The Manse, Little Staughton

This page was partly written by Brenda Foster and Jeanette Atkinson 

The Manse c. 1905 [X396/225a]

The Manse, Colmworth Road, Little Staughton 

Originally a farmhouse that is believed to have had a dairy internally, The Manse was bought by the Baptist Church in 1803 as a residence for the Pastor of the Meeting. At the time of the 1945 Electoral Register [RE1945N] it was occupied by Grace and Reginald Ruff and Alfred B. Hall, the then Pastor at the Baptist Church. The Ruffs remained as tenants until 1977 when it was sold as a private residence. 

The Manse is seventeenth century and although it has 1783 written on the plasterwork over the south door this is thought to refer to later building work. It was listed on 13 July 1964 as of Grade II Special Interest. The building is colour washed plaster over a timber frame with an old tile roof. It is in three bays and of one storey with attic rooms.

In 1927, when the property was surveyed under the Rating and Valuation Act of 1927, the valuer described The Manse as ‘not very deep, very old and a big slope at back, large garden’.  It consisted of three bedrooms, a kitchen and two living rooms. It was occupied by the Reverend A. B. Hall and was given a rateable value of £6 15s [DV1/C176/57]. 

The Manse in 2017 

Date over the door of The Manse, 2017

The following list gives some, but not all, of the documents relating to The Manse available at Bedfordshire Archives: 

• X396/225A-B. Postcards showing The Manse c.1905 
• BorBTP/76/1420. Plans of internal alterations and improvements to The Manse 1976 
• BorBTP/89/1461/LB. Plans of extension and alterations to The Manse, a Listed Building 1989