| Arlesey | |
Parish Church of St Peter - Church End, Arlesey |
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Arlesey
Arlesey shown within Bedfordshire |
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| Population | 5,690 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | TL190357 |
| Unitary authority | Central Bedfordshire |
| Ceremonial county | Bedfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ARLESEY |
| Postcode district | SG15 |
| Dialling code | 01462 |
| Police | Bedfordshire |
| Fire | Bedfordshire and Luton |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | North East Bedfordshire |
| List of places: UK • England • Bedfordshire | |
Arlesey is a small industrial town and civil parish in the district of Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire. It is located on the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station provides train services to London, Peterborough and Stevenage. The station opened in 1988 under Network South East. The old station was called Three Counties and was shut to passengers in the 1960's. Arlesey Town Football Club and Arlesey Athletic Football Club have their grounds to the south of the town.
The Domesday book mentions Arlesey as a market town. Residents have claimed it to be the longest town in Britain.
St Peters Church, situated in the Church End part of the town, was built in the 12th century by the monks of Waltham Abbey. Arlesey was the site of Etonbury Castle, of which little trace remains.
Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows nature reserves are just north of the town.
Major employers in Arlesey used to be the Fairfield Hospital (now re-developed as housing) and the former brickworks (producers of the Arlesey Whites bricks seen in many local buildings). Some of the clay pits used by the brickworks are now lakes and there are also two disused Portland Cement Company chalk pits, one of which is the Blue Lagoon, which hosts fishing and sailing clubs. Although the lake is private, large numbers of people go there to swim. There have been a number of drownings that have been reported in the national news. In 2001 three children died when the car they were in was accidentally driven into the lake.[2] Most recently a teenager drowned while swimming in April 2007.[3]
Gothic Mede Lower School has around 200 pupils aged 5 to 9. Younger children can attend the adjoining Arlesey Nursery School. Etonbury Academy is the town's middle school.
The Arlesey Bomb fishing weight was developed by angler, Dick Walker to catch specimen perch from the local chalk pits.[4]
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On the 19 December 1943[5][6] a Handley Page Halifax belonging to 138 Squadron was in a collision with a chimney at Arlesey Brickworks.
The aircraft BB364 (NF-R) had left its base at RAF Tempsford on a training mission.
The crew of nine perished in the subsequent crash.
On the 28 March 1944[6][7] a Lockheed Hudson belonging to 161 Squadron RAF crashed on the Arlesey to Stotfold road killing the crew.
The aircraft FK767 had left its base at RAF Tempsford on a training flight.
The town's football team is Arlesey Town F.C..
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