Sharnbrook

Sharnbrook
Sharnbrook
 Sharnbrook shown within Bedfordshire
Population 2,293 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceTL001885
Unitary authorityBedford
Ceremonial countyBedfordshire
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BEDFORD
Postcode district MK44
Dialling code 01234
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentNorth East Bedfordshire
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire

Coordinates: 52°13′00″N 0°32′00″W / 52.2166°N 0.5333°W / 52.2166; -0.5333

Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.

The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey[2] but was probably first developed in Saxon times. The oldest surviving building, St Peter's Church, is Norman. The name is believed to be derived from the Anglo Saxon word sharn meaning dung.[3] Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed of the local oolitic limestone, also used in other traditional north Bedfordshire settlements.

Situated just north of a loop in the River Great Ouse and almost due north of Bedford, the village has developed as a ribbon-settlement running south-east to north-west, with the core of the community clustered at the north-western end.

Education

The village has two schools, the larger of which Sharnbrook Upper School and Community College has a campus on the west of the village, serves a wide area and was attended by the marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, who opened the Paula Radcliffe Sharnbrook Community Sports Centre named after her in April 2005. This Community Sports Centre is not only for students but also serves the wider local community of North Bedfordshire with sporting facilities. Students are aged from 13 to 18 and take both GCSE and A Level exams. The village's other school is John Gibbard Lower School which caters for young children aged from 3–9 years old who live in the immediate area and is one of the feeder schools for Margaret Beaufort Middle School which is located in the nearby village of Riseley.

Industry

Another major presence is the multinational company Unilever which has a research centre on the north-western edge of the village. This uses the grounds of Colworth House, originally built in the early 17th century and rebuilt in its present form by 1774 as a private house. The house itself is used as office space, with modern laboratory buildings beside and behind it. The site is being turned into a science park for use by a number of companies.

Sport

Sharnbrook is home to Sharnbrook Women's Football Club[4] which was established in 2002. SWFC currently play in the Beds and Herts Division 1. The club's honours include the 2006/7 Beds and Herts league and cup double and the 2015/16 Beds and Herts Division 2 league title. The team currently play on a Sunday afternoon and wear blue and red vertical striped shirts with interchangeable blue and red shorts and socks.

Transport

Sharnbrook railway station opened in 1857, but was closed in 1960.

Literature

Sharnbrook is the village where the prototype of Uncle Silas, Joseph Betts, the protagonist of H.E. Bates's My Uncle Silas lived.

Britain's youngest father

In 1998, Sharnbrook resident Sean Stewart become the youngest father in Britain at only twelve years of age. He lived next door to the mother of his child, who was four years older than he. The child was conceived when the pair were only 11 and 15. The girl said Stewart had told her he was her age when they started going out.[5] Some also consider Stewart to be the youngest father ever recorded.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "The hundred of Willey: Introduction - British History Online". british-history.ac.uk.
  3. ↑ "Parishes: Sharnbrook - British History Online". british-history.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ "Home". sharnbrookwomensfc.co.uk.
  5. ↑ Kate Watson-Smyth (20 January 1998). "Sean, 12, is the youngest father". independent.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Who is the youngest father – Kgb Answers". kgbanswers.com. February 2, 2012.
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