Stanford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Southill, in the Central Bedfordshire district of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is about south-east of the county town of Bedford. In 1870-72 it had a population of 385. Geography Stanford lies north-east of Shefford, south-west of Biggleswade and south-west of Cambridge. Landscape The village lies within the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands (NCA 88) as designated by Natural England. Central Bedfordshire Council has locally classified the landscape as Upper Ivel Clay Valley. Flat, open arable fields predominate. Elevation The village is above sea level. Geology, soil type and land use The village is surrounded by arable farmland and lies on glacial gravel (till) over Lower Greensand. The soil is highly fertile, freely draining and slightly acid but base-rich. Stanford Wood, a pine wood with a small lake is to the east of the hamlet between Stanford Road and the B658. A gravel pit is shown here on the Ordnance Survey map of 1900. A playing field in the middle of the village includes a playground area, basketball court and football pitch. Broom South sand and gravel quarry lies to the north-east. The night sky and light pollution Light pollution is the level of radiance (night lights) shining up into the night sky. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) divides the level of night sky brightness into 9 bands with band 1 being the darkest i.e. with the lowest level of light pollution and band 9 the brightest and most polluted. Stanford has an index of 0.5-1 nanoWatts (nW) which places it in band 3. However, the night sky brightens towards Langford, Clifton and Shefford. History Stanford means "stone ford". The Domesday Book records eight land holdings in Stanford in 1086 and lists thirteen villagers, three smallholders and four slaves. A water mill at the end of Mill Road was fed by a mill race from the Ivel Navigation but by 1916 it was no longer in operation. A small school was opened in 1899 but a falling role led to its closure in 1921 and pupils transferred to Broom. The building on the junction of Old School Lane and the B658 road is now a residential dwelling . Stanford at one time had three public houses. Only the Green Man remains. Governance Stanford elects three councillors to Southill parish council. It is part of Northill ward for elections