Timeline

Year

Only one prehistoric site has been found in Ickwell: a group of Bronze Age artefacts comprising three axes or palstaves, including one unusual type with a rib around the socket, and two possible ingots.

100 to 250AD

Two Roman skeletons (some sources give three) were found in Church Field, north-west of Ickwell Green in or about 1845. The skeletons were accompanied by three glass vessels all broken, pottery vessels of Samian ware, and an iron object interpreted as a bracket for hanging a lamp from a wall. Samian ware was high status red gazed pottery made in Gaul from the 1st to mid 3rd centuries AD. More Samian vessels were reportedly found nearby in 1881 and a letter dated 1824 mentions Roman objects found at Northill. These may have come from the same site, or nearby, suggesting occupation and cemetery use.

50AD to 400AD

South-east of Ickwell are the clear cropmarks of a trapezoidal enclosure near to less distinct marks of a possible group of small irregular enclosures. Excavations in 2001 uncovered a number of ditches and pits which spanned the whole Roman period. Domestic refuse in the fills indicated that the features were on the edge of a settlement. The site produced three concentrations of archaeology starting in the mid 1st century with a high level of features dating to the late 1st and 2nd centuries. There was then a period of minimal activity in the 3rd century which picked up in the 4th century when new features were dug and old ones cleaned out or recut.

From the Domesday Book:

In “Wichestanestou” (Wixhamtree) Hundred.

In Northill Pirot holds 1½  hides of Eudo. There is land for 1 plough and there are 3 villans and 1 bordar, meadow for 1 ½ ploughs and 1 mill.

In Northill William Speke holds 6 ½ hides as 1 manor. There is land for 7 ploughs. In demesne there are 4 hides and there are 3 ploughs; and 10 villans have 4 ploughs. There are 4 slaves, and half a mill rendering 13s, meadow for 7 ploughs and woodland for 200 pigs.

In Northill Walter holds ½ hide from Hugh of Beauchamp. Land for ½ plough. Meadow for ½ plough.

First mention of the hamlet of Ickwell (which was not recorded in the Domesday book). The name is believed to derive from “Gicca’s Spring” which might relate to the spring in the grounds of Ickwell Bury.

First owner of Northill Manor. Said to be ‘Pon Trailly’ a Norman Lord who married the heiress of Walter Espec, the founder of Warden Abbey. Some ancient foundations discovered in the walled garden of the Crown Inn are said to be remains of the Northill manor house.

First Rector of St Mary’s Church, Northill was Richard de Loda. Followed in 1252 by Henry de la Suche.

Medieval Fishponds and rabbit warrens were constructed in Home Wood. Probably as part of Northill Manor. The fishponds, used as a way of providing food in the winter, are visible today and are regarded as exceptionally well-preserved examples of the practice.

Building of the present St. Mary’s Church, Northill. It almost certainly replaced an earlier Saxon Church which was followed by a Norman one. The nave is built of dressed stones whilst the Chancel is of inferior quality. It has been speculated that this is resulted from the “Black Death” interrupting the construction with the death of many people and a likely shortage of master masons.

The Black Death. It is often said that Ickwell came into being at the time of the “Black Death” when villagers fled from Northill in an attempt to avoid the plague. (Most likely some villagers from Northill relocated to Ickwell). There is recent evidence that goes some way to support this supposition. In November 1999 15 Ickwell Green underwent extensive renovation and was stripped right back to the original timber frame. A sample of the timber was dated by English Heritage back to 1350 – precisely the year of the “Black Death”!   When originally built it was not a cottage but a hall house which would have belonged to one of the more important local people.

The Old House, on Ickwell Green is said to date from this year.

Northill College. Church was made collegiate by Sir Gerald Braybrooke in order that prayers could be said for the souls of Sir John Trailly and his son Reginald. College dissolved in 1547.

