The Wrest Estate, in turn, provided the village with a church – St James's, a school and a row of almhouses, so sited that a row of cottages was hidden from the gentry's view as they drove from the Park to the church in nearby Flitton. Silsoe's position on a main road to London and halfway between Bedford and Luton made it a favourite halt for drovers and travellers stopping at the "George" coaching inn (first mentioned in 1624) on the High Street.