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Church: St Mary the Virgin
Hundred: Ashendon
Poor Law District: Aylesbury
Size (acres): 1411
Easting & Northing: 471217
Grid Ref SP710170 Click to see map
Names & Places
Westcott PARISH St Mary the Virgin
Particular Baptist NON-CONFORMIST First Mentioned: 1822
Church Stained Glass
Search The National Archives for Westcott
Buckinghamshire Remembers - St Mary
Photographs in our Gallery
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These population figures are based on the Census results. The boundaries are those used in the particular census which may vary over time..
There was no census in 1941.
Westcott St Mary the Virgin Baptisms 1867 1901 Yes,
click here Yes,
Westcott St Mary the Virgin Marriages 1870 1901 Yes,
Westcott St Mary the Virgin Burials 1871 1901 Yes,
These were extracted from our own records and presented as a guide.
Overall Surnames
PERKINS SAUNDERS SAUNDERS SAUNDERS
GURNEY CRIPPS CANNON CANNON
CRIPPS GREEN WASHINGTON CRIPPS
STEVENS TAYLOR CRAKER WASHINGTON
TAYLER MAY CRIPPS CRAKER
DUBERY KIRBY DORMER DORMER
PAXSON MONDAY COOK VARNEY
GREENE DOVER VARNEY COOK
DELAFIELD ROSE FIGG FIGG
WIGGINS GRIFFIN DENNIS DENNIS
Westcott was a small village in the middle of farming land until the beginning of the Second World War, when a large area to the west was taken over by the Air Ministry for use as an airfield and bomber training unit. Some of the gallant men who flew from here and died on active service are buried in the little village churchyard. After the war, the R.A.F. left and since then the establishment has been used for the development of rocket propulsion. The residents of the village have become accustomed to the occasional bang or roar as a rocket engine is fired. It has now been taken over by the Royal Ordnance Factory.
In 1935, a fund was set up to provide a village hall, money being raised through donations and fetes, but before enough was raised the war started and the fund fell dormant. Various attempts were made after the war to raise more money, but the fund was still far short of the required amount as building and land prices had both soared. It finally proved impossible to reach the desired figure, so the trustees were allowed in 1978 to spend the money on the clearance of an area of common land near to the church and the school for use as a village green and playing field, with swings and other play apparatus for the children of the village.
Until about 1935, the village was served by the Quainton to Brill tramway and many of the older residents have either worked on it, or had relatives who did. The track of the railway can still be traced and the old ticket office and waiting room still stands alongside the station house. Many railway enthusiasts visit Westcott to see and photograph these reminders of a bygone age.
As most of the residents of the village either work at, or have relatives or friends who work at, the Ministry establishment, many use the social and sporting facilities of the establishment for recreational and entertainment activities.
Article written by members of the Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes for the publication "The Buckinghamshire Village Book" (1987) and reproduced here with their permission
Westcott Hamlet (Pop. 242)-
Two Daily Schools, in which 7 males and 20 females are instructed at the expense of their parents;
One Sunday School (commenced 1819), in which 32 males and 36 females receive gratuitous instruction; this School appertains to Baptists.
ABSTRACT OF EDUCATION RETURNS, 1833.
Weston Turville
Hundred: Aylesbury
Weston Turville PARISH St Mary the Virgin
Bedgrave (Fm) NAMES name for Bedgrove in 1541
Begrave NAMES name for Bedgrove in Domesday Book in 1086
Belgrove NAMES name for Bedgrove in 1627
Weston NAMES name for Weston Turville in Domesday Book in 1086
Quaker NON-CONFORMIST The Brills. First Mentioned: 1689. Site of originl meeting house & burial ground
Union Chapel NON-CONFORMIST School Lane. First Mentioned: 1839
Bedrgrove (Fm) PLACE within the parish, now a housing estate in Aylesbury
Hyde (lost) PLACE within the parish
Worlds End (Part) PLACE within the parish
Buckinghamshire Remembers - War Memorial
Search The National Archives for Weston Turville
Weston Turville St Mary the Virgin Baptisms 1538 1901 Yes,
Weston Turville St Mary the Virgin Marriages 1566 1901 Yes,
Weston Turville St Mary the Virgin Burials 1566 1909 Yes,
School Records Project
Place School Type Name Start Year End Year Indexed Document Type
Weston Turville Weston Turville 1920 Yes Admissions Register
Weston Turville - Not available Weston Turville 1957 Punishment Book
GOODSON GOODSON AXTELL GOODSON
BATE HILL BUNCE AXTELL
BAKER BABHAM PURSSELL BUNCE
GRACE BAKER GOODSON PURSSELL
BROWNE SMITH CLARK INGRAM
RUSSELL INGRAM BISHOP BATES
MOORE DEAN BATES CLARK
GRANGE TURNER INGRAM THORN
KIPPING MOUNTAGUE THORN BISHOP
HILL JONES HORN HORN
Weston Turville is a small village nestling under the Chiltern Hills, between Wendover and Aylesbury.
