Kempston Rural - History

History

Kempston Rural was formed in 1896 when the old parish of Kempston was split into two parts - Kempston urban district (now the town of Kempston), and Kempston Rural parish.

Historically Kempston was a large but lightly populated parish, with a decentralised population pattern. The typical parish in pre-Industrial England had one main village, perhaps complemented by a few hamlets, but in Kempston the settlement around the church - Church End - has never has more than a dozen or so houses, so it has never dominated the parish. When urban growth arrived in Kempston in the 19th century it was concentrated in the eastern parts of the parish, around the neighbouring ends of East End and Up End (i.e. the area around the High Street and St John Street) and in Kempston New Town, close to the boundary of Bedford.