GenUKI Contents

Bedfordshire

PODINGTON

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"PODINGTON, (or Puddington), a parish in the hundred of Willey, county Bedford, 5 miles from Wellingborough, its post town, and 4 north of Harrold. The village, which is of small extent, is wholly agricultural. The parish includes the hamlet of Hinwick. The soil is chiefly a strong loam, intermixed with clay. There is a petrifying spring, and small shells and fossils are found in the gravel pits. Canary birds are found to live here in a wild state. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1765. The living is a vicarage (with parsonage and glebe) in the diocese of Ely, value £134. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a spired tower containing a clock and four bells. The church has been recently thoroughly restored. The interior contains some brasses, one of which is to J. Howard, bearing date 1518, also a monument to General Livesay, at whose expense the church was erected. There is a National school. Hinwick House and Hinwick Hall are the principal residences. R. L. Orlebar, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner.

• "HINWICK, a hamlet in the parish of Podington, hundred of Willey, county Bedford, 4 miles north west of Harrold. The principal residence is Hinwick Hall, built about 1710 by General Livesay."

[The above was transcribed (and edited) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2023

Census

• The 1851 Census Index for Podington can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 1, Book 2 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Churches

• The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Podington.

Church History

• Church of England
  • The church of the Virgin Mary is a handsome edifice of stone, in the Transitional, Early English and later styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, south porch and a western tower of Early English date, with crocketed Perpendicular spire, containing a clock and 4 bells: the chancel retains an Early English piscina, and in the north wall are four sepulchral arches, two semi-circular and the others pointed, but now blocked with memorials to the families of Payne and Child: the carving of the porch door, Perpendicular, is unusually rich: in the church is a monument to General Livesay, 1717, a descendant of Sir Michael Livesay, the regicide, and there are many memorials to the Orlebar family from 1658; of the Childs from 1647, and the family of Payne from 1624: in the nave is a brass effigy with inscription to John Howard, 1518, and in the church and churchyard are inscribed stones to the Rev. William Bamford, vicar, 1734, and the Rev. Oliver St. John Cooper M.A. vicar, 1801 : the porch has been rebuilt and the south aisle re-roofed at a cost of about £220: in 1883 the church was again restored, at a cost of £330: the font is Norman, and its exterior surface exhibits three designs representing the Trinity: the church plate includes a chalice, presented by Elizabeth Livesay in 1707; and there is a black letter Bible, dated 1613: the church affords 333 sittings. The register dates from the year 1662. [Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • The parish record transcripts for the Virgin Mary are available on microfiche for the period 1662-1812 from the Bedfordshire Family History Society.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Podington parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the Podington parish entries from The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1866-9
• A transcript of the Podington parish entries from Kelly's 1898 Directory of Bedfordshire

Military History

• The BFHS Project in conjunction with Roll of Honour contains the Podington War Memorial transcription for WW1 and WW2 with details of the men found on it.