History
The name Millbrook needs no explanation. There are numerous documentary references to mills and the brook is clearly the one which rises and flows northward past the village. A mill at Millbrook is first mentioned in the year 931a
The earliest reference to Millbrook is Domesday when the manors of Millbrook and Ampthill were held by the d’Albini family. The first owners of the Manor of Millbrook were the Norman Barons of Cainhoe Castle, the De Albinis, later known as D'Albini and Daubeney. They were followed by a St. Croix and after him came the St Amands, great Crusaders. The Beauchamps who followed, sold the manor to the renowned Knight of Agincourt fame, Sir John Cornwall, who married the sister of King Henry IV, and became Lord Fanhope, Baron Millbrook, held the Order of the Garter, and built Ampthill Castle in the 15th century. The Earls of Kent of Wrest Park followed, and eventually the Manor passed into the possession of King Henry VIII, and was annexed to the Royal Honour of Ampthill. The Bruce family, Earls of Elgin and of Ailesbury, were Seneschals of the Honour in the 17th century and Lords of the Manor until the time of the Earl of Upper Ossory in late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1818 Lord Holland succeeded his
uncle, Lord Upper Ossory. The manor was purchased by the Duke of Bedford after the death of Lord Holland in 1840 and the lordship of the manor has remained in his family since then.
St Michaels and All Angels Church
The Church stands on high ground near the neck of a spur of the Greensand escarpment overlooking the village. It stands in an irregular, four sided churchyard which was extended slightly on its northern side in the last century. Although the church was considerably restored in the 19th century by Butterfield and completely refaced, some medieval features are still visible. The tower dates to the 15th century.