First Bell of present bells was hung in St Mary’s Church. Sancte Gabriel was made in 1510. Later were added:-“Richard Harding et  Anne Harding, 1589”; “Feare God and obey the Prince, 1602”; “Richard Chaundler made me, 1711”; and “Newcombe of Leicester made me, A.D. 16113(sic)”.

Northill College dissolved. During the dissolution, Northill College Manor passed to the Crown and in 1549 it was granted to Sir William Fitzwilliam, who died in 1559.

First record of May Day celebrations at Ickwell.

The Crown, Northill – the earliest parts of the building date from the seventeenth century.

Birth of Thomas Tompion, clockmaker, in Ickwell. Died 1713 and buried in Westminster Abbey.

Will of Dame Margaret Slaney, wife of Sir Stephen Slaney, Knight and Alderman of the City of London bequeathed money in Trust to the Grocers’ Company for “..purchasing , restoring and re-uniting again to the church of some impropriated benefices and parsonages…”

In 1620 “ … the parsonage impropriate of Northill, co. Beds. Was offered to the Company to be sold for performance of the Lady Slaney’s Will..” The impropriation was bought on 21^st June 1620 for £1,600.

The Grocers’ Company restored and improved the chancel of St Mary’s Church, Northill and installed the painted glass by John Oliver.

Non-conformist meeting house. House of Richard Raven at Thorncote is registered as a Congregational place of worship.

John Harvey purchases Ickwell Bury. He was followed by a direct line of descendants and the link with Ickwell was not broken until 1924 when the estate was sold. He subsequently purchased many other properties and land around the Parish.

Ickwell Bury. Is enlarged and rebuilt by John Harvey

Building of Turnpikes.  Toll Houses at Vinegar Hill and Biggleswade. Last London to Bedford stagecoach was in 1864 following the opening of the railway.

Workhouse erected in Caldecote. Cottage and land in Upper Caldecote sold by John Atterton to Churchwardens and overseers of the poor f0r £105/5s to provide for the poor  …”fresh meat for dinner on two days weekly; cheese with bread for supper every night; provide for medical attendance, except for lunatics; to pay for burial of the dead”.

The Rectory, Northill is rebuilt by the Grocers’ Company. “ .. did pull down the old parsonage House and build the present Edifice, principally at the instigation of Mr Eugene Allen, grocer in Whitechapel, Master of the said company  … the affair having been seven years in agitation.”

Enclosure. The Parish was enclosed by Act of Parliament in 1780. The great tithes belonged to John Harvey and the small tithes to the rector.

Worshipful Company of Grocers Fire Buckets. They give 24 buckets to St Mary’s Church, fifteen of which remain in the Church Museum. They are inscribed with the arms of the company and inscribed “The GIFT of the Grocers Company”.

1803

Col Harvey’s Muster. In response to a widespread fear pf a Napoleonic invasion, bands of volunteers up and down the country were raised in readiness. John Harvey, squire of Ickwell raised a volunteer horse artillery detachment. It was known as Major Harvey’s Artillery, attached to the Bedfordshire Dismounted Horse Artillery. Drills were held at Ickwell Bury and at the Barracks, Northill (Bedford Road).

Death of John Harvey Vth whilst out horse riding at Rottingdean, Sussex.

Brick & Tile works in Caldecote Road, Ickwell. This was in operation by 1829 and is shown the 1881 map. Still operating in 1890’s. It was owned by the Harvey family.

The Old House, Ickwell Green is purchased by John Harvey from Lady Madeleine Palmer. In 1842 his Ickwell House (as the Old House was mostly called in the 19^th C) with the rest of the Fish-Palmer estate in the area, was sold with vacant possession to John Harvey. Later bought by the Wells family in 1925.

A Mormon meeting (not common in Bedfordshire) was registered in Thorncote in 1850. It was at premises owned by William Fisher of Potton in the village. A census of worshippers was held on 30th March 1851, known as the Ecclesiastical Census, and the minister, John Spiers, recorded that twenty five people turned out in the morning, sixty three in the afternoon and forty seven in the evening. Interestingly there was also a Mormon meeting in Upper Caldecote|, registered in 1850. Later a building in Upper Caldecote registered by John Sears in 1853.

