Elstow, Bedfordshire

Description
Elstow, a village and a parish in Bedfordshire. The village stands on a branch of the river Ouse, 1 3/4 mile S by W of Bedford, and has a post office under Bedford; money order and telegraph office, Bedford; and fairs on 15 May and 5 Nov. A Benedictine nunnery was founded here, in the time of William the Conqueror, by Judith, the Conqueror's niece, the Countess of Huntingdon; is said to have been very beautiful, and was called (after St Helena, the mother of Constantine, to whom, in conjunction with St Mary the Virgin, the church was dedicated) Helenstow, ultimately, Elstow. John Bunyan, the author of "Pilgrim's Progress," was a native of this village, and his cottage, in a renovated condition, is still standing. The parish comprises 1617 acres; population, 478. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; gross value, £80. The church belonged to the nunnery of Ely, is Norman, with a steeple, has two brasses of 1427 and 1530, and includes a chapter-house.