a market-town in the hundred of Manshead, in the county of Bedford, thirty-three miles from London. This neighbourhood was celebrated formerly for the size of its larks, and for the great number of straw and chip hats made by the females, a trade which is still extensively carried on. It was a Roman station, the Magnesium of Antoninus. There is here a weekly market, which is held on Saturday. The inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 1296, in 1811 to 1616, in 1821 to 1831, and in 1831 to 2117.