Stotfold, a parish, with a large village, in Beds, 2 1/2 miles NW by W of Baldock, and 2 E from Arlesey station on the G.N.R. It has a post and money order office under Baldock; telegraph office, Baldock. Acreage, 2398; population, 3004. The lunatic asylum for Herts, Beds, and Hunts, is an extensive and ornate edifice, and stands conspicuously on high ground, 220 feet above the sea-level, within grounds of 253 acres. It was enlarged in 1879, and can accommodate 1000 inmates. The industries of the parish include brewing, straw-plaiting, and the manufacture of bricks and tiles, and there are two large corn mills. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; gross value, £242 with residence. Patron, Trinity College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St Mary, is a building of flint and clunch chiefly in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, N and S porches, and a western embattled tower. It was restored and partly rebuilt in 1890. There are a large Wesleyan and two Baptist chapels, a reading-room and lecture hall, seven almshouses, and some useful charities.
The parish register dates from the year 1559.
Details of the places of worship in Stotfold, and their records, can be found on the following pages:
- St. Mary (Church of England)
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Bedfordshire papers online:
- Bedfordshire Times and Independent
- Biggleswade Chronicle
- Luton Times and Advertiser
- Luton News and Bedfordshire Chronicle
Stotfold was in Biggleswade Poor Law Union. For further detailed history of the Biggleswade Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Biggleswade Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
A full transcript of the Visitations of Bedfordshire 1566, 1582, and 1634 is available online.