in Bedford). In 1850 the building was converted into four cottages

1826: A fire destroys forty houses in the High Street including part of the King William public house

1844: Church End School built during the incumbency of Rev. Henry Clutterbuck

1854: Up End School built by the Rev. H. J. Williams

1860: Kempston West Methodist Church opened in the High Street, following the closure of the Bell End Chapel which did not prove large enough

1861: Population of Kempston is 2,191

1863: A Saxon cemetery uncovered with treasures found such as a tall green drinking glass, beads, bracelets, ornaments, tools and weapons. One grave had pieces of crystal and fine glass, a carbuncle set in gold casing and a necklace of over a hundred beads

1866: Company founded that led to the building of the County School in Ampthill Road

1868: St John’s Church consecrated (in St. John’s Street). The church cost ?2,700 to build. It was demolished in 1965 after being empty for some time

1876: Kempston Barracks completed

1884: Kempston Rovers Football Club founded

1889: Bedford Road School built

1895: Crystal Electric Lamp Company Ltd. established by Frank Naylor in Woburn Road, later renamed Cryselco Ltd.

1896: First meeting of Kempston Urban District Council held in Bedford Road School.

1904: A fire breaks out in the Half Moon Inn, near Water Lane, destroying what was probably a Tudor hostelry

1904: Kempston East Methodist Church opened

1907: A volunteer fire brigade formed. It was reliant on subscriptions and fundraising in order to pay for expenses including uniforms and equipment. In 1934 Kempston Urban District Council took it over

1920: Cosmic Crayon Company moved to Ampthill Road from Letchworth. It was originally housed in the County School

1934: The North Bedfordshire Review Order extended Kempston Urban District Council to include parts of the parishes of Elstow and Kempston Rural

1939: Work on Grange Camp started (now known as Hillgrounds). This was used initially as a training camp for troops used in the Second World War. Later it became a convalescent depot and an emergency evacuation unit

1940: Church of the Transfiguration consecrated. It was designed by Harrold Gibbons in 1929 and is a late example of the Arts and Crafts movement

1944: Railway traffic on the Bedford - Bletchey line stopped for eight hours when a tank went out of control and smashed through the stone parapet on Cow Bridge. None of the crew were seriously injured (Bedfordshire Times, 31 March 1944, p.7)

1946: Gordon Fraser Gallery Ltd. opens a factory on the Chantry Estate

1950: The extension to the war memorial opposite Kempston Barracks opened by Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

1954: Balliol County Primary School opened

1958: The Regimental Depot of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment is closed at Kempston Barracks

1960: Robert Bruce School opened

1976: A hoard of silver coins deposited c. AD 395 discovered during house building on the Hillgrounds estate

1992: A Roman villa and a Saxon cemetery excavated near All Saints' church

1993: Public houses in Kempston recorded as 'The Duke' (Woburn Road), 'The Fox and Hounds' (High Street), 'The Half Moon' (High Street), 'The King William IV' (High Street), 'The Mulberry Bush' (Orchard Street), 'The Royal Oak' (Woburn Road), 'The Smith Arms' (Margetts Road), 'The Wellington' (Bedford Road)