Farndish is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Podington, in the Bedford district, in northwest Bedfordshire, England, located about 500 metres (yards) east of the county border with Northamptonshire. The village is near the Northamptonshire villages of Irchester and Wollaston and the Bedfordshire village of Wymington. In 1881 the parish had a population of 72. It is in the electoral ward of Harrold. Much property in the area is owned by – once famous locally for their pork pies and pastry. History The name Farndish means fern-clad pasture. Farndish was mentioned in the Domesday Survey as 'Fernadis'. According to Samuel Lewis The local author H. E. Bates often would come through the village on his nocturnal walks in the 1920s and 1930s. It was on one of the night walks that he got the inspiration for his first novel, The Two Sisters, when he saw a light burning in a cottage window. In 1937 The Times reported the plans being made in Farndish to mark the celebrations for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – "a fine example of how England's villages may make this a memorable day in the lives of their people". On Coronation Day each of the twelve houses in the village was to be decorated to represent a different part of the British Empire. In the morning there would be a service in the parish church, for which the parson would come from Podington. "Then", according to The Times, "the population of 45 will adjourn to the village hall to drink the health of the King in ale. Port wine will be supplied to those who are teetotallers, in accordance with a well-known English custom." In the afternoon there were to be sports and games, and in the evening the villagers would return to the village hall for a fancy-dress dance and whist drive. On 1 April 1884 the parish was abolished and merged with Podington. The church The church of St Michaels & All Angels appears to have been built sometime between 1180 and 1210. The masonry used to build the church is mainly local rubble along with some rust-coloured ironstone; the window dressings are of local limestone. The tower was added in the 15th century within the nave and houses three bells: Treble – cast by Christopher Grave – 1663 Second – cast by James Keene