Ampthill

Woburn Street, Ampthill c.1910 [Z1306/1/16/2]

We have not yet been able to compile comprehensive history pages for Ampthill. If you would like to carry out research and contribute to this site we would be delighted to hear from you. 

Ampthill is an ancient parish in central Bedfordshire which was granted a market in 1219. The honour of Ampthill, which was created as a royal honour by Henry VIII in 1542, included the king’s manors and lands in Ampthill and many other Bedfordshire parishes.  

Bedfordshire Archives holds many documents relating to Ampthill; a search of our online catalogue with Ampthill as the subject returns over 14,000 items. Significant collections for researching people or places in Ampthill include: 

• P30: Records for the parish of St Andrew, Ampthill, including: registers of baptisms, marriages and burials; records relating to church property; vestry minutes; rate books; accounts of overseers of the poor; settlement and removal papers; apprenticeship indentures; bastardy bonds; records of Ampthill charities; parochial church council records; parish magazines 

• ABP/W: Wills proved in the Archdeaconry of Bedford, 1536-1857 

• UDA: Records of Ampthill Urban District Council 1883-1974 

• TCAmpthill: Minutes of Ampthill Town Council from 1974 and Town Council magazines P30/26/2 (also catalogued as MA95/2), P30/26/3 - enclosure map and award, 1806-1808 

• MB2/AMP1: Records of Ampthill Methodist Church 

• MB2/AMP2: Records of Ampthill Primitive Methodist Church 

• QSR: Quarter Sessions Records for Bedfordshire from 1714-1900. A search combining  Ampthill as the subject and QSR as the reference will find criminal cases in which the parish is mentioned.

• SDAmpAlm: Records of Alameda Middle School 

• SDAmpFirs: Records of Firs Lower School 

• SDAmpMethContVolPrimSchool: Records of Ampthill Methodist Controlled Voluntary Primary School 

• SDAmpthillCofENational School: Records of Ampthill Church of England School, later Ampthill County Primary School 

• AU: Andrew Underwood Collection relating to the history of Ampthill 

• R: Archives of the Duke of Bedford held at Bedfordshire Archives 

• RH: Russell (Holland) collection of records relating to estate including Ampthill Park and Ampthill House before purchase by the Duke of Bedford 

• RO: Russell (Ossory) collection of records relating to estate including Ampthill Park and Ampthill House before purchase by the Duke of Bedford 

• S/AM: Ashburnham of Ampthill collection, includes records relating to Ampthill Park 

• X18: Honour of Ampthill court rolls and records 

• X777: Items deposited by Ampthill & District Archaeological Society and Local History Society 

• X830: Ampthill Charity Estate records 

• X844: Spires family of Ampthill 

• X866: Records of Ampthill Baptist Church (formerly Ampthill Union Church) 

• X1000: Records of Ampthill and District Preservation Society 

• Z251: Items relating to the Newman family of Ampthill 

• Z389: Ampthill Old Scholars Association 

• Z632: Records of Ampthill Town Band 

• Z699: Letters of the May and Strange families of Ampthill 

• Z1423/1: Account book of William Brice Johnson, 19th century shoemaker 

• Z1465: Records of Jeanette Waller, historian of Ampthill 

• Z1561: Parkside Hall, Ampthill 

• Z1707: Ampthill and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 

• Z50/1: Photographs of Ampthill 

• Z1130/1: Postcards with pictures of Ampthill 

• Z1306/1: Postcards with pictures of Ampthill 

Further details of these and other items relating to Ampthill can be found through our online catalogue. Our detailed collection guides give more information about the types of records we hold.  

Other useful sources for information about Ampthill include: 

• Ampthill and District Archaeological and Local History Society   

• Victoria County History entry for Ampthill, available through British History Online. Although published in 1912 most of the information is still relevant.  

• The National Archives' Manorial Documents Register lists all manorial documents known to survive for Ampthill Manor and the Honour of Ampthill. 

• Open Domesday lists just one entry for Ampthill in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it was a comparatively small settlement. 

Copies of the parish registers listing baptisms, marriages and burials up to 1812 can be purchased from Bedfordshire Archives. 

We offer an enquiry and research service, however this is limited to local history, properties and general subjects; we are no longer able to carry out genealogy research.