At the turn of the century the main occupation for the menfolk of the village was breeding white Aylesbury ducks for the London markets. There were ponds everywhere; the main one being in Main Street, opposite the village shops, where the bus shelter now stands and a house still remains known as 'Pond Farm'. The women and girls were engaged in the making of straw plait for the Luton hat industry.
The church of St Mary, part of it dating back to the 13 th century, has a small fragment of medieval glass including a Madonna and Child, on a brilliant blue background, the rest of the stained glass having been destroyed by Cromwell's soldiers.
Also in the church hangs the 'Will of Widow Turpin' and reads thus:
The Widow Turpin's Gift
She gave all her freehold leasehold arable land and lay ground lying and being within the Parish and Common fields of Weston in the County of Bucks with all Commons and Profit there into belonging to Mary Hockley, for the term of her natural life and no longer and if she hath any children lawfully begotten on her Body, then they too have her land and lay ground aforesaid equally divided betwixt them and for want of such issue then immediately after her decease. She gave all the aforesaid estate to the 'Poor of Weston' aforesaid for ever; and that thepverseerers of the Poor of the said Parish of Weston and their successors shall at the best rate and for the most profit they can, let all the said estate and the rents of the same shall be laid out only two shillings for their trouble, in great loaves of good and wholesome bread to be equally distributed by them to the poorest inhabitants of the aforesaid Parish by equal portions on the feast of St Michael the Arch Angel and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The gift became due in the year 1736.
Nowadays there are no real poor in the village, but tokens for bread or flour are given to a number of elderly widows.
An epitaph in the churchyard recalls the local tragedy of two brothers: James and Frederick Bates in 1868. They were drowned when they fell through the ice on Mill Pond. It reads :-
'They sank beneath the frozen wave
None to rescue none to save
Tempted to death in a sportive play
These brothers sleep on Jesus Day.'
The Manor House was built in the early part of the 18th century and enlarged in about 1830. There is evidence of Roman occupation, as during 1855 a Roman emphora was excavated from the adjoining rectory and a fine gold Viking ring was found, now in the British Museum. There in the grounds, the motte and bailey can still be seen. The fortifications were dismantled by order of Henry II, after the 1173-1174 rebellion, but the de Turville family continued to live there until the reign of King John. The village of Weston then became known as Weston Turville.
There have been many changes over the years but Weston Turville is still a thriving delightful village to live in.
Weston Turville Parish (Pop. 637)
One Evening School for about 15 males; and One Sunday School with 30 males and 18 females; both Schools supported by charitable means.
There are also a few small Schools for making lace and straw plaiting.
