| Sharnbrook | |
|---|---|
  Sharnbrook Location within Bedfordshire | |
| Population | 2,293 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP994596 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BEDFORD |
| Postcode district | MK44 |
| Dialling code | 01234 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, situated around 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Bedford town centre.
The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey[2] but was probably first developed in Saxon times. The oldest surviving building, St Peter's Church, is Norman. The name is believed to be derived from the Anglo Saxon word sharn meaning dung.[3] Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed of the local oolitic limestone, also used in other traditional north Bedfordshire settlements.
Situated just north of a loop in the River Great Ouse and almost due north of Bedford, the village has developed as a ribbon-settlement running south-east to north-west, with the core of the community clustered at the north-western end.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ "The hundred of Willey: Introduction - British History Online". british-history.ac.uk.
- ^ "Parishes: Sharnbrook - British History Online". british-history.ac.uk.