Homes to Rent and Buy in Shortstown

Shortstown sits on a ridge above the Great Ouse, just south-east of Bedford. It used to be called Tinker’s Hill. The Admiralty bought the land in 1916 and Short Brothers built a village for the people working on its airships, which is how it got its name.

You can still pick out those first homes. The 1919 terraces are neo-Georgian red brick with dark red tiled roofs, and they’re among the most characterful houses in the area. The Shorts Building from 1917 has been done up and now holds flats, a community hall and a permanent display of photographs of the R101, the airship built in the shed next door.

Most of the rest of Shortstown is new. Building east of the A600 since 2012 has brought modern family houses and a new village centre with shops and Shortstown Primary School. Shocott Spring, a woodland planted as part of the Forest of Marston Vale, runs between Shortstown and Cotton End.

It suits families who want a newer house close to Bedford, and anyone who likes the idea of living next to a bit of aviation history.