Whaddon
Church: St Mary
Hundred: Cottesloe
Poor Law District: Winslow
Whaddon PARISH St Mary
Codimere Close NAMES name for Coddimoor 1547
Snelsoo NAMES name for Snelshall Priory
Wadone NAMES name for Whaddon Domesday Book in 1086
Independent NON-CONFORMIST First Mentioned: 1830
Coddimoor (Fm) PLACE within the parish
Snelshall Priory PLACE within the parish
Whaddon Chase (Part) PLACE within the parish
Buckinghamshire Remembers - War Memorial-Church
Buckinghamshire Remembers - War Memorial-Jubilee Hall
Roll of Honour - War Memorial
Victoria County History
Search The National Archives for Whaddon
Whaddon St Mary Baptisms 1584 1900 Yes,
click here Not available
Whaddon St Mary Marriages 1584 1901 Yes,
Whaddon St Mary Burials 1585 1901 Yes,
LEA KING KING KING
EMERTON POLLARD SMITH SMITH
UNDERWOOD UNDERWOOD UNDERWOOD UNDERWOOD
EMMARTON PHILLIPS FAULKNER MISSENDEN
EVANS TAYLOR GRACE FAULKNER
REEVE CRANE MACKERNESS MACKERNESS
CARTWRIGHT CARTER SAUNDERS GRACE
LYNE MISSENDEN MISSENDEN JAMES
COOKE WILLIS JAMES TAYLOR
KYNGE SMITH SEAR SAUNDERS
I was born Maria Hopkins in 1889, the youngest of Whaddon twelve children. There were many Hopkins in the village where ancestors had lived for at least four hundred years. My mother, aged eighteen in 1862, walked, in pattens, from Aylesbury carrying my brother, a babe in arms. We lived in a bungalow at Snelshall, where there was once a priory, for my father worked on a farm. At the age of five I started school at Whaddon, walking across the fields, unless the floods were out, when we had to go round by Tattenhoe. There were a hundred children in the school, built in 1841, a long building, divided into three. The infants' room had desks raised on a gallery where we sat all day. Mr Marshall, the headmaster, was strict but kind and my school days were happy. I left at fourteen. We were taught manners and the three R's. As my mother came from Stratton Audley she could not do Bucks lace so I went with other girls to Mrs Clark to learn, sitting round a stool with a candle and a bottle of water to reflect the light.
Two of my sisters died of diptheria in one week.
We never had a holiday, but went on Sunday School and Band of Hope outings in a 'brake'. I met my future husband, Sidney Meacham from Newton Longville, on one of these excursions to Claydon House.
The first Christmas tree I saw at school was given by the lady at the 'Big House'. I was disappointed with the steel bead bag that was given to me!
I was a founder member of Whaddon WI in 1936.
A cousin was a hurdle maker and his son has his old tools with queer names like a 'frommer'.
Many words are no longer used. The fields—now joined together—had lovely names like 'The Pightle', 'The Big Fodderer', 'The Mutton', 'Hog's Piece' and "The Canals'.
Words connected with farming we used every day were thave (a sheep), yealm (a straw measure for thatching), ennus (hen house), cow us (cowshed), yo(eye), housen (plural of house), tis-sacky (poorly), muckle (manure), hummocksing (plodding), thribble (triplet lambs), cherry cud (a cow's first milk), a boy chap (big boy), Grampy (grandpa).
The corn and hay were cut with scythes and then tied by the binder; and we all went gleaning to feed our hens. We took Dad's 'baver' to the field to him, probably a Buckinghamshire clanger (a suet roll with bacon at one end and jam at the other) with home made beer.
Maria Meacham , Whaddon
Extracted from 'A Pattern Hundreds' (1975) and reproduced with the kind permission of the Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes
tab Description}
This small village stands high on a ridge nearly 500 ft above sea level, overlooking Whaddon Chase with the new city of Milton Keynes in the distance.
The name Whaddon is an old English word for 'Wheat Hill' and the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
It is best known as the original home of the Whaddon Chase Foxhounds, started by the Selby-Lowndes family back in the 1800s. Unfortunately this hunt no longer exists, as it has recently been incorporated with the Bicester and Warden Hill Hunt. There is still a lane in the village known as Kennel Lane where the hounds were once kept.
Whaddon Hall was the Manor House for many years and the home of the Lowndes family from 1783 when Mr W. Lowndes Selby took possession of the Hall. In 1813 his son took again the family name of Lowndes after that of Selby, and so the name of Selby-Lowndes became associated with the village and remains in the memory of many of the older villagers.
The present Whaddon Hall is at least the fourth to stand on the site. The Lowndes family left to live in Winslow at the beginning of the Second World War, when the Hall was taken over by the War Office, later to be replaced by the Foreign Office. In the 1960s it became a factory, and, in the 1970s was to be turned into a Country Club, but unfortunately this venture ended with a fire, resulting in the building being gutted, after which it was sold and has now been converted into four luxury apartments with the stable block and the two gate lodges also having been converted into houses.
