Shortstown is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Bedford, on a ridge above the River Great Ouse, originally called Tinkers Hill.

In 1918 and 1927, sheds (later Grade II* listed buildings) were built for the R100 and R101 airships which then represented the latest passenger flight technology.

The village was originally built by the Short Brothers for its workers,[5] but evolved into a settlement for people working at the RAF Cardington base.

It had good road and rail links with London and was beyond the range of World War I German bombers based in Belgium.

It has taken on many guises, ranging from an Administration Block in the early airship days to Station HQ in WW2 and, in more recent years, as a training centre for the Civil Service.

It is now used for 20 residential apartments and has a Public Common Hall, that shows a permanent display of 17 enhanced historic R101 photographs taken from The Airship Heritage Trust collection.

With the ending of National service and cuts in the armed forces the RAF's presence at Cardington began to dwindle and largely disappeared in the 1970s.

Since 2012, there has been significant housing development on land to the east of the A600,[9] this part of the village is marketed as New Cardington and Eastcotts Green to appeal as more upmarket than Shortstown.

[14] Routes 9A and 9B also provide connections to Bedford as well as the nearby locations of Cotton End and Shefford, continuing on to Hitchin.

[19] The northern part of the area has a superficial geology consisting of river terrace deposits of sand, gravel, clay and silt.

[20] There is a woodland created by the Forest of Marston Vale called Shocott Spring, which is between Shortstown and Cotton End.