Caleb Lefevre remembered the railway line being constructed at Sharnbrook, particularly because of the number of navvies who came into the village on "Feast Monday" and who rioted and swarmed into his father's shop after drinking too many pints of the local ale.

The Round House on the village green was still used for lodging prisoners overnight, and there were stocks nearby. The local constable would give detainees breakfast before taking them before magistrates at the Bletsoe Falcon, six miles away.

The Green, with its central market house, had long grass suitable for grazing, and no trees. Many village inhabitants did not travel further from the village than they could walk. The local carrier, with his horse-drawn van, made the ten mile journey into Bedford twice a week and Caleb recalls a predecessor of the bicycle being used in the village. This was a four-wheeled arrangement operated by levers and cranks with the operators sitting face to face.