Stewartby is a small parish on the edge of the Marston Vale, within the borough of Bedford, originally developed in the 1920s and 30s as a model village for workers at the large local brickworks. The landscape still bears the imprint of clay extraction – old pits have become lakes and wetlands that are now part of local regeneration and recreational schemes, and the village is served by the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley, giving a quiet commuter link into the surrounding towns.
Historically and economically Stewartby was dominated by the London Brick Company and its Fletton-brick industry, with distinctive company-built housing and community amenities that give the place a coherent, planned feel. Decline in large-scale brickmaking has changed the local economy and identity in recent decades; the tall chimneys that once marked the skyline were a much-photographed landmark until their removal, and the area now mixes industrial heritage with new housing, nature recovery and leisure uses around the lakes.
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