23-27, Bedford Street
23-27, Bedford Street
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1321691
- Date first listed:
- 16-Mar-1987
- List Entry Name:
- 23-27, Bedford Street
- Statutory Address:
- 23-27, Bedford Street
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-04-16
- Reference:
- IOE01/10006/08
- Rights:
- © Dr W A Cooper. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1321691
- Date first listed:
- 16-Mar-1987
- List Entry Name:
- 23-27, Bedford Street
- Statutory Address 1:
- 23-27, Bedford Street
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- 23-27, Bedford Street
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Central Bedfordshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Woburn
- National Grid Reference:
- SP 94835 33375
Details
SP 9433-9533
8/92
WOBURN
BEDFORD STREET (East side)
Nos 23 to 27 (consecutive)
GV
II
Row of Bedford Estate cottages erected by the Seventh Duke of Bedford. Dated 1850. Red brick laid in a curious rat-trap bond. C20 tile roofs.
Two storeyed group arranged in a U shape. Symmetrical road elevation has four gables to centre. Ground floor has two three-light windows to centre and two two-light windows each to outer bays. First floor has one two-light window beneath each gable. All are cast iron lattice casements under slightly cambered heads. Red brick multiple ridge stacks.
The Seventh Duke of Bedford recognised the advantages of housing agricultural labourers in comfortable cottages. From the late 1840s onwards the emphasis in Bedford estate cottage building was on the utilitarian rather than the Picturesque. The cottages are not only remarkable for the high quality of construction at such an early date, but also represent an influential contribution to the development of working class housing, which culminated in garden cities and early council housing. The Dukes of Bedford constructed roughly 500 cottages in the locality between the late 1840s and World War 1.
This cottage group is a good early example of this building phase. It is similar to plans in the Seventh Duke's Plans and Elevations, and listed on p.99 of the Eleventh Duke's Great Agricultural Estate. The brickwork is of particular interest as an early form of cavity walling (cf. note from Charles Hacker in Plans and Elevations.)
The (7th) Duke of Bedford: Plans and Elevations of Cottages for Agricultural Labourers, London, 1850, a reprint of letter and plans sent to the Earl of Chichester, President of the Royal Agricultural Society; The (11th) Duke of Bedford: A Great Agricultural Estate being the Story of the Origin and Administration of Woburn and Thorney, London, 1897; Rev. C H Hartshorne: System of Building Labourers' Cottages pursued on the Estates of His Grace the Duke of Bedford, nd. but apparently 1849.
Listing NGR: SP9483533375
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 38195
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Hartshorne, Reverend C H, The System of Building Labourers Cottages pursued on the Estates of his Grace the Duke of Bedford, (1849)
The 11th Duke of Bedford, , A Great Agricultural Estate being the Story of the Origin and Administration of Woburn and Thorney, (1897)
Other
The 7th Duke of Bedford, Plans and Elevations of Cottages for Agricultural Labourers, (1850)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 01-Jul-2026 at 05:26:12.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.