Meppershall

Meppershall post office (c) Humphrey Bolton

The village of Meppershall is perched atop a long ridge 9 miles north of Luton. The village is strung out along a high street nearly a mile in length.

Meppershall is blessed with some fine historic buildings, such as the half-timbered 17th-century Meppershall Manor and a contemporary thatched cottage on Stondon Road.

The oldest building in the village is probably the Castle, thought to date to about 1100. The castle lives cheek-by-jowl with the Church of Our Lady, which has a 12th-century tower and transept. The nave and aisles of the church were added in Victorian times. Of note is the 12 sided font, from the 15th century.

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin was established in the Norman period but is set within prehistoric earthworks. The font is 12th century, but the bowl is probably Saxon.

In addition to the church, there is a restored 12th-century chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket. The chapel used to belong to Chicksand's Priory, though it has been lately used as a barn for Chapel Farm. The Norman doorway to the chapel is striking.

The chapel gained considerable importance as a destination for pilgrims in the Middle Ages, and a papal letter of 1291 promised penitents remission of one year and forty days penance if they made the journey to Meppershall's chapel.