Slip End is a very recent development. The land formed part of the ancient parish of Caddington|. This parish was split between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire until 1897 but Slip End was always in the Bedfordshire portion. The settlement at Slip End began only in the 1850s and 1860s beside a road, Front Street, laid out at inclosure of Caddington in 1800. Summer Street was also built at this time and more houses built along it. All the houses were built of locally made brick. Only thirty years after it began Slip End was the single largest settlement in Caddington parish, other than Markyate, which was soon to be transferred to Hertfordshire.

 
Victorian terrace in Church Street - March 2007

In recognition of the size of Slip End the civil parish| of Caddington was known as Caddington & Slip End but on 10 Oct 2000 Slip End was created a separate civil parish. In 2001 1,974 people were recorded by the census as living in the parish of Slip End.