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Kempston, Bedfordshire

Kempston
KempstonTownHall.JPG
Kempston Town Council offices
Kempston is located in Bedfordshire
Kempston
Kempston
Kempston shown within Bedfordshire
Population 19,440 (2001 census)
19,330 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference TL035485
• London 54.6 m
Civil parish
  • Kempston
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BEDFORD
Postcode district MK42
Dialling code 01234
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire
52°06′50″N 0°29′49″W / 52.114°N 0.497°W / 52.114; -0.497Coordinates: 52°06′50″N 0°29′49″W / 52.114°N 0.497°W / 52.114; -0.497

Kempston is a town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. Once known as the largest village in England, Kempston is now a town with its own town council. It has a population of about 20,000, and together with Bedford, it forms an urban area with around 100,000 inhabitants, which is the sole significant urban area in the Borough of Bedford. Kempston serves principally as a dormitory town for Bedford.

Until the 19th century Kempston was a mainly rural parish. It was one of the largest in Bedfordshire with an area of 5,025 acres (20 km²) at the time of enclosure in 1804, and was in Redbournestoke Hundred. Historically there was no central village, but instead settlement was divided between a number of hamlets called "Ends", for example, Up End, Bell End, Wood End and Box End. Kempston's parish church, All Saints, was in Church End, which was not the largest end but is fairly central. In the 19th century East End, Bell End and Up End began to coalesce into a larger settlement. In 1870 developers began to attempt to develop land on the road from Kempston to Bedford under the name "Kempston New Town". Construction was slow at first, but the new district soon began to expand steadily and Kempston acquired a more urban feel. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Kempston Barracks in 1876.

In 1896 the parish was divided into Kempston Urban District 1,255 acres (5.1 km²) and the civil parish of Kempston Rural 3,770 acres (15 km²).

The Urban District was based on East End, Up End and Kempston New Town all of which are in the north eastern part of the parish close to Bedford, and had 86.8% of the total population at the 1901 census. Kempston Rural was three times larger, but remained sparsely populated. Church End, with its original parish church, remains a small hamlet in the rural part of Kempston.


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