Southill’s story
23 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade II*
Historic England lists them inside Southill’s built-up area.
48% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
SouthillBedfordshire
The village has 276 residents and lies in Bedfordshire, East of England.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
276
Census 2021 · Central Bedfordshire council
Median age
51.7
22% are 65+ · Bedfordshire 15%
Degree level
31%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
6%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Southill a good place to live?
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Southill is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. 6% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Private renters make up 72% of households. 48% of its homes date from before 1919.
What makes Southill stand out
The 3 things Southill does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
6% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Households renting privately
Housing
of households, against 21% across England’s towns
Homes built before 1919
History
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Southill.
Work & commute
Work tends to be further away for Southill: 21% commute under 5 km, below Bedfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 38% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Southill counts 1.3 jobs per working resident. The car took nine in ten commuters, above both Bedfordshire’s towns (77%) and England’s towns (70%); what’s more, 38% of workers did their job mainly from home at the census. Also worth knowing: about 9% of its commuters stay in Southill for work.
6%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving90%
Train2%
On foot1%
Bus1%
Bicycle1%
21%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
38%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£68K
mean household income, before tax
2.6%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Schools
The schools around Southill
48% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its only school is listed below. Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 45.7, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southill Lower SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 78 | – |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Housing
Fewer households own their home in Southill than in Bedfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 22%
Social housing holds 5% of households, below both Bedfordshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,250 a month across the Central Bedfordshire council area.
£0Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Southill£0K
Typical UK town£277K
22%
of households own their home · England 61%
72%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,250
average private rent a month, Central Bedfordshire council area
£2,385
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Violence is recorded less often in Southill than in Bedfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 2.4 per 1,000 residents a year
Violence and sexual offences accounted for 50% of recorded crime. Burglary and damage come to 7.3 per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 2 crimes inside Southill’s built-up area.
2.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual1
Burglary1
Shoplifting0
Damage & arson0
Public order0
Other theft0
Drugs0
Vehicle crime0
Anti-social0
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
2.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
7.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
2
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Bad health is more common in Southill than in Bedfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 7.6% of residents
The nearest A&E to Southill is Bedford Hospital, 7.8 miles away. At the census, 78% of people in Southill called their health good or very good, below Bedfordshire’s towns (84%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. A disability affects 20% of people in the town. Seeing a GP means leaving Southill: the nearest practice is 2.1 miles away.
78%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 78%Fair 15%Bad or very bad 8%
| Census 2021 | Southill | Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 84% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.6% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 15% | 17% |
82.2
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
84.6
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy and early deaths.
History
More of the land in Southill is conservation area than in Bedfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 70%
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Southill has 23 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. For its size, Southill has 833 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. It has one registered historic park or garden.
23listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*1
Grade II22
Among them · Grade II*
- Parish Church of All Saints Grade II*
0
scheduled monuments
1
registered park and garden
48%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
833
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Fewer children live in Southill than in Bedfordshire’s towns or England’s towns: 13% are under 15
The 15-to-24 age group: 8.3%, below Bedfordshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Retirement age and beyond: just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older. Line up the people of Southill by age and the one in the middle is 51.7.
51.7median age
SouthillBedfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
22%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications21%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level31%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Southill | Bedfordshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 29% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 39% | 25% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 15% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Bedfordshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →The Shuttleworth Collection and 5 more in and around Southill
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Southill. Best known first.
MuseumMuseumThe Shuttleworth Collection2.6 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseThe Mansion House2 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseShortmead House4.9 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMilitary Intelligence Museum3.3 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionSummerfields' Miniature Railways4.7 km outside town, to the westGardenGardenThe Swiss Garden2.5 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseThe Mansion House2 km outside town, to the northHistoric houseShortmead House4.9 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMilitary Intelligence Museum3.3 km outside town, to the southwestAttractionAttractionSummerfields' Miniature Railways4.7 km outside town, to the westGardenGardenThe Swiss Garden2.5 km outside town, to the northPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- The Mansion House: Giles Keen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shortmead House: Richard a slade, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Military Intelligence Museum: Gothic20, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Southill
13pages on Southill
The big questions
Famous people from Southill
3 notable people were born in Southill.
H
Henry FitzRoy, 5th Duke of GraftonBritish politician (1790-1863)J
John Byng, 5th Viscount TorringtonBritish Peer of the Realm · 1743–1813Photo credits
John Byng: Thomas Hudson, Public domain
Southill’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
SheffordCliftonLangfordUpper CaldecoteHenlowMeppershallBiggleswadeSouthill
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southill | 276 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shefford | 7,317 | 1.9 | B | B+ | C | A− |
| Clifton | 2,769 | 2.2 | B | B | C+ | B+ |
| Langford | 3,712 | 2.3 | B | B− | B | B |
| Upper Caldecote | 1,333 | 2.6 | — | B− | B | B |
| Henlow | 2,446 | 2.8 | — | B− | A− | B |
| Meppershall | 2,044 | 3.4 | — | C+ | B+ | B+ |
| Biggleswade | 21,945 | 3.4 | B− | B+ | B− | C+ |
Upper Caldecote, Henlow and Meppershall have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Southill
How many listed buildings are there in Southill?
That is 34.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
How much is council tax in Southill?
Band D council tax in Southill is £2,385 for 2026–27, less than in 61% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Southill
Village in Bedfordshire, England
Southill is a built-up area of 276 people, in the Central Bedfordshire council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
- Population
- 276 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Central Bedfordshire
- County
- Bedfordshire
- Region
- East of England
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
- ONS code
- E63003793
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.