Across the Parks, due east from the Hall, is the site of Sneshall Priory, a small house for Benedictine Monks dedicated to St Leonard in about 1218. The stone from this priory was used to build the small church of St Giles at Tattenhoe which comes under the benefice of Whaddon and is still used regularly during the summer months.
Whaddon has now got an approximate population of 500. Unlike a few years ago, when most of the village people worked at Wolverton, either at the British Rail Engineering Works or McCorquodale Printing Works, with many working in agriculture, now only a few are still employed in these industries. With Whaddon becoming a dormitory village to Milton Keynes, people now work in Milton Keynes and surrounding districts or commute to London.
Like most villages, Whaddon has changed over the years from being almost self supporting by having its own bakery, butcher's shop, blacksmith and tailor, to the village life we have today.
Whaddon Parish (Pop. 512)
One Daily School, endowed with £10 per annum, by the late Thomas Coare, Esq., and further supported by W. S. Lowndes, Esq. and the Vicar. In this School 21 males are receiving gratuitous instruction.
Two Sunday Schools, supported by subscription ; in one, are 14 males and 36 females, who attend the Established Church; the other appertains to Dissenters, and consists of 14 children of both sexes.
Church: St John the Evangelist
Whitchurch PARISH St John the Evangelist
Wicherce NAMES name for Whitchurch in Domesday Book in 1086
Primitive Methodist NON-CONFORMIST First Mentioned: 1841
Weslyan NON-CONFORMIST First Mentioned: 1808. Built 1844 to replace earlier chapel
Bolebec Castle PLACE within the parish
Search The National Archives for Whitchurch
Buckinghamshire Remembers - Whitchurch Methodist Chapel
Pictures in the Frith collection
Photos of Whitchurch
Whitchurch St John the Evangelist Baptisms 1575 1901 Yes,
Whitchurch St John the Evangelist Marriages 1575 1901 Yes,
Whitchurch St John the Evangelist Burials 1575 1901 Yes,
INGRAM RICKARD RICKARD RICKARD
EMARTON CHESHIRE CHESHIRE CHESHIRE
CHESHIRE STONE DICKENS GRACE
COVENTRY GREEN GRACE DICKENS
BEALE GRACE ADAMS ADAMS
EDMUNDS BULL WELCH WELCH
RICKARD INGRAM SHUFFILL SHUFFILL
RAY TOOGOOD COOK DURLEY
HARRIS DURLEY KIBBLE GOWER
GREENE FINCHER GOWER KIBBLE
Ours is a most friendly village where many human needs are supplied by a baker, builder, grocer, post office, hairdresser, several pubs, a doctor and of course a vicar. In the past there were even more tradesmen including a blacksmith, coalman and a shoemaker who worked with both hands and a mouth full of nails!
There are many large houses but gone are the days of 'Master and Servant'. To-day most of the inhabitants, apart from the farmers, work elsewhere.
The May Queen is crowned on Market Hill and with four attendants tours the village in a splendid 1909 Motor Car. The Morris Men dance as their predecessors did and Market Hill, once a trading centre, becomes a place of great amusement. The school children plait ribbons around a Maypole in a nearby garden. A cycle race around the Mound revives something of medieval life, for on this site once stood a castle surrounded by a moat. The famous building was destroyed by Cromwell and the stones were used to repair neigbouring churches, improve roads and supply some of the necessary material to help build many of the lovely cottages in the village to-day.
In our present age cars speed through the High Street and the occupants take little notice of the Old Court building, now an hotel. Across the road is the Whittle Hole: a perennially running spring that never freezes in winter. Before tap water came to the village this was the chief water supply and men wearing wooden yokes carried buckets of water. The inhabitants of a nearby house still use Whittle Hole water and brew the best cup of tea in the village.
The village stands high and commands splendid views of the county and beyond, as Rex Whistler's painting The Vale from Whitchurch will testify.
