What is "yielden"

Yielden or Yelden is a village in Bedfordshire, near the borders with Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. It lies on the River Til which feeds into the Great Ouse valley and is about 70m above sea level. It is approximately 14 miles north of Bedford, 3.75miles south-east of Higham Ferrers and 6.75 miles west of Kimbolton and is in the Hundred of Stodden. The countryside around the village rises to about 90m above sea level, is generally open and rolling in nature and is predominantly used for agricultural purposes. The centre piece of the village is the Castle Mound or Yielden Castle the site of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. This is now a complex of grassed over earthworks dominated by a central mound. Other notable features include the church of St Mary, a Wesleyan Chapel built in 1884, the Chequers Public House and the Yelden Village Hall. It has a present population of roughly between 150 – 200 adults and 50 – 100 children living in about 90 residences.

Yelden has its own book under the title 'Yelden Past and Present' produced by the Yelden Parish Study Group that was first printed in 1972. It has since been updated and reprinted in 2001 and is the definitive source of historical information about the village. Much of the information in this article has been made with reference to this publication.

Neighbouring villages include Melchbourne, Newton Bromswold, Upper Dean and Shelton.