Kempston is a village in Bedfordshire, England. The name in its old form is "kemestun" which includes the Brittonic word "cambio" meaning bent ot curved. Therefore the name meant when coined "the enclosed settlement on the bend". The bend was that of the river Great Ouse noted for its sharp bends upstream of Bedford. It is just possible that "cambita" (the curved one) was the name given to this stretch of the river by the Celtic speaking population. In this case the name could have developed like that of the river Kembs in the French Department of Haute Rhin. Locally the village name is pronounced Kemstun.

Kempston also was the brand name of a popular joystick and interface for the ZX Spectrum.

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