- Ridgmont
infobox UK place
official_name= Ridgmont
country = England
population= 418
os_grid_reference= SP975360
latitude= 52.01506
longitude= -0.57838
shire_district=Mid Bedfordshire
shire_county =Bedfordshire
region= East of England
post_town= BEDFORD
postcode_area= MK
postcode_district= MK43
dial_code= 01525Ridgmont is a small village and
civil parish inBedfordshire ,England . It is located beside junction 13 of theM1 motorway , and close toMilton Keynes andWoburn Abbey . The 2001 census states the total population to be 418. [ [http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/Ridgmont/Introduction.aspx Bedfordshire County Council archives] ]The parish is first mentioned in the
Domesday book of 1086, by its original name of Segenhoe, which was approximately 500m south east from where the village now lies. In 1227 the name Rugemund was first recorded, taken from the French 'rouge mont' which means red hill. [ [http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/Ridgmont/Introduction.aspx Bedfordshire County Council archives] ]The modern village lies on top of a
green sand ridge at approximately convert|350|ft|m above sea level. The surrounding valley has underlying 'Upper Jurassic Oxford Clay ' which is suitable for making bricks and in 1935 the Ridgmont Brickworks were built by the RidgmontFletton Brick Company. By 1979, as part of theLondon Brick Company , the works had 25 chimneys and was said to be the second-largest brickworks in the world. [A. Cox, "Brickmaking: a history and gazetteer", Bedfordshire County Council (Survey of Bedfordshire), 1979, ISBN 0-901051-86-1, p. 135.]The large
Amazon.co.uk warehouse now occupies the former site of the brickworks, which is situated beside theRidgmont railway station .November 2006 saw work start on the Ridgmont Bypass, and the £15.5 million project was finished in June 2008. The A507 Ridgmont relief road is designed to carry 80 per cent of heavy traffic away from the neighbouring villages. [ [http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/bed-news/Relief-for-Ridgmont-as-bypass.4183792.jp Bedford Today] ]
People
The village was the birthplace of the Countess of Strathmore, mother of
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother .References
External links
* [http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/Ridgmont/RidgmontPageIndex.aspx Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service: Ridgmont pages]
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