Ampthill Brewhouse

Bedford Street - A Tour Around the Streets of Ampthill

BEDFORD STREET is the most changed of all the town's four main roads, having been considerably restricted on its eastern side until the late 1930s by the buildings of Ampthill Brewery which had been established by John Morris in the 1770s, flourished a century under family management, and retained the Morris name until its closure in 1926, when the business was taken over by J.W. Green of Luton. Ampthill Brewery was among the largest in the county and its loss was a significant one for the town. Nothing remains of the buildings, except a vaulted store - now a restaurant - and a few walls around the car park. The market was moved here from Market Square in 1987.

The first building to be put up on the brewery site was a cinema, The Zonita, which opened in 1937 and closed in 1960 - a brief but colourful existence. Converted into office buildings, the Zonita became a snooker hall in 1982, and later its ground floor was made into small shops named Rosewalk. This was demolished in 2005 and the resulting Waitrose Supermarket openned its doors in October 2006.

The town's original fire station was built in 1902 by Edwin Tutt. It continued in this role until 1954. Extended in 1996, it housed the local Citizens Advice Bureau and then the charity Mind.

The Duke of Bedford Cottages are a small terrace of brick-built cottages characteristic of many Mid-Bedfordshire villages built by the Duke of Bedford in the mid 19th century for his estate workers and are distinctive by their steep gables and lattice windows.

Further up Bedford Street and now used as a garage, is the former National School, one of the town's two main schools. Supported by the parish church, this school opened in 1845 and closed 1954 when the local authority took responsibility for education in the town.

Dunstable Street & Flitwick Road - A Tour Around the Streets of Ampthill

DUNSTABLE STREET, though victim of too much traffic, has some historic and distinctive features. Number 105 was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the home of the Royal School of Embroidering Females who, under the patronage of Queen Charlotte, made many of the complex and lavish hangings used in the refurbishing of Windsor Castle in hand at that time. On the opposite side of the road The Gazebo is all that remains of an extensive mid-18th century estate which stretched from the road the site of the Alameda where there was an artificial 'Canal' to give focal point to the garden. The house, which belonged to this estate, stood at the edge of the footpath where numbers 84 and 86 now stand. In 1882 the canal estate was developed, the house pulled down and replaced by two villas built adjoining their new chapel by the Methodist trustees.

'The imposing Methodist Church was designed by Charles Bell of London and 'opened on 13th August 1884 (replacing an earlier building in Wobum Street) known by the locals as the Wesleyan Cathedral.

The Old Sun Public House was built in 1766 and was originally two cottages. It became a pub in 1798 and was sold to Morriss, the local Ampthill brewery.

The Baptist Church further along the road, was built on a site acquired in 1822 and stood back from the pavement. Extensions in 1870 brought the buildings forward by creating a vestibule, and in 1893 accommodation was doubled by the erection of an adjoining Sunday School room and vestry.

AMPTHILL HALL began existence as a bam belonging to Christopher Bennell where the Quakers started holding meetings in 1726. Rebuilt from the old materials on the same site in 1753, it was extended to its present size in 1768, and continued in use as a meeting house until the early 1900s. For many years it served as Saint Andrew's Church hall, but was purchased by the Council in the 1970s for conversion to public use. The front section of the hall is a 19th century addition. Quaker meetings were resumed here in 1990. The buiding is now owned by the Cottage Bakery, after been sold by the Town Council in 2008.

The Old Mid Bedfordshire District Council's Offices in Dunstable Street were built for the Ampthill Rural District Council from designs from Ampthill Resident Professor Richardson and overtime have been considerably modified and extended. The District Council moved out of Ampthill in 2006 to their new base at Chicksands.

THE CEDARS was built as the Union Workhouse in 1836 (superseding the original House of Industry in Park Hill), the architect being James Clephane, whose other work includes Wrest Park House. The workhouse was built to accommodate 469 inmates from Ampthill and the surrounding parishes, which formed the Union, and operated under a regime of the strictest discipline and segregation. Consequently there was a great dread of 'going to the Union' which was only slightly alleviated by new legislation of 1929 which made this the Public Assistance Institution. But all that became history when, in the late 1940s, the building re-named The Cedars began valuable community service as a Local Authority old people's home, closed in the early 1990s. The buidings were converted into luxury apartments in the late 90's.

The former Board Room, built for the Poor Law Guardians in 1902, is now the town's library. Particularly noteworthy is its modem weather vane commemorating the Gold Hare ('Masquerade' by Kit Williams) treasure hunt.

Urban Exploration with skelderz

This is my first video of some urbexing pics, this site is The Lichfield Maltings an old brewery on the birmingham road,
I do not own the soundtrack to this video, though the photographs contained are my Property and are therefore copyright, If anyone wishes to use this or parts of this video please contact me on- Skelderzurbex@hotmail.co.uk

Ghost on luton

Our shop ghost scary

Temple Newsam House

Temple Newsam, is a Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. The estate lends its name to the Temple Newsam ward of Leeds City Council, in which it is situated, and lies to the east of the city, just south of Halton Moor, Halton, Whitkirk and Colton.

Dartmoor border perform Quebec at Dartmoor Brewery

This was filmed on Mayday morning 2011,at around 5.45am on the premises of our sponsor,Dartmoor Brewery . This is a newish dance for us. It`s ruffly based on a pub brawl between various drunken musicians,hence the fight scene at the opening! The middle part of the dance is known as confusion,& when you watch it,you`ll see why!!

GEM rugby victory

Clapping tunnels after the match

C141 Vario Stairclimber

C141 Beer-master Powered Stairclimber; This industry specific package includes...
• A full range of 'quick change' toe plates to suit kegs, pallets, cartons, packages etc.
• Variable handle settings to ensure maximum operator comfort
• Variable speed settings to ensure complete control of environmental issues
• Quick release safety straps to ensure no unnecessary time is waste
Full details from
Manual Handling Solutions (MHS.COM Ltd)
58, Paige Close
Watlington
King's Lynn, Norfolk PE33 0TQ UK
Tel 0044 1553 811977
sales@manualhandlingsolutions.co.uk


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Greene King IPA Championship 2015/16 Preview: Jersey captain Alex Rae

Jersey captain Alex Rae admits that he can't wait for the start of the new Greene King IPA Championship season and is optimistic about if the club can improve on last year's seventh place finish.
The 2015/16 Greene King IPA Championship kicks off on September 5th. To stay-up-to-date with all the latest action from across the league, follow @Champrugby on Twitter.