Location within the British Isles

Ampthill is a small town in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Mid Bedfordshire District Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1802x2589, 189 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1802x2589, 189 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The British Isles consist of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of much smaller surrounding islands. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ... Luton is a town and local government district in England, located 33 miles (50km) north of central London. ... Mid Bedfordshire is a local government district in Bedfordshire, England. ...

Geography

Ampthill is located at 52°02′00″N, 00°30′00″W (52.0333, -0.5000)¹, and at Grid reference TL035375. A gazetteer is a geographic dictionary index; a combination atlas/almanac. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ...

History

The church of St Andrew ranges in date from Early English to Perpendicular. It contains a monument to Richard Nicolls (1624-1672), who, under the patronage of the duke of York, brother to Charles II., to whom the king had granted the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland, received the submission of its chief town, New Amsterdam, in 1664, and became its first English governor, the town taking the name of New York. Nicolls perished in the action between the English and Dutch fleets at Solebay, and the ball which killed him is preserved on his tomb. Houghton Park, in the vicinity, contains the ruins of Houghton House, built by Mary, countess of Pembroke, in the time of James I. To this countess Sir Philip Sidney dedicated the Arcadia. Salisbury Cathedral, built c. ... Winchester Cathedral The Perpendicular Gothic period (or simply Perpendicular) is the third historical division of English Gothic architecture, and is so-called because it is characterised by an emphasis on vertical lines; it is also known as the Rectilinear style, or Late Gothic. ... Richard Nicolls (born 1624 in Ampthill, Bedfordshire; died May 28, 1672 on the North Sea, off Suffolk) was the first American colonial governor of New York. ... Dutch Revival buildings from the early 20th century on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan recall the Dutch origins of the city. ... Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (November 30, 1554 – October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Ages most prominent figures. ...

The church also contains a ring of eight bells. There were six until 1981, when the two new bells were installed. Bell has a range of meanings: A bell is a simple sound_making device, including Tubular bells and cowbells. ...

Ampthill Park became in 1818 the seat of that Lord Holland in whose time Holland House, in Kensington, London, became famous as a resort of the most distinguished intellectual society. In the park a cross marks the site of Ampthill Castle (the castle no longer exists), the residence of Katherine of Aragon (in 1533) while her divorce from Henry VIII. was pending. A commemorative inscription on the cross was written by Horace Walpole. The recently-widowed young Catherine of Aragon, by Henry VIIs court painter, Michael Sittow, c. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, more commonly known as Horace Walpole, (September 24, 1717 – March 2, 1797), was a politician, writer and forerunner of the Gothic revival. ...

John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress was loosely based on his journey between Bedford and Luton jails. The (now ruined) Houghton House was the model for John Bunyan's "House Beautiful" in The Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyan. ... The Pilgrims Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published 1678) is an allegorical novel. ...

Notable 20th century architect Sir Albert Richardson lived in Ampthill from 1919 until his death in 1964 at Avenue House, 20 Church Street. Among his last projects was the building housing Mid Bedfordshire District Council (formerly the Ampthill Rural District Council offices), at 12 Dunstable Street (1963-1965). (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Sir Albert Edward Richardson (19 May 1880-3 February 1964) was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century. ... Location within the British Isles Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire, with a population of 33,805 (2001 census). ...

Ampthill Park was the burial place for the golden hare in the Kit Williams treasure hunt Masquerade. Kit Williams is the author of Masquerade (Jonathan Cape, London, 1979, ISBN 0224016172), a pictorial story book which contained clues to the location of a genuine valuable golden hare buried by Williams, and witnessed by Bamber Gascoigne, somewhere in Britain. Kit Williams said: If I was to spend two years... Masquerade is a children’s book, written and painted by Kit Williams, which sparked a worldwide treasure hunt by concealing clues to the location of a jeweled golden hare, created and hidden somewhere in the British Isles by Williams. ...

External links:

• Town Website
• Town's History Site
• Ampthill Ringers Website

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.