| Willington | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Lawrence and the neighbouring stable building | |
  Willington Location within Bedfordshire | |
| Population | 751 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TL114434 |
| 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 | |
Willington is a village and civil parish located in the English county of Bedfordshire. It is west of Moggerhanger on the road from Sandy to Bedford. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as Welitone and as Wilitona in c. 1150, from Old English tun (homestead) among the willows,[2] and is part of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree.
In the parish church of St Lawrence there is a grand 16th-century chapel.[3]
Willington is home to 16th century Willington Dovecote & Stables, both now owned by the National Trust. In addition, it is home to The Danish Camp, a cafe set along the cycle route which holds an annual fireworks display on bonfire night (5 November). This is also the location of an ancient moated site. Willington used to have a railway station on the Sandy to Bedford railway line, now part of the NCR 51 national cycle route. The village's only pub - The Crown - was built in 1904 by Newland and Nash, a Bedford Brewer, as The Crown Inn, as a direct response to a railway station finally being provided in 1903.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 520. ISBN 0198691033.
- ^ Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 106