Great Denham
| Great Denham | |
|---|---|
 Great Denham
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| Great Denham shown within Bedfordshire | |
| Population | 1,553 (2011 Census) |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BEDFORD |
| Postcode district | MK40 |
| Dialling code | 01234 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Great Denham is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, on the western outskirts of Bedford. The village is the location of Bedford Golf Course.
Great Denham is on the banks of River Great Ouse, in a loop carved out by the river flow. It has evidence of Neolithic settlement as well as Roman and Saxon presence in the form of coins, pottery and other implements.
By the 7th century, the Great Denham area had been absorbed into the Saxon kingdom of Mercia. In 886 the Saxons and Vikings fixed a formal boundary between them, along the rivers Thames, Lea and Great Ouse. Great Denham was thus on the border between the Danelaw and Saxon England, which remained hostile adversaries. England was eventually united as one kingdom. St James Church, just over the border of Great Denham in the neighbouring village of Biddenham, was first constructed in the Norman period.
The Great Denham loop of the river remained undeveloped farmland until the Bedford Golf Course was built in the 1990s, together with a 'golf village', with all roads named after golf courses. It was part of Biddenham parish until April 2007, when the new Parish of Great Denham was created. It covers around 3 km².
There is a small parade of shops on Anglia Way which includes Sainsbury's Local supermarket, a fish and chip shop, a beauty salon and a charity shop. There is a GP surgery located in Kingswood Way. There is currently no pub or community centre, but the golf club has facilities such as a bar and meeting rooms. The Ouse Valley Way footpath runs through the village. A new bridge across the Great Ouse opened in 2010 which connects the village with Kempston.
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Wikipedia