Old Warden
| Old Warden | |
 Old Warden Post Office |
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  Old Warden |
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| Population | 275 (2001) |
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| Civil parish | Old Warden |
| Unitary authority | Central Bedfordshire |
| Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Biggleswade |
| Postcode district | SG18 |
| Dialling code | 01767 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Mid Bedfordshire |
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Coordinates: 52°04′41″N 0°20′28″W / 52.078°N 0.341°W
Old Warden is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, just west of the town of Biggleswade. It has a population of 275.[1] The village grew up under the protection of the Cistercian Wardon or Warden Abbey nearby.
History
Old Warden is part of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree.
The first mention of a post office in the village is in 1873. The post office national archives record the issue to Old Warden in April 1890 of a type of postmark known as a rubber datestamp.[2] The village post office closed on 14 October 2008. It was one of about 2,500 compulsory compensated closures of UK post office branches announced by the Government in 2007.[3]
St Leonard's Parish Church is located in the village.
The village is also noted for being the home of the Shuttleworth Trust, an organisation committed to the preservation of transport artefacts — primarily bicycles, motor cars, and aeroplanes — produced in the early part of the 20th century. The corresponding collection is known as the Shuttleworth Collection. The estate also has buildings and gardens, and a small airfield from which many of the historic aircraft fly during the regular flying displays. The estate, museum, and airfield are open to visitors at a price. The estate is also the home of Shuttleworth College founded in 1944.
For local government purposes it forms part of Central Bedfordshire Council and is within the Mid Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency, whose Member of Parliament is currently Nadine Dorries of the Conservative Party.
Sport and leisure
Both the Greensand Ridge Walk and the Greensand Cycle Way pass through Old Warden.
References
- ↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Mid Bedfordshire Retrieved 29 October 2010
- ↑ Mackay, James A. (1986) Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of England and Wales, p. 285, p. 287, Dumfries: published by the author, ISBN 0-906440-39-4
- ↑ "Proposed branch closure" (2008) Leaflet issued by Post Office Ltd.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Warden. |