OS grid reference TL14805123 Region East Sovereign state United Kingdom Dialling code 01767 Post town Bedfordshire | Unitary authority Country England Local time Sunday 4:29 PM Ceremonial county Bedfordshire | |
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Population 926 (2001 census)
946 (2011 Census) Weather 9°C, Wind SW at 26 km/h, 71% Humidity | ||
Blunham is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) east of Bedford. The village is just off the A1 road, near Great Barford and Sandy, and is near the confluence of the River Ivel with the River Great Ouse. The village also lies on Route 51 of the National Cycle Network.
Contents
Map of Blunham, UK
At the north of village is an unusual double humpback bridge across the River Ivel and the Mill Stream which must be crossed to enter the village from the A1 road or Tempsford.
History
Blunham is an ancient parish and part of the hundred of Wixamtree, which had become disused by 1900.
The first mention of a post office in the village is in 1839, when the village had a Penny Post service under St Neots. The post office national archives record the issue to Blunham in August 1886 of a type of postmark known as a rubber datestamp. The village post office closed in October 2008. It was one of about 2,500 compulsory compensated closures of UK post office branches announced by the Government in 2007.
Blunham had a railway station which opened in 1862 on the Oxford to Cambridge railway line. The station shut when this line was closed in 1961, although the station buildings still exist and have been converted into two homes. The old railway is now used as part of Route 51 of the National Cycle Network. The route heads east towards Sandy and west towards Willington and Bedford.
From 10:00 am Thursday 26 August to 7:00 pm Monday 30 August 2010, two teams of Cricket players from the Blunham Cricket Club (BCC) played in all weather to set a new record for a continuous game of Cricket. 105 hours were played continuously, playing through a months rainfall in just 4 days, going through four consecutive nights.