Lace making and straw plaiting are recorded in the 1851 Census as cottage industries in the parish.

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Upper Caldecote registered as a place of worship.

1858

John Harvey VI added a number of properties to the Ickwell Estate, including Sweetbriar and Highlands Farms (in 1855)| and a farm at Thorncote Green.

Opening of Northill Village School. Given to the village by Mr Harvey and opened by Reverend Pott.  Daily attendance soon reached 100 pupils. Used for Sunday Church services until rebuilding works at the Church were completed.

Major alterations to St Mary’s Church, Northill by Mr A. Woodyer, architect, with half of the cost of £2,163 being met by the Revd. Arthur Pott.

Death of the Rev Arthur S. Pott in a riding accident. He was succeeded as Rector by his cousin Rev Francis Pott. The church at Caldecote was built by the Pott family partly as a memorial to the Rev. Arthur Pott.

1866-1891

Rev Francis Pott is Rector of St Mary’s Northill. He also published a hymn book in 1861 and he contributed a verse to “God Save Our Queen” to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in

1887.

All Saints’ Church, Upper Caldecote. A chapel of ease to the parish church was consecrated on April 16th1869 by the Bishop of Ely. Built by Thomas Warren of Stevenage for £1,700. Of which £1,200 was given by Mrs. Arthur Pott, widow of a former rector. Mr T Harvey of Ickwell Bury gave £1,000 for a site for the church, glebe house and schools. In the afternoon he consecrated the new Northill Cemetery.

Ickwell Maypole. Erection of first permanent pole on Ickwell Green paid for by squire John Harvey. It was put up to Commemorate the coming of age of John Audley Harvey.

Erection of Caldecote Almhouses. Five almshouses were endowed by Mrs Elizabeth Harvey in memory of Edmund and Susan Harvey.

Building of Harvey Hall, Northill – also known as the Iron Room. The Village Hall was built on land given by Squire Harvey in 1887: “To be useful for many purposes of an educational, social and moral kind”. Building costs amounted to £169-19-3, including furniture and fittings £241-15-8. The first event marked the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. New entrance hall, kitchen and cloakrooms opened in 1969 by one of the older inhabitants, Mr William Wagstaff. Iron Room demolished and present hall built in 1974 at a cost of £15,000. Opened by the 1974 May Queen Philippa Bigg.

John Harvey VI died in 1879 and the status of the Bury estate as the Harvey family seat progressively dwindled in the habitual absence of the new squire, John Edmund Audley Harvey, although John VI’s widow and grandchildren continued to live there.

Lynch Gate of St Mary’s Church. Erected in memory of John Harvey of Ickwell Bury “Our good Squire, 1815-1879”.

Ickwell Cricket Club. First record of cricket being played on the Green.

First Parish Magazine is published.

First Meeting of Northill Parish Council.

The Peal of Five Bells was renovated. Tuned, cleaned, quarter-turned and re-hung with new fittings at a cost of £96.

Horton School. Came to Ickwell Bury from Horton Hall Northants. Closed in September 1937. There is a memorial to the old boys who died in World War 1 in St Mary’s Church.

Many people from Northill Parish and also Horton School, Ickwell Bury were killed in the war. There is a memorial in the church.

Dedication of War Memorial on Ickwell Green. On Sunday April 18^th in memory of the 37 soldiers from the village who died in the First World War.

Installation of a new church organ. This was presented to the church by Rev. H.L. Brisay in thanksgiving for the safe return of his two sons from the first World Ward. The previous organ, in the chancel, was dismantled in 1583 as the Puritans objected to “making a joyful noise unto the Lord”. Pipes and case were sold to Squire Harding for 40/- seven years later.

Sale of the Harvey Estate. The Harvey family owned Ickwell Bury for just over 250 years, John Harvey VI sold it, along with the rest of the estate, in 1924. He died three years later. The Bury had been home to Horton Preparatory School| since 1900 and the wife of the headmaster purchased the Bury from the Harveys.

