Visit Silsoe Places

Welcome to Visit Silsoe Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Silsoe

  

Silsoe Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Silsoe

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Silsoe history

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Origin

Domesday Book records two manors, the larger held by Hugh of Walter, brother of Saher, and this later became the manor of Wrest. The Danes were thought to have been the earliest settlers here. The village name is derived from the Danish word ‘hoh’, in “Sifels hoh”, meaning ‘Sifel’s hill” By 1563 there were 21 families living in Silsoe.

The Wrest Estate

Silsoe’s position on a main road to London and halfway between Bedford and Luton made it a favourite halt for drovers and travellers stopping at the George coaching inn (first mentioned in 1624) The Wrest Estate, in turn, provided the village with a church – St James’s, a school and a row of almhouses.

Silsoe College

The Silsoe Research Institute, a BBSRC-funded body, was located in Wrest Park. Cranfield University was home to a Cranfield campus for agricultural engineering. The former campus grounds are being redeveloped for housing, community and business use.

Church of St James and War Memorial

The church stands on the site of a much earlier free chapel of St. Leonard, first mentioned in the Liber Antiquus (1209–35), that became a chapel of ease in the 17th century. The church was rebuilt between 1829–1831 and opened on 20 February 1831. It consists of chancel, nave, aisles and tower containing three bells.

The Lock-up

In Church Road, is an ironstone lock-up erected 1796, octagonal, with a pointed head to the doorway. It was used as a temporary place for stray animals or drunks. The central pole, now removed, was used to chain pensioners in transit between Bedford and Luton.

Modern history

The Millennium Green is a 4.94-hectare amenity space located off the High Street. The village was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. Cranfield University landscape engineering students drew up designs in collaboration with residents of the village.

You can visit Silsoe places with Walkfo Silsoe to hear history at Silsoe’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Silsoe has 27 places to visit in our interactive Silsoe map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Silsoe, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Silsoe places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Silsoe & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 27 audio facts unique to Silsoe places in an interactive Silsoe map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Silsoe Places Map
27 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Silsoe historic spots	Silsoe tourist destinations	Silsoe plaques	Silsoe geographic features
Walkfo Silsoe tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Silsoe

  

Best Silsoe places to visit

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Silsoe has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Silsoe’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Silsoe’s information audio spots:

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Visit Silsoe plaques