Ampthill

52.0263 - 0.4906Koordinaten: 52 ° 2 ' N, 0 ° 29 ' W

Ampthill is a small town in Bedfordshire, England and is situated between Bedford and Luton. The town has about 6000 inhabitants. It is managed by the " Central Bedfordshire Council". For several centuries there in Ampthill every Thursday a weekly market.

History

The name " Ampthill " comes from the Anglo-Saxon. The first settlement in this area his " Aemethyll ", which literally means " anthill " is. In the " Domesday Book " it means that the governor of 1086 Nigel de la Vast was.

In 1242 the town was granted by King Henry III. the right to have a market every Thursday. This tradition continues to this continuing into the 21st century.

Henry VIII regularly visited the castle of Ampthill. Catherine of Aragon lived from 1531 to 1533 there when they were divorced and she moved to Kimbolton. The castle was built in the 15th century by Sir John Cornwall.

Although the palace no longer exists, there are some intriguing clues to life on the lock. There are several ponds that were created for fishing.

St. Andrew's Church of England

The Church of St. Andrew dates back to the time between the contemporaneous English architecture to the Perpendicular style architecture. The church has eight bells. By 1981 there were only six, the other two were added later. Furthermore you will find in it a monument of Richard Nicolls (1624-1672), who was born in Ampthill. He was one of the commanders of the expedition, the Nieuw Amsterdam conquered. Later, the city was renamed in New York and Richard Nicolls was the first British governor of the city.

The Houghton House

The Houghton House was built in 1621 by Mary Sidney and Sir Philip Sidney. This building was formed in 1675, the inspiration for the " House Beautiful " in John Bunyan 's The Pilgrim 's Progress. Bunyan's work is based on his travels between Bedford and Luton. The steep slope of Ampthill was the model for the " Hill of Difficulty " ( German: mountain of difficulties ). The Houghton House fell into ruin after the roof was removed in 1794.

Style

John Fitzpatrick was in the 1780s, the " Lord Ossory of Ampthill Park". He launched a campaign to improve the city center. He left the still existing marketplace, a water pump, as well as build a clock tower. Fitzpatrick was also responsible for a memorial cross for Catherine of Aragon. It bears an inscription by Horace Walpole.

After the death of Lord Ossory 1818 Ampthill was the seat of the " Baron Holland". In its time, was a well-known meeting place for intellectuals, Holland House in Kensington.

Sir Albert Richardson, a British architect of the 20th century, lived from 1919 to 1964 in Ampthill. He impressed in that time the city's architecture.