Cranfield

Cranfield is a village and civil parish in north west Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001,[2] increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census.[1] and is in Central Bedfordshire District.

This article is about the village in Bedfordshire. For other uses, see Cranfield (disambiguation).

Cranfield

Village centre
Cranfield
Location within Bedfordshire
Population4,909 (2001)
5,369 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP959425
• London52 miles (84 km)
Civil parish
  • Cranfield
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBedford
Postcode districtMK43
Dialling code01234
PoliceBedfordshire
FireBedfordshire and Luton
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament

The hamlet of Bourne End is located just north of Cranfield, and is part of the civil parish. Wharley End was a separate settlement, but now forms the northern part of Cranfield village, by the university.

Amenities

Cranfield has two public houses, a football club, hairdressers, hardware store, several take-away restaurants, two small supermarkets and two car dealerships. There is also a surgery and dentist's practice along with a pharmacy. Cranfield has a university, two schools (with another in construction), three parks and a multi-use games area.

The village Post Office is now contained within the Co-op store; previously it was on separate premises near the centre of the village. Cranfield has one of only a small number of Morgan dealerships, in addition to a Ford dealer. There are further facilities at the university campus including a Post Office and bookshop.

The local newspaper is the Cranfield Express. There is a news hyperlocal website, Cranfield and Marston Vale Chronicle, giving village information, local and national news, etc.

The Church of St Peter and St Paul[3] has records going back at least to 1600 and is notable for its recently restored bells.

Cranfield Court belonged to the Harter family. The last house was built in 1862-4 in the French Gothic style,[4][5] but was later demolished.[6]

From 1992-2005 the village had its own amateur dramatics society, the 'Cranfield Players', with many village members.

Sport and leisure

Cranfield has a Non-League football team Cranfield United F.C. who play at their own ground in Crawley Road, Cranfield, MK43 0AA.

Airport
Main article: Cranfield Airport

Cranfield's airfield was originally an RAF training airfield and was used after the war by the College of Aeronautics, which has now become Cranfield University. The future of the airfield is uncertain – one runway was closed to allow the construction of the Nissan Technical Centre and technology park.

Kennett Aviation, who previously operated a range of vintage aircraft from Cranfield, was forced to move to North Weald due to these plans. However, Cranfield is still home to one of the few remaining serviceable English Electric/BAC Lightning jet fighters.

University
Main article: Cranfield University

Cranfield University is adjacent to the village, on the other side of the airfield.

Technology park

The Cranfield Technology Park is west of the University at the entrance to the campus. It is being developed on a phased basis by Cranfield University and its development partner. The park's objective is to encourage knowledge-based companies to locate their activities on the park and to encourage the growth of such companies. A major extension to the technology park was started in January 2007 using land on Cranfield Airport.

In August 2005 a new business incubation centre was opened. It was designed to encourage and support hi-tech and knowledge based pre-start and early start companies during the formative stages of their development.[7]

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  2. Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Mid Bedfordshire Archived 26 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 March 2010
  3. Cranfield: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI.
  4. Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century: Parishes Harlington to Roxton. Bedfordshire Historical Record. 1994. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-85155-056-5.
  5. Page, William (1912). The Victoria History of the County of Bedford. A. Constable. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-7129-0534-3.
  6. Bedfordshire Historic Buildings: The Heritage and Its Problems Today. Bedfordshire County Council. 1975. p. 18.
  7. "Cranfield University Business Incubation Centre". Cranfield University. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
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