Sale of virtually all the Harvey property in the parish. It was purchased along with adjacent fields by Col. G.H. Wells who was a brewer and Mayor of Bedford in the thirties. He lived in the Old House with his wife Mary until 1939, when they moved to the Bury, rebuilt after the major fire.

Gertrude Jekyll, the well-known garden designer, makes plans for a re-design of the garden of the Old House, Ickwell for Mrs Mary Hayward Wells.

John Harvey VII dies.

Ickwell Bury is burnt down. Said to be the work of a maniac. The fire started a view months after the house had been vacated by Horton School. Colonel George Hayward Wells, then chairman of brewers Charles Wells Ltd bought the estate and rebuilt the house to a smaller scale. On Colonel Hayward’s death the Bury was left to the Bedford Charity for use by Bedford School. The school used the grounds for field studies but had no use for the buildings and, after a seven-year period during which the house stood empty, it was leased to the Yoga for Health Foundation as a residential centre in 1978. This centre closed in 2006, and private homes and businesses now occupy the buildings.

Evacuees from London were placed with families in Northill.

The Old House, Ickwell Green is used as a convalescent home for injured airman in the second world war from 1940-45, after which it was leased as an old people’s home until the early fifties.

1940’s

Highland Farm is requisitioned, initially for evacuee children, “they returned to London within three weeks, as it was too quiet”; and for most of the war Italian prisoners of war were billeted there. Soon after the house became empty, lead was stolen from the roof, windows and marble fireplaces smashed.

The “Sugar Loaf” Public House at Vinegar Hill closed around 1940. It probably opened in around 1859.

A Lockheed Hudson bomber crashed and caught fire at Budna. A crew member, the pilot John Humphrey Allis, is buried in Cardington Cemetery. Four servicemen were killed.

During air raids: a UXB fell in Sheerhatch Wood; a bomb fell in the field behind Village Farm, Thorncote and two bombs fell in Copes Field, Vinegar Hill (near hut at entrance to field track) and incendiary bombs fell in various places.

“Victory Bell” installed in St Mary’s Church. Made by Mears and Stainbank, Whitechapel, London. A local collection was held and people put in coins whilst the bell was being cast.

Opening of the “Coronation Pavilion” on Ickwell Green. This was the original thatched cricket pavilion which was built with money raised by subscription in the villages of Ickwell and Northill. It cost £550, a major part of which was the thatching of the roof at £231. It was built by the club members. Mr Beresford-Wright, who was associated with Stewartby brick works, donated 12,000 bricks.

The Old Smithy on Ickwell Green closes. William Reeks (father of Geoff Reeks) was the blacksmith and it closed when he retired.

“The Queens’ Head” public house in Sand Lane, Northill closed. It was originally a beerhouse dating from about 1828.

“The Barley Mow” public house at Hatch closed.

Major restoration of Highlands Farm completed.

1983

Geoff Reeks awarded the British Empire Medal in 1988 in recognition of his services to cricket. The presentation ceremony took place at the original thatched cricket pavilion at Ickwell on 28^th August 1988 when the Lord Lieutenant of the County Lt.-Col. H C Hanbury NVO MC presented Geoff with the BEM.

Ickwell Cricket Pavilion destroyed by fire.  It quickly burnt down and was rebuilt again (without a thatched roof!) in twelve months. It cost £120,000 to re-build and the club appeal raised £20,000.

Caldecote Church re-roofed by Lee & Son of Bedford for £16,000.

Complete Refurbishment of the Organ in St Mary’s Church.

The “Rose and Crown” Public House, Caldecote was illegally demolished. It is believed that there had been a drinking establishment on the premises since 1776. It was bull-dozed to the ground on a Sunday morning and replace with housing.

2008

The bells of St Mary’s Church Northill underwent a major refurbishment. They were taken down in May 2007, retuned and repaired and rehung in 2008.