The church is the most important building full of interest and many craftsmen's marks can be seen on the pillars. The bells in the tower, as of old, are rung by local people. Nearby stands an old house, once inhabited by monks and centuries later became tenement homes but now it is a cared-for dwelling with a lovely walled garden. Across the road stands a stone-built chapel which houses an organ once owned by the Duke of Wellington. Both church and chapel people meet together and a feeling of unity lingers. Another chapel, no longer needed, houses the fire engines and most of the fire-fighters are local people.
The Hounds always frequented the village and the old people recall King Edward VII attending a Meet at Beechmoor. To-day there are difficulties, some caused by protesters and some by modern ways of life and the pack has united with neighbours. We still see Hounds but not so often.
Whitchurch with its white stone church on the hill adds its share in so many ways to the life and charm of Buckinghamshire.
Whitchurch Parish (Pop. 928)
Three Daily Schools, containing 45 males and 41 females, whose instruction is paid for by their parents;
One Sunday School, of the Methodist persuasion, in which 28 males and 36 females are gratuitously instructed.
Church: All Saints
Poor Law District: Leighton Buzzard
Wing PARISH All Saints
Willien NAMES name for Willen in 1766
Witehunge NAMES name for Domesday Book in 1086
Wyllien NAMES name for Willen in 1806
Wyllyn NAMES name for Willen in 1517
Wyng NAMES name for Wing in 1512
Weslyan NON-CONFORMIST Church Street. First Mentioned: 1847. Sold 1851
Ascott PLACE within the parish
Ascott House PLACE within the parish
Burcott PLACE within the parish
Cottesloe PLACE within the parish
Crafton PLACE within the parish
Crafton Lodge PLACE within the parish
Littleworth PLACE within the parish
Mount Pleasant PLACE within the parish
Netherweld PLACE within the parish
Tinkershole PLACE within the parish
Wingbury PLACE within the parish
The Czech Government in exile in Wing
Wing Geneaology
Wing Priory
Search The National Archives for Wing
Wing All Saints Baptisms 1546 1902 Yes,
Wing All Saints Marriages 1546 1902 Yes,
Wing All Saints Burials 1546 1971 Yes,
NORCOT WOODMAN WOOLHEAD WOOLHEAD
BUCKMASTER HELEY DIMMOCK GREEN
MILLER GREEN GREEN DIMMOCK
NEWLAND LATHWELL PAGE HELEY
DORMER DIMMOCK BONE WOODMAN
BATE SMITH HELEY SMITH
DOWNES MORTIMER CUTLER BONE
GODMAN HORTON RANDALL CUTLER
SANDERS BATES BANDY PAGE
CHAPPELL ASHWELL SMITH RANDALL
The name Wing comes from the Anglo Saxon 'Weowungum' meaning Weowum's People, gradually becoming Wenge and finally Wing. Standing on a ridge rising from the Vale of Aylesbury it must be one of the oldest inhabited sites in the county. Its church of All Saints was begun in the 10th century and has massive Saxon arches. It was called by Sir John Betjeman 'The most important Saxon church in the country.' There are numerous monuments and brasses including one to Thomas Cotes, porter at Ascott Hall 1648.
The Manor of Wing has been held by many different noble families through the ages, including the Crown. Some of the names have been used in the new housing estates — Chesterfield, Over-stone, Wantage, Dormer etc. A charter was granted in 1255 by Henry III for a weekly Thursday market, and for a 3 day Michaelmas Fair. In the Domesday Book, Wing was worth 5 hides — today it has a population of 2800.
Although pleasant it is not a picture postcard village, and is eagerly awaiting the promised by-pass to cure the traffic problems. Only a few buildings are really old - these include: the Cock and the Queens' Head, the Almshouses, the Old Rectory and a number of cottages. The remainder are mostly 19th century brick terraces with much modern infilling, and housing estates on the outskirts. The Almshouses were founded in 1596 by Dame Dorothy Pelham, widow of Sir William Dormer, Lord of the Manor, and have recently been renovated. Princess Elizabeth is said to have slept at the Manor in 1544 on her way from Woodstock to Hampton Court, and Charles I in 1645 on his way to Oxford. The next day a soldier was hanged for stealing Church Plate - local folklaw insists it was a Roundhead!
Dr Richard Dodd became vicar in 1775, but was largely absent, preferring a lively time in London. Two years later he was hanged at Tyburn for forging a bond for £4,200.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the village was said to be very poor. Lace making and straw plaiting by the women helped family finances, the Cock Inn being the receiving centre, with a special room where plaiting could be done in company.
In 1874 Mr Leopold de Rothschild bought a timbered farm house at nearby Ascott, greatly enlarging it in the same style. A variety of substantial cottages were built to house estate workers, and Wing became a typical 'Rothschild village' with nearly all employment and activities revolving around the estate. Many distinguished people came to Ascott House including King George V and Queen Mary, who were regularly driven by carriage to church. Edward, Prince of Wales, hunted from there, the school children being given extra lunch time to cheer him. Mr de Rothschild brought his staghounds to Wing, and until recently the Whaddon Chase Foxhounds were kennelled at Ascott. Mrs de Rothschild took a great interest in the village, setting up a small Cottage Hospital (Charlotte Cottage, now used as a health centre) and presenting school prizes and presents at Christmas — notably boots for children with good school attendance. Ascott House and its beautiful 30 acre gardens are now owned by the National Trust and open to the public.
A large village hall was built in 1905, administered by the Estate and has only recently been handed to the village. Many activities take place here.
In 1976 when the last open field in the middle of the village was threatened by builders, the Parish Council bought it as a public open space, naming it Jubilee Green, where the children can play safe from traffic. A yearly Carnival and Fete there ends a week of various fund raising activities in the summer, with a Christmas bonfire and carol singing, all arranged by a local committee.
Wing Parish (Pop. 1,152)
Four Daily Schools, one contains 40 males and 25 females ; another 12 females; another 3 of each sex; and the other (commenced 1833), 20 females. These children are all receiving instruction at the expense of their parents.
Two Sunday Schools, in one (commenced 1825), chiefly supported by the Vicar,
are 40 males and 35 females; the other is maintained by Wesleyan Methodists, and consists of 35 males and 40 females.
Wingrave
Church: St Peter and St Paul
Wingrave PARISH St Peter and St Paul
Dryvers Knopp NAMES name for Nup End in 1546
Elstrap NAMES name for Helsthorpe 1766
Rowlsham NAMES name for Rowsham in 1538
Rowsome NAMES name for Rowsham in 1640
Withungrave NAMES name for Wingrave in Domesday Book in 1086
Witungrave NAMES name for Wingrave in Domesday Book in 1086
Congregational NON-CONFORMIST First Mentioned: 1805. Built 1832
Helsthorpe (Fm) PLACE within the parish
Nup End PLACE within the parish
Rowsham PLACE within the parish
Village site
Search The National Archives for Wingrave
Buckinghamshire Remembers - Chapel
Wingrave St Peter & St Paul Baptisms 1550 1909 Yes,
Wingrave St Peter & St Paul Marriages 1550 1901 Yes,
Wingrave Congregational Marriages 1839 1909 Yes,
Wingrave Congregational Burials 1826 1920 Yes,
Wingrave St Peter & St Paul Burials 1588 1904 Yes,
BATE MORTIMER BONHAM PAINE
LUCAS KEENE FLEET MORTIMER
GRACE KEEN HEDGES FLEET
THEED LUCAS PAINE BONHAM
GOODSPEED KEMPSTER ALCOCK HEDGES
SEABROOKE GRACE BATEMAN BATES
WHEELER BATES BADRICK KEMPSTER
PALMER PAINE RICKARD KEEN
KEENE WHEELER BATES GRIFFIN
KEMPSTER CHAPMAN MORTIMER BADRICK
In 1895 my Grandfather Jones built a house in Wingrave to serve as a post office as well as a home. Grandmother Jones was the postmistress.
Each morning a postman arrived at the post at 7.30am with the post, having cycled the six miles from Aylesbury. A local person then sorted and delivered the post in Wingrave. The postman cycled a further two miles to the neighbouring village of Aston Abbots to take their post.
The Wingrave post office was then open from 8.30am to 7pm. The postman returned to Wingrave at 11 am to meet with another postman who had cycled from Aylesbury to bring the second post. The first postman then himself delivered the second post in Wingrave before going again to Aston Abbotts with their second delivery. The second postman returned to Aylesbury with the outgoing mail from the two villages. The first postman went back from Wingrave (to Aylesbury) at 6 pm with the second collection of mail.
In 1905 Grandfather Jones died suddenly and I moved with my mother and father to live at the post office. It was an ABC Telegraph Office and very busy with telegrams. These were delivered to neighbouring villages and outlying farms.
Article written by members of the Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes for the publication "Buckinghamshire Within Living Memory" (1993) and reproduced here with their permission
Wingrave is a hilltop village 5 miles north east of Aylesbury. It was first mentioned in the 9th century when a chapel was built at Withun's Grove (Withun's Wood). The main part of the original village surrounds the church on top of the hill where there is a pleasant green, a village pond and recreation ground with a splendid view of the Chilterns. The recreation ground was given to the village in 1922 by Lord Dalmeny, afterwards the 6th Lord Rosebery, of nearby Mentmore.
The population is about 1200, including a fair proportion of children. The inhabitants work in Aylesbury or Leighton Buzzard, with a few commuting daily to London, while the main employer in the village itself is the Maclntyre School, an establishment for mentally retarded children.
The parish church of SS. Peter and Paul stands on top of the hill and is easily visible from the surrounding vale. The present building dates from the 13 th century and has some medieval wall-paintings hidden in a narrow passage off the chancel. The church has a peal of six bells and there is an ancient 15 th century bell standing at the base of the tower, near the font which dates from 1190 and is the oldest item in the church.
The most famous local family connected with Wingrave are the Rothschilds, originally residing at Mentmore Towers and including Wingrave in the estate. In 1876 Hannah Rothschild built about 25 houses for farm workers in Wingrave, each bearing her insignia 'H de R' and the date. These are now all privately owned. In the 1860s she built Wingrave its very first school, later known as the Church Rooms and now divided into private dwellings. Mentmore Towers later passed into the hands of the Rosebery family and is now the British HQ of the Transcendental Meditation Movement.
In Victorian times the Stewart-Freeman family were well-known in the county and lived in the manor house of Wingrave. In 1905 there was a great scandal locally when the eldest Stewart-Freeman daughter eloped with the 8th Earl of Essex. The son born to them, Reginald, eventually became the 9th Earl of Essex, and lived with his wife at Floyds Farm, Wingrave, for some years. During the Second World War the manor house was occupied by the exiled Czech Government under Dr Eduard Benes. In gratitude for the hospitality they had received, the Czech Government built the bus shelter at the crossroads for the benefit of travellers. The manor house is today the Maclntyre School.
In the 1880s a Wingrave musician, George Griffin, composed an oratorio called Samuel and many hymn tunes. He was also the local postmaster and village baker. Earlier, in 1786, a wealthy Wingrave lady became famous when, lost in a storm between Wingrave and Rowsham, she was directed safely home by the ringing of the church bells. In thankfulness she directed that hay from her two fields should be spread on the church floor for the benefit of the congregation every year at the Patronal Festival on 29th June. This custom has been faithfully maintained every year since then, 1986 being the 200th anniversary.
Wingrave with Rowsham Parish (Pop. 783)
One Daily School, endowed with £2 per annum, in which 5 children are instructed.
Two Sunday Schools, in one of which are 89 children of both sexes (commenced 1830), who attend the Established Church; the other (commenced 1819), appertains to Independent Dissenters, consisting of 77 children ; both Schools supported by voluntary contributions.
{tab Introduction}
Church: St Laurence
{tab Names}
Winslow PARISH St Laurence
Weneslai NAMES name for Winslow in Domesday in 1086
Baptist NON-CONFORMIST Baptist Tabernacle, High Street. First Mentioned: 1864
General Baptist NON-CONFORMIST Keach's Meeting House. First Mentioned: 1654. Built 1695
Independent NON-CONFORMIST Horn Street. First Mentioned: 1816. Rebuilt 1829.1885
Shipton PLACE within the parish
{tab Links}
Disused railway
St Laurence Church
Winslow Road disused railway
Search The National Archives for Winslow
Buckinghamshire Remembers - Congregational
Winslow History
{tab Population}
{tab Records}
Winslow St Laurence Baptisms 1560 1901 Yes,
Winslow St Laurence Marriages 1560 1902 Yes,
Winslow St Laurence Burials 1560 1901 Yes,
{tab Surnames}
GLENISTER GIBBS WALKER WALKER
SHELTON SEATON SMITH GIBBS
NORMAN BLAKE FRENCH SMITH
MILLER GOODMAN KING SEATON
HOGSON KING HOLT KING
STUTSBURIE BUDD VERNEY NORMAN
UDDEN MILLER WARNER FRENCH
SPOONER NORMAN SAVING ALLEN
TOMLIN EDEN VICCARS SHELTON
SEATON COX ROADS BUDD
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The Mercian King Offa had a palace and chapel in Winslow, and he conceived the idea of founding a monastery and endowing it to the Manor of Winslow. The Domesday Survey of 1086 notes Wineslai as part of the possession of St Albans Abbey, with the Abbot as Lord of the Manor. In 1235 King Henry III authorised a weekly market, and a fair on the feast day of St Lawrence on the 10th August, for which he granted a charter.
The church, c.1320, has been restored and enlarged by successive generations. Of interest are a collection of bibles, one of which is the 1611 authorised version, and Fox's Book of Martyrs, plus a selection of ancient parish registers. The faded wall murals are said to depict the patron saint of the diocese St Frideswide, and also of note, over the aisle, is a fine 20 candle chandelier dated 1670, and made in Buckingham. St Lawrence has a fine peal of bells. The Sanctus bell dates from 1611, and there is a three hourly carillon of Old St Davids.
Keach's Meeting House was built in 1625, and is the second oldest religious building in Winslow. Keach's was the headquarters of dissenting Baptists. Benjamin Keach introduced congregational singing in this chapel to the fury of the London Baptist Association who condemned it as a 'carnal formality'. For many years the meeting house was secreted away behind other buildings, but the atmosphere of Keach's remains very much as it was in the Puritan era.
Today Winslow is still growing steadily, with the addition of several hundred new houses, but manages to retain its links with the past, with its attractive old thatched houses, its market square and cattle markets and delightful surrounding countryside.
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Winslow Parish (Pop. 1,290)
One Daily School, endowed with property amounting to 30/. per annum. In this School, 12 males receive gratuitous instruction, and 8 others pay a small sum weekly.
Read more: Winslow
Woodham
Woodham Parish
Size (acres): 325
Colik NAMES name for Collet in 1530
Collick NAMES name for Collet in 1766
Colwick NAMES name for Collet in 1806
Woods Ham NAMES name for Woodham in 1766
Collett (Fm) PLACE within the parish
Ham (Fm) PLACE within the parish
Ovinghill PLACE within the parish
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WITTMILL DORMER DORMER WITTMILL
TAYLOR WALL KIRBY DORMER
NELE HUDSON KING TAYLOR
BROWN FISH HUGHES KIRBY
BEKE MORTIMER FOSKETT KING
INN DEAN SAWFORD NELE
FRANKELYN CRANAWELL SAUNDERS BROWN
BETT BATES RANCE BEKE
BENING WITTMILL HOLT WALL
WIDOW WIDOW HICKS INN
Woodham Hamlet (Pop. 38.)
No School in the hamlet.
Wooton Underwood
Wootton Underwood PARISH All Saints
Oltone NAMES name for Wotton Underwood in Domesday Book in 1086
Lawn Farm PLACE within the parish
New Wood PLACE within the parish
Tittershall Wood PLACE within the parish
Yeat PLACE within the parish
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Wotton Underwood All Saints Baptisms 1598 1901 Yes,
Wotton Underwood All Saints Marriages 1600 1905 Yes,
Wotton Underwood All Saints Burials 1598 1901 Yes,
LOVELL WHITE BLUNT WHITE
BARNES PARROTT KING PARROTT
PLANT HOWES PARROTT KING
NASH WARD WHITE BLUNT
BEDFORD HOUNSLOW HINDS HOUNSLOW
HOWSE BEAUCHAMP HINDES HOWES
EGLETