Arlesey | |
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Parish Church of St Peter - Church End, Arlesey |
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Arlesey shown within Bedfordshire | |
Population | 5,690 5,584 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | TL190357 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ARLESEY |
Postcode district | SG15 |
Dialling code | 01462 |
Police | Bedfordshire |
Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
Arlesey is a town and Civil Parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station provides services to London, Stevenage and Peterborough. The Domesday Book mentions Arlesey.
The population of Arlesey was 5,584 in 2,344 households in the 2011 census. In the census of 2011, 94.0% of people described themselves as white, 2.2% as having mixed or multiple ethnic groups, 2.9% as being Asian or British Asian, and less than 1.0% as having another ethnicity. In the same census, 55.8% described themselves as Christian, 34.6% described themselves as having no religion, 6.8% did not specify a religion, 1.2% described themselves as Sikh, and 1.7% described themselves as having a different religion.
Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows, adjacent to Arlesey railway station, is a nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, together with Arlesey Conservation for Nature.
The Arlesey Bomb fishing weight was developed by angler Dick Walker to catch specimen perch from the local chalk pits.
Arlesey had a thriving brick making industry through to the mid twentieth century. As of 1900 there were five brickworks around the town. They were known for the Arlesey White bricks produced from Gault clay. Bricks have not been produced there since 1992. Some clay pits have been used for landfill and others are now lakes. On the south east side of the town there were two chalk pits operated by the Portland Cement Company. The Blue Lagoon is now used for sailing and the Green Lagoon for fishing.