Wilshamstead, Bedfordshire

Description
Wilshamstead or Wilstead, a parish, with a village, in Bedfordshire, 4 miles S of Bedford, where there are stations on the L. & N.W.R. and the M.R. It has a post office under Bedford; money order office, Bedford; telegraph office, Cardington railway station. Acreage, 3131; population, 787. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belongs to the Thynne family. Pillow lace is made by the female inhabitants. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net value, £200 with residence. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a building of stone in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular styles. It was beautifully restored in 1873. The nave contains a finely carved roof of hammer-beam style. There is a Wesleyan chapel.