The town and civil parish of Shefford is located in the Central Bedfordshire district in Bedfordshire County, England. Two rivers flow through the town, River Flit and River Hit. River Flit flows from Flitwick and merges with River Ivel on the boundary. The Ivel finally joins with the River Great Ouse north of Sandy.
Shefford Hardwick was once a rural hamlet north of Ampthill Road, west of the parish. It became an independent civil parish in 1858 but was absorbed by the parish in 1933 as the settlement grew.
From 1869 to 1974 the town was home to the orphanage of St Francis’ Boy’s Home located on the High Street adjacent to the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. Up to the present time, the church is being used as a place of worship. The buildings of the orphanage which dates back to the 1880s are the most impressive structures in this town. These buildings were converted into residential flats.
Food, Shopping and Accommodation in Shefford
The modern day town has a fire station, a brewery and a bowls club. It also has several clubs and restaurants including award-winning Indian restaurants and takeaways, Chinese takeaways, a fish and chips place, cake/sandwich shops, two small cafes and a bakery. In the town, there is second-hand clothes shop, a pharmacy, two car dealers, two petrol stations, three estate agents, two florists, and an angling shop. A post office is also found in this town complete with sorting facilities.
Things to See and Do in Shefford
Although Shefford is not a tourist destination, the town houses a fascinating museum, the Military Intelligence Museum. It has a display of the essential elements of the British Military Intelligence history as far back as the Boer War. The main collection in the museum is the collection of artefacts and other memorabilia about the activities and history of the Intelligence Corp.