Houghton Regis

Houghton Regis is a town and civil (administrative) parish in Bedfordshire, England. The parish is located within Central Bedfordshire, which includes the town of Houghton Regis and hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbours of Dunstable and Luton, form the Luton /Dunstable Urban Area, a conurbation with a population over 255, 000. Ancient historyRelics of Palæolithic man, such as flint implements and the bones of contemporary wild animals, suggest prehistoric settlement. At Maiden Bower within Houghton Regis CP, near Sewell, there is an Iron Age hill fort. This is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey maps. Maiden Bower has some of the ramparts showing through the edge of an old chalk quarry where there are Bronze Age remains of an older Fort. According to W. H. Matthews (Mazes and Labyrinths, 1922), a turf maze once existed at "Maiden Bower". The Icknield Way Path passes through the parish on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes through the parish.

Houghton Regis is a town and civil (administrative) parish in Bedfordshire, England. The parish is located within Central Bedfordshire, which includes the town of Houghton Regis and hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn, and Sewell. Houghton Regis, along with its contiguous neighbours of Dunstable and Luton, form the Luton /Dunstable Urban Area, a conurbation with a population over 255, 000. Ancient historyRelics of Palæolithic man, such as flint implements and the bones of contemporary wild animals, suggest prehistoric settlement. At Maiden Bower within Houghton Regis CP, near Sewell, there is an Iron Age hill fort. This is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey maps. Maiden Bower has some of the ramparts showing through the edge of an old chalk quarry where there are Bronze Age remains of an older Fort. According to W. H. Matthews (Mazes and Labyrinths, 1922), a turf maze once existed at "Maiden Bower". The Icknield Way Path passes through the parish on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes through the parish.