St Mary Magdalene -Melchbourne - Bed's - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

A Brief History of Melchbourne

Although Melchboume (or Melcebume) is mentioned in the Domesday Book, when it formed part of the estates of the Bishop of Coutance (indeed it was in the history books before the Norman Conquest), its history is obscure until the late 12th Century. During the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189) Alice, Countess of Pembroke gave the manor to the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers which she founded at Melchboume. The first mention of Melchboume Church is 1176. So it is probable the original structure was built by the Hospitallers soon after they took up residence here.

In 1264, during the reign of King Edward III licence was given for a market to be held on Fridays and an annual Fair, held thereafter on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene to whom the church was dedicated. The custom of Feast Sunday being celebrated on the 2nd Sunday in July (the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene in the old church calendar) is still observed, and when a date is sought for a village Fete it is nearly always held that weekend.

The original function of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem was to help in the crusade, but as the crusading movement died out the order continued, and it would appear that the Melchboume community at one time was quite important as in 1328 a Chapter, or general meeting of the order in England was held at Melchboume.


Accounts for the year 1338 give the year's expenses in meat, fish, ale etc., and they also refer to the garden, dovehouse, two mills and to the profits of the market then held at Melchboume - the not inconsiderable sum of 20 shillings a year.

No trace of the buildings which belonged to the Preceptory remain, but it is believed they occupied a site near to the Dower House, and not where Melchboume Park House now stands. The Preceptory was dissolved in common with all other religious houses in the reign of King Henry VIII. His son, King Edward VI granted the manor to John 1st Earl of Bedford. The preceptory was refounded and the manor returned to the Knights Hospitallers briefly during the revival of Papal Catholicism under the reign of Queen Mary Tudor, but when Queen Elizabeth succeeded her sister on the throne she granted the manor to Francis, 2nd Earl of Bedford in 1558.
In 1608, Edward Earl of Bedford felt compelled to realise some of his property in Bedfordshire, and he sold the manor of Melchbourne to Oliver, Lord St. John of Bletso. It remained the property of the St John's until the 1930's. In about the year 1620 the 4th Baron St. John, who had been created Earl of Bullingbroke by King James 1, built a mansion on the present site, and he and his family move there from Bletsoe Castle. There are traces of this 11th Century Farm House in the cellars and elsewhere, and the structure with its high roof must have looked much as in the view of the house from the village today. Both the Earl and his eldest son were much involved in the civil war on the Parliamentary side, the son being killed at the battle of Evesham.

The Earldom died out in the 18th Century, and the Barony passed to a younger branch of the family established over the Northamptonshire border at Woodford. But it was not until the 1780's that the 12th Lord St. John moved to Melchbourne as his family home. Meanwhile, the house had been remodelled in 1741, when the present Georgian front, facing the parks was created. Considerable changes took place in the last two decades of the 18th Century after Lord St. John married Emma Whitbread of Southill. Not only was the house further modernised and made into a comfortable home, but the church was completely rebuilt.


Of the mediaeval church the tower and the basic foundations remain, but a clerestory was now added, giving height and at least the a South Aisle was added. The effect was to create a Georgian style Church. The porch however appears to be Jacobean, and it is believed that this was moved from the St. John manor at Woodford which was demolished about this time. The box pews were presumably added shortly afterwards, being very similar to the furnishings of a number of chapels in the vicinity built at about the same period. The strange thing is that the church was endowed with so great a capacity - being capable of housing a congregation of some 250 - when the population of the village could not have been much greater than at present. The organ was presented by Louisa St. John in the 1850's.


The row of cottages in the main street of the village probably dates from early in the 18th Century, but there is no evidence to show for whom they were built. There was a second row alongside, but a number of these cottages were unfortunately burnt down in the 1950's and the remainder had to be demolished.

Church cottage and Hillands Cottage are survivors of a similar period of architecture, if not earlier. There was a house on the site of the Vicarage (now called Melchbourne House) early in the 17th century, but the present house is Victorian as are most of the scattered farmhouses. The Dower house was built in about 1880 for the widow of the 14th-Baron, but there is an older building on the site. The old schoolhouse, built in 1857, housed both school and residence for teacher until the 2nd World War. The St. John Arms was built on the Yelden - Swineshead crossroads about 1900. Previously the public house had been at Inn Farm, a late 18th century building.


The Parks and Lakes in front of the mansion were probably created in the second part of the 18th century, at least part of the parks being enclosed as a deer park, which is mentioned when in 1766 the St. John's still at Woodford, were short of funds and in consequence, had to sell the deer. Melchbourne Park remained the property of the St John family till just before the 2nd World War, and during that war the house was occupied for a time by the United States Air Corps. It was understood to house a photographic unit of considerable size, for at least 100 G.I's were sleeping in the long gallery on the second floor. It was also used as a place of entertainment within leisure hours for the American troops in the vicinity. Glenn Miller and his band performed there on a number of occasions before his untimely disappearance on a flight to France in 1944. At the top of the park and in the woods beyond, bombs were stored, which at the end of the war were destroyed on the spot and the sites surrounded by iron railings.

The Parks were mostly ploughed up during the war, and they have remained arable. The various farms in the Parish of Melchbourne, which up to the 1930's formed part of the estates of the St. John family have all changed hands, and the farms are in prosperous production. The woodlands surrounding the parks have been replanted for the purposes of posterity, with the exception of the main Coppice Wood which is retained by the Ministry.

During the war American Servicemen provided the people of Melchboume with a village hall. This was burnt down in the 1950's but the insurance money covered most of the cost of replacement with the existing structure.



Melchbourne Church had its own vicar until the end of the second World War, but subsequently it was joined with Yelden. Shortly afterwards four Parishes were joined together, the other two being Dean and Shelton, and a new vicarage was built at Dean. Late in the 1970s six Parishes were combined together, Pertenhall, and Swineshead being added to complete the six Parishes of the Stodden churches.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1779 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website Street address of Church: St Mary Magdalene Melchbourne, Bedfordshire UK Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Not listed If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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