Close Road is a cul-de-sac of houses a mile to the east of Pavenham Village, where Remains - thought to be of a Pre-Enclosure Footpath, have been uncovered at the rear of No.17.

From the time of the Enclosures of 1770 until the construction of the current homes, the area was agricultural land with no recorded dwellings in documents held by Bedfordshire County Archives.

The Pre-Enclosure Map of 1769 however,  and the Enclosure Awards of 1770,  suggest that a good deal of activity used to take place at this end of the parish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number One Stone Pit was a public area for the storing of stone for the repair of the roads, and was the responsibility of the parish Overseer of Highways.
The entry in the Enclosure Awards 1770 for Sarah Warner - apart from stating her boundaries and obligations to maintain fences, ditches and mounds - also mentions a cottage on the plot with Rights of Access along a footpath running from The King's Highway, up behind the stone pit and onto her plot.

It seems that Close Road was built on these two parcels of land over a century and a half later.

Preliminary research has been undertaken, and even allowing for inaccuracies in the 1769 Enclosure Award Map, an overlay of a current Ordnance Survey Map aligned on different reference points, and a compass orientation seems to verify the find.

At this point in time a report of the findings is being prepared and will be forwarded to the County Archeologist for verification and/or further investigation, and this page will be updated when further information becomes available.

Many thanks to Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service and Bedford Central Library whose assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.

© 3/7/2003 Pavenham.Com