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Ampthill, Bedfordshire

Ampthill
Ampthill market place.jpg
Ampthill town centre with clock tower (1852) and market place
Ampthill is located in Bedfordshire
Ampthill
Ampthill
Ampthill shown within Bedfordshire
Population 6,769 
7,028 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference TL035375
• London 40 mi (64 km) SE
Civil parish
  • Ampthill
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BEDFORD
Postcode district MK45
Dialling code 01525
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire
52°01′35″N 0°29′26″W / 52.0263°N 0.4906°W / 52.0263; -0.4906Coordinates: 52°01′35″N 0°29′26″W / 52.0263°N 0.4906°W / 52.0263; -0.4906

Ampthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 7,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.

The name 'Ampthill' is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The first settlement was called 'Aemethyll', which literally means either 'ant-heap' or 'ant infested hill'. In the Domesday Book, Ampthill is referred to as 'Ammetelle', with the landholder in 1086 being Nigel de la Vast. The actual entry reads: Ammetelle: Nigel de la Vast from Nigel d'Aubigny. A further variation may be 'Hampthull', in 1381.

In 1242, King Henry III confirmed the right to hold a market on Thursdays. These continue more than 750 years later.

Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to Ampthill Castle, and it was there that Catherine of Aragon lived from 1531 until divorced in 1533, when she was moved to Kimbolton. The castle was built in the 15C by Sir John Cornwall, later Lord Fanhope, from ransoms after the Battle of Agincourt. Although the Castle is now gone, some intriguing indications of castle life remain- such as the local ponds (Westminster pond being one) allegedly built to supply the castle with regular supplies of fish.

In the mid-1780s, John Fitzpatrick, the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, led a campaign to improve the town centre. He created the current market place, erected the water pump and built a new clock tower. Lord Upper Ossory was also responsible for a cross commemorating Catherine of Aragon, with an inscription by Horace Walpole, and a row of thatched cottages built between 1812 and 1816 to house his estate workers.


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