Tebworth History

Tebworth History

Landscape

The solid, or underlying geology of Tebworth is known as gault formation, a sedimentary rock formed approximately 99 to 112 million years ago in the warm, shallow seas of the Cretaceous Period. The superficial geology is mostly till – a diamicton formed up to 2 million years ago in the ice age conditions of the Quarternary Period. To north, south and east of the village are areas of head, a mixture of sand, gravel, clay and silt.

Tebworth stands at some elevation, the road from Watling Street (the modern A5) to Tebworth having a pronounced slope. The area where Tebworth merges into Wingfield is the highest part of the hamlet, at around 443 feet above sea level. The Queen’s Head stands at 432 feet above sea-level and the former Methodist church at 435 feet. The foot of the slope in the area of The Lane is 393 feet above sea-level.

Name

Tebworth Sign
Welcome to Tebworth

The name means “Tebba’s enclosure”, Teobba being an Anglo-Saxon diminutive or nick mane perhaps derived from the name Theodbeald, Theodbeorht or the woman’s name Theodburh.

The following variations of the name have been recorded:

Teobbanwyrþe: 926;
Tebbeworth: 1227-1365;
Thebbeworth: 1227-1365;
Tebbewurth: 1227-1247;
Teburthe: 1286;
Theburthe: 1286;
Tebworthe: 1286-1308;
Thebworthe: 1286-1308.

Administrative History

Tebworth has always been a hamlet of the ancient parish of Chalgrave. The hamlet is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and no subsequent manor ever took its name. However, the village is mentioned in a charter of 926, along with Chalgrave.

Tebworth Friendly Society

This was a local society in existence from at least 1750. The Book of Society Rules can be found here.

 History courtesy of Bedfordshire Borough Council Community Archives.

8 comments

  1. Does anyone remember the history of the four cottages near the pond in Toddington Road,Tebworth?

  2. Not sure which cottages you mean but left side of road facing towards the pond there were some cottages set back from the road. One of these was used as a butchers shop by the Osbornes so if these are the cottages you are inquiring after they might be able to help.

    1. Hello David, my apologies I have only just seen your reply. The four cottages I was referring to are on the same side as the pond. The one closest to the pond was called pond cottage. I know all four cottages were extended at the back in approximately 1976 but I’m interested in learning the history before then. They were originally very small so I wonder if they were built for people working on the farmland?

      1. I lived in 1 Pond Cottage until I was 17 and they were condemned.Belonged to my mothers cousins Dolemores .They sold them as didnt want to modernise them.My grandparents lived in number3 having retired from managing Ivy Farm for Dolemores

    1. Hi Olimpia,
      Can’t help you on those cottages history but
      I think you will find that most of the houses in the original villages of Wingfield and Tebworth were built as farm workers cottages. Our house in Wingfield and the other cottages consisted of two rooms downstairs and two rooms up ie. the usual 2up 2down. The toilet would have been in a seperate building ie. shed and shared with the other cottages, I know Wingfield had a village pump and when I was growing up it was still visible but not used, we had our own supply of water into the house but the cottages further down had one outside public tap by the road which was shared by everybody. There was no main drainage at that time.

  3. My childhood years were spent in Tebworth, I was born in Wingfield in 1941 then I moved next door to the butchers shop in Tebworth, the road was known as Chapel Road back then. The butchers shop was on the edge of the path, there were outbuildings at the rear of the shop as well as one detached house. There was also a plot of land and next to the land were Pond Cottages. These cottages were two up two down, they had no water supply instead they had a tap at the front gate. Out the back of these cottages was a path that run up to each cottage, they also had toilets outside in a back house, these consisted of a bucket that was emptied once a week. Behind the cottages was a piece of land that was owned by Ivy Farm (Dolemore family). On the land was a barn and also a sheep dip. I remember the fire at the farm as well as a outbreak of foot and mouth diesease, this led to all the cattle being destroyed. Furthermore there was a house opposite Pond Cottages that belonged to my great-great grand father John E.Day, this was known as Home Farm. I recall my memories of Tebworth as being one big happy family where everyone knew each other.

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