Chicksands
| Chicksands | |
|---|---|
| Population | Expression error: "2,120 (est.)[1]" must be numeric |
| OS grid reference | TL124389 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHEFFORD |
| Postcode district | SG17 |
| Dialling code | 01462 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Chicksands is a village in the Mid Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands. It is on the River Flit. Nearby places are Shefford, and Campton.
Chicksands was the site of RAF Chicksands, an RAF station during World War II. The station was used by the United States Air Force from 1950 to 1995. It was the location for its first huge FLR-9 direction finding antenna from 1963 to 1995. It is now home to the Joint Services School of Intelligence, the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, the Defence Special Signals School and the British Army's Intelligence Corps.
Mid Bedfordshire District Council relocated to a new office building on a part of the former RAF Chicksands sportsfield, adjacent to the A507, having previously been based in offices at Ampthill and Biggleswade. The new office, named Priory House, was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 22nd November 2006 accompanied by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
Chicksands is also home to a managed mountain biking area.[2] This includes a variety of riding, from cross country to dirt jumping.
Chicksands Priory
The Gilbertine priory of Chicksands was founded about the year 1150 by Rohese, countess of Essex, and her second husband Payn de Beauchamp, baron of Bedford. Payn and Rohese de Beauchamp endowed the priory at its foundation with the church of Chicksands and lands attached. The Priory was of the Gilbertine Order, a religious order formed by Gilbert of Sempringham (c1083-1189). It was only one of nine religious houses in England that housed both nuns and canons. The men and women lived in different buildings and were separated in church by a screen. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, the Priory passed to the Snowe family, Thomas Wyndham, and then in 1576 to the Osborn family, who owned it for 400 years. Elements of the original building remain, but it has been altered over the years, not least in 1813 by the architect James Wyatt, who designed the entrance hall, staircase and porch in the Gothic Style.
In 1936 Chicksands Priory estate was leased to the RAF and in 1950 the USAF took over and continued on the site until 1998. Chicksands Priory is a Grade II listed building.
References
External links
- Images
- Other
- Chicksands on Placeopedia See nearby places with Wikipedia articles
- Chicksands Offices - Mid Beds District Council