Cardington
Cardington maps (2 available)
Map of Bedfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Bedfordshire
Personalised maps
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Cardington books (7 available)
- 1 photos on Cardington appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Cardington
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Cardington and Bedfordshire
Cardington memories
Read and share memories of Cardington and Bedfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Bedfordshire below.
Bedfordshire memories
I was a projectionist at the Picturedrome
I worked there for a few years with Stan Hunt at the Picturedrome, and the Plaza which was nearly opposite across the river was owned by a man called Mr Cheetam. I also worked at the Plaza as a relief projectionist and also another cinema in Ampthill owned by Mr Cheetam.
They were great days and I now live in Leicester but now see that all four cinemas in Bedford are gone, what is left?
I thought the Picturedrome and the great cinema The Granada were LISTED buildings so who had them demolished should be SHOT. These cinemas have brought great memories to a lot of people and been destroyed by Bedford Council.
Don't you think the Granada would have ...read more here
A memory of Bedford contributed by Eric Bootles
Working memories.
I was the main weekday driver of the launch photographed during the student holiday periods of 1955-1958. When I drove it, the name was 'Silver Stream'. It was the largest of a set of three electric launches which carried paying passengers for trips of about 40 minutes duration from the steps on the downstream, north side of the town bridge. Typically this launch would carry about 40 passengers maximum. Silver Stream was a magnificent launch to drive, giving a silent drive, almost no water disturbance up to the 6 knots maximum for the river, and had a tubular rudder form which surrounded the propeller. This permitted a very tight turning such that most of us could turn round in places where ...read more here
A memory of Bedford contributed by Mr PC Hedgecock
Swimming in the river at Kempston
Great times were had at the river at the bend as we children called it, we would make mud slides down the banks. What fun we had. There was always a good crowd there on a Sunday afternoon, but now its all quiet, no swimmers, the bend has long since gone.
A memory of Kempston contributed by jackie fleming
39 Mill Lane
The gable end of the house on the left is 39 Mill Lane and Back St starts at the junction over the hill and not visible here. My father built the house about 1935 when he was about 21 years old. I grew up there until 1955 when it was sold and we moved from Clophill for a short time. We returned in 1957 and lived in the Old Police House in The Slade until I married in 1966 and brought my first home in Back St. I have traced my family's time in Clophill from about 1750 until 1980 in a new book which will shortly be available.
A memory of Clophill contributed by paul nichols
Extracts From Cardington & Bedfordshire books
Generations of Royal Air Force recruits will recognise the huts and airship sheds beyond the cabbage field. The sheds were constructed during World War I for the development of airships. Tall enough to contain Nelson’s Column and long enough to hold an ocean-going liner, it is possible - in certain conditions - for condensation to fall as rain inside the buildings. During World War II, and after, Cardington became part of Britain’s air defence system and produced barrage balloons and trained the personnel to handle them.
An extract from from"Bedfordshire Photographic Memories".
We conclude the tour with another reference to manned flight, in this case airships. These gigantic sheds,
originally painted black, were built to house airships: one was built in 1917 and extended to house R100, the other
was built in 1927 for R101. The size is stupendous: 812 feet long, 390 feet wide and 180 feet high. Unfortunately,
R101 crashed in 1930, and airship production stopped. The Short Brothers built the sheds, the administration
blocks and a workers’ village called Shortstown. It became an RAF base in 1936, but is no longer so and the huts
have been demolished.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".
Sandy was originally a modest
Roman settlement on the Roman
road between St Albans and
Godmanchester; in the 18th
century the town became
important for its coaching inns
servicing the Great North Road.
However, it is a somewhat bitty
town, and the market square is a
distinct disappointment. Here, a
little further north up High Street,
we look west along Bedford Road.
The late 19th-century town hall is
on the left. By 1925 it was the
Astor Cinema, and is now the
Roundabout Club, for there is
now a roundabout roughly where
the photographer is standing.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".
Going east from Market
Place along Church Street,
we reach the small square
with the brown stone
church on its north side, a
curiously villagey one for a
town. On the left is the
cliff-like Dynevor House,
with 1725 on the rainwater
hopper-heads, three
storeys of box sashes and
a corniced parapet. No 36a
on the right is late
Georgian, while the Feoffee
almshouses are late 16th-
century timber-framed
under the render.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".
The riverside willows on
the north bank have only
recently been pollarded
in this view, in which an
eight rows past. The
opposite bank is Long
Island. The small landing
stage on the right was
built here to close off
the boat slide, which is
just behind it.
An extract from from"Bedford Photographic Memories".