OS Grid Reference: 52°10'N 0°18'W
Name Origin: Old English Tæeseford ford on the road to the Thames, ie to London.
917
... the same summer, many folk under king Edward's rule, and all the men from the nearest boroughs who could reach it, went to Tempsford and besieged the town. They fought until they broke in and killed the king. eorl Toglos, eorl Manna his son, his brother and all who were inside who meant to defend it, and captured the others and everything that was within.1010
[Thurkil's] force came after Easter to East Anglia, landed at Ipswich, and went straight on to where they had heard that Ulfcytel was with his troops; this was on the first day of Ascension. The East Anglians soon fled; Cambridgeshire stood firmly against them. There was killed Aethelstan, the king's son-in-law, Oswi, his son, Eadwig, Aefic's brother, Wulfric, Leofwine's son, and many other good thanes, countless folk; the flight was first started by Thurcytel Mare's Head, and then the Danes had the power of the battlefield. There they were horsed, and after had control of East Anglia. For three months in that land they ravaged and burnt throughout the fens. They burnt down Thetford and Cambridge, and afterwards went southward into the Thames valley. The mounted men rode to meet the ships, and after went quickly westward in Oxfordshire, from there to Buckinghamshire along the Ouse until they came to Bedford, and so on to Tempsford, ever burning where they went. They returned to their ships with great plunder ...
LAND OF THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN
In the Hundred of BIGGLESWADE
William of Cairon holds 1 hide and 1 virgate and 3 parts of 1 virgate in TAMISEFORDE from Bishop Remigius. Land for 2 ploughs. 1 villager. Meadow for 1 plough; 2 mills at 40s and 120 eels. Value 60s; when acquired 40s; before 1066, 100s;
Alwin Devil held it; he was the King's man; he could do what he would with it.LAND OF EUDO SON OF HUBERT
In BIGGLESWADE Hundred
In TAMISEFORDE Eudo holds 1 hide and 1 virgate of land. Land for 2 ploughs. In lordship 1 hide; 1 plough there. 1 villager with 1 plough; 2 smallholders and 1 slave. 1 mill, 10s; meadow for 2 ploughs. The value is and was 40s; before 1066, 45s.
2 Freemen held this land; then could grant to whom they would.In the same village William of Cairon holds 4 hides and 1 virgate from Eudo the Steward. Land for 4 ploughs. In lordship 2 ploughs. 8 villagers have 2 ploughs; 6 slaves. 1 mill, 12s; meadow for 4 ploughs. Value 60s; when acquired 40s; before 1066, 60s.
3 Freemen, Wulfmer of Eaton's men, held this land. One of then could not grant his land without his lord's permission; the other two could do what they would.LAND OF RICHARD POYNANT
In BIGGLESWADE Hundred
In TAMISEFORDE Robert holds 2 hides, of the King's Holding, from Richard Poynant. Land for 2 ploughs. In lordship 1 plough; 4 villagers with 1 plough. Meadow for 1 plough. Value 30s; when acquired 20s; before 1066, 20s.
3 Freemen held this land; they could grant to whom they would.LAND OF THE KING'S REEVES, [BEADLES] AND ALMSMEN
In BIGGLESWADE Hundred
In TAMISEFORDE Alwin the reeve holds 1 hide and the fourth part of 1 virgate. Land for 1 plough; it is there, with 3 villagers. Meadow for ½ plough. The value is and was 20s; before 1066, 27s.
6 Freemen held this land; they could sell to whom they would.
A Topographical Dictionary of England, Samuel Lewis, 1831:
TEMPSFORD, a parish in the hundred of BIGGLESWADE, county of BEDFORD, 6½ miles (N.N.W.) from Biggleswade, containing 577 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the kings's books at £24, and in the patronage of the Crown. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The village is situated on the river Ivel, which is navigable through the parish, and falls into the Ouse as it passes along the western boundary. This is a place of great antiquity; it was occupied by the Danes before 921, when they were expelled by the Saxons, but they returned in 1010, and reduced it to ashes.
The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, ed J.H.F.Brabner, 1895:
Tempsford, a parish, with a village, in Beds, at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Ivel, on the Great North Road, and adjacent to the G.N.R., 4½ miles SSW of St Neots. It has a station on the railway, and a post office under Sandy; money order and telegraph office, Blunharn. Acreage, 2341; population, 492. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manor, with most of the land, belongs to the Stuart family. Tempsford Hall is a mansion of red brick and sandstone standing in a park of about 60 acres. The Danes for some time held the land, and were expelled by the Saxons in 921. A moated earthwork near the rectory, called the "Gannocks," is believed to be the remains of a Roman fort. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely; net value, £278 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church, which was well restored in 1874, is an ancient edifice of stone chiefly in the Perpendicular style.
Associated Families: Chandler Godfrey Guy Hall Miller
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