"A shield: below, white lines on azure; waved.
Above: a sheep's head, an open book edged or with crossed crook and quill.
All on a field azure."
The wavy lines represent water in heraldic terms and refer to the two rivers which meet within the boundaries. The sheep's head represents the ancient name Sheep Ford.
The quill represents the writing of Robert Bloomfield. The open book is the heraldic symbol for holders of a Charter, Shefford's Market Charter dates from 1225.
The crook, whilst reinforcing the association with the early sheep crossing also forms part of the heraldic symbol for a market town.
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Shefford - A Brief Introduction
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Situated at the confluence of two small rivers, the Hit and the Flit, the town has served as the local market place since ancient times. Today a good variety of small specialist shops are to be found in the High Street, North Bridge Street and South Bridge Street with a supermarket established in St. Francis Way.
A weekly market is held every Friday in the High Street. Once a year the wide main street becomes a fair ground during the annual Michaelmas Fair held each October 11th.
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Shefford - A Good Place To Live In
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Shefford's location makes it an ideal base, with the M1 motorway some 10 miles to the west and the A1 / A1(M) 6 miles to the east. The major shopping centres of Bedford, Hitchin, Luton and Stevenage are within 14 miles, whilst Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Cambridge and London are within an hour.
The Town has four Churches representing Baptist, Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic denominations and all close to the town centre.
The three schools, Shefford Lower (which also has a nursery unit), Robert Bloomfield Middle and Samuel Whitbread Community College encompass the three tier system adopted by Bedfordshire County Council.
A modern and well equipped Health Centre is located in Iveldale Drive and the Fire Station, which serves a wide local area, stands at the junction of Ivel Road and Clifton Road.
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Shefford - A Nice Place To Visit
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The High Street provides an interesting contrast in architecture. Prominent on the south Side is St. Francis Court, a group of Victorian Buildings attached to St. Francis Roman Catholic Church. Built in the late 19th century as a boys' home, the buildings were recently extensively restored, retaining the facade.
In contrast, the parish church of St. Michael and All Angels, also on the South side, has evolved over many centuries, the oldest part can be found in the tower and dates back to the 14th century. The building is mainly of local sand stone with brick and mortar additions.
Between these two sites a new supermarket (Somerfield) and library have been opened. The building, of red brick and rising three stories, has been designed to blend with its older neighbours.
The North side of the High Street appears at first glance to have little interest except for 'Tudor House', a 17th century inn, which has been restored to a brick and timber residence. On closer inspection however, it will be seen that much of the property has been encased during the 19th century and recent restoration to many of the properties has revealed ancient timbers and low beams of a much earlier period.
Around the corner in North Bridge Street the most prominent building is 'The Porch', a 15th century brick and oak beamed arcaded building, at present time owned by Barclays Bank. As in the High Street, several buildings have hidden their origins behind a Georgian facade. On the West side of the street is the Council Chamber, built towards the end the last century as a Fire Station, it is now the home of the Town Council.
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Shefford - A Great Place to Work and Play
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Whilst many who live in Shefford commute to work in the larger towns nearby, many more find work in the numerous small factories and office within the town. Many of the factories are to be found on the Shefford Industrial Park close to the town centre. Several others are to be found throughtout the town.
There are many interesting walks close at hand, the most popular of these follows the course of the old tow path and includes such features as the site of the wharf; the quay; a footbridge which stands on the site of an old swing bridge and still bears the name today; and the site of Shefford Lock, the highest lock in the now derelict Ivel navigation system.
Waterside provides some recreation land on the north bank of the river Flit. It is ideal for unsupervised games and is designated as a picnic area.
In contrast to the riverside walks some unexpected views can be gained from the top of Cockshoot Hill and above Target Wood. Both points can be reached by public footpaths on the outskirts of the town. Although the hills are only some 200 to 250 feet high, they rise above the flat Ivel valley and provide a panoramic view to the South and East.
A public footpath from New Street, near the centre of the town leads over farm land; crosses the River Hit (an underpass takes it beneath the by-pass) and on to the village of Meppershall whilst to the north of the town another path passes through Hardwick farm yard and onto the base at RAF Chicksands.
In the north-west side of the town is Rowney Warren, a dense pine wood partly owned and worked by the Forestry Commission. These woods are open to the public at all times.
For the nature lover, many species of wild life can be observed on these walks including small Muntjac or Barking Deer which have colonised this area over the past 20 years. The Muntjac is depicted on the waymark signs for the Greensand Ridge Path which passes two miles to the north.
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