Flitwick

This article is about the English town. For the Harry Potter character, see Filius Flitwick.
Flitwick

Church of St Peter and St Paul
Flitwick
 Flitwick shown within Bedfordshire
Population 12,700 [1]
12,998 (2011 Census)[2]
OS grid referenceTL033350
Unitary authorityCentral Bedfordshire
Ceremonial countyBedfordshire
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BEDFORD
Postcode district MK45
Dialling code 01525
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentMid Bedfordshire
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire

Coordinates: 52°00′14″N 0°29′48″W / 52.00384°N 0.49656°W / 52.00384; -0.49656

Flitwick, pronounced /ˈflɪtᵻk/, is a small town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It is mentioned[3] in the Domesday Book as "a hamlet on the River Flitt". The spelling Flytwyk appears in 1381.[4] The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[5]

Location

It is broadly equidistant between Bedford 10 mi (16 km) and Luton 10 mi (16 km). It shares many services with the neighbouring town of Ampthill, with which it shares a boundary.

Nearby settlements

Ampthill, Maulden, Clophill, Flitton, Greenfield, Steppingley, Pulloxhill, Westoning, Harlington, Barton le Clay, Tingrith, Eversholt, Millbrook

Shopping

Flitwick has seen a large expansion in its population in recent years, but its retail facilities have not kept up with this growth. The local council has drawn up plans to redevelop the town centre to improve its retail offering . At present, it has aTesco, a Barclays bank, a Co-op, which provides a secondary food source to the community and many smaller shops and estate agents, many in close proximity to the railway station. There is an open-air market every Friday selling local produce, which is set up on the car park of the village hall. The open-air market has a variety of stalls such as fishmongers, baker, haberdashery, and fruit and vegetables.

Leisure

There is a sports centre with a 25-metre swimming pool with kids pool attached. The leisure centre also has a gym, squash courts with leagues and gymnasium. A new leisure centre was built for opening in early March 2015. The existing leisure site's future is yet to be decided.

Flitwick Town Council own and operate from The Rufus Centre on the outskirts of the town on Steppingley Road. The Centre is also a busy conference and special event venue with office space to lease.

Flitwick has four pubs; the Crown, the Swan, the Bumble Bee and the Blackbirds. The pub formerly known as the Crown (or the Wheatsheaf) re-opened as an Indian restaurant called the Indian Lodge. A membership-operated social club, The Flitwick Club, is situated on The High Street, opposite the Drivestyle yard.

Center Parcs Woburn Forest opened in July 2014 on the outskirts of Flitwick at Warren Wood.

Transport

Road

Flitwick is 5 mi (8.0 km) from junction 12 of the M1 motorway.

Bus

The main bus services are as follows:

42 (Grant Palmer) provides an hourly daytime service Mondays to Saturdays providing a connection to: Westoning, Harlington, Toddington, Ampthill, Houghton Conquest, and Bedford. Mondays to Saturdays – no Sunday service.

42 (Stagecoach) provides an hourly daytime service Mondays to Saturdays to Ampthill, Kempston and Bedford. Mondays to Saturdays – no Sunday service.

44 (Grant Palmer) Bedford via A6 to Bedford, Wilstead, Flitwick, Silsoe (Monday - Friday Only)

200 (Grant Palmer) provides a two hourly service to Ampthill, Shefford, Clifton and Biggleswade. Mondays to Fridays only.

Rail

Flitwick has a station on the Thameslink line (First Capital Connect took over the franchise on 1 April 2006, taken over again on the 14th of September 2014 by Thameslink Great Northern). Trains go north to Bedford and south to London, Gatwick Airport and Brighton, making it a popular place to live for commuters.

Schools

Flitwick has three lower schools (Kingsmoor, Templefield and Flitwick Lower School), a middle school (Woodland School). The old Flitwick School has been refurbished from its earlier state of neglect, and now serves as a further community centre, youth club and toddler group.

Sport

It has four football teams: Flitwick Town, who play in the Bedfordshire County League Premier Division, Flitwick Ladies, who play in the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Women's First Division, Flitwick Eagles, and Dinamo Flitwick. It is also home to Flitwick Cricket Club (The Otters) which has over 50 adult playing members and 160 Colts.

Landmarks

Flitwick is famous for its Flitwick Manor House, currently used as a hotel and restaurant.

There is also physical evidence of a Norman era motte and bailey castle site, locally known as "The Mount".

The Church of St Peter & St Paul is located in the town.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Neighbourhood Statistics – Flitwick (CP) Parish". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  2. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  3. ↑ See Bedfordshire Virtual Library's Flitwick Timeline
  4. ↑ National Archives; Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; CP 40/483; Year 1381, 4th term; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no483/483_0207.htm; second entry, home of Richard Hake, the defendant
  5. ↑ Its name is not ancient but a back formation from Flitton. Ekwall, E. (1940) The Concise Dictionary of England Place-names; 2nd ed. Oxford:Clarendon Press; p. 174.
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