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General
Toddington is a large town five kilometres north of Houghton Regis with a population of 4,820. It has a large village green with an impressive cruciform church at one end. The town’s wealth came from the straw plait industry and is reflected in the number of fine buildings that surround the green.
The best house on the green is Old Wentworth House built of chequer-brick in about 1700 and sports a fine eighteenth century doorway. To the east of the church lies the mound of a mediaeval motte and bailey castle called Conger Hill. Toddington Manor lies to the northwest which is mainly nineteenth century but does contain evidence of an earlier mansion where Elizabeth I once stayed.
Toddington
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The Bedford Arms
The Bedford Arms is supposed to be haunted by a nautical ghost. In the winter of 1999 the Paranormal Realm Society investigated the pub and declared that it was haunted. The landlords at that time, Richard and Nicky Bollen said that they had never seen anything themselves but the pub did have a long history of being haunted. Regulars have reported seeing a man in the fireplace, being tapped on the shoulder and the sound of footsteps. The ghost is said to be that of a sea captain who returned home to find his wife and child murdered. He continued to live at the cottage for a while but was so overcome with grief that he eventually hung himself from a rafter in what is now a bedroom. A priest was called in to exorcise the pub but the present landlord, Jamie Bent, says that he is still being seen by locals and members of Jamie’s family both in the bar and the bedroom.
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Toddington, The Bedford Arms
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The Bell
The Bell is haunted by a ghost that is heard but never seen. Four years ago the landlord, Marcus Hayden, was having some work done on a bedroom. Woodworm had been found in the floorboards so they had to be replaced and the remaining original timbers treated to prevent a further attack. As is usually the case any alteration starts the poltergeist activity. At 16:00 the carpenter left and shortly afterwards Marcus heard an ‘almighty bang’ from the empty room. This was followed shortly after by another bang. Marcus rushed upstairs and checked the room but found nothing. The door and window had been left open as ventilation because of the chemicals yet now the door was shut. The door has a latch which has to be pressed down to open the door and the door swings naturally open, yet it had closed. Marcus opened the door and went downstairs then five minutes later there was another bang. Marcus by now was fed up so he rushed upstairs, stood in the middle of the room and told the ghost to stop as the alterations were necessary and he was only trying to improve the pub. It worked and the banging stopped.
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Toddington, The Bell
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M1 Junction 12
Several accidents seem to have happened on the M1 by Junction 12 at Toddington. Not all of them are due to bad driving some have a more supernatural cause. Many of the drivers have reported seeing a man in dark clothing wandering around in front of their car so that they have had to swerve to avoid him. Afterwards there is no sign of him and the drivers are left wondering if their imagination is playing tricks
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Toddington, M1 Junction 12
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The Sow and Pigs
The ghost that appears in the Sow and Pigs haunts a strange area. Customers making use of the facilities in the gents’ toilet get the fright of their lives when he appears next to them and says “move over”.
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Toddington, The Sow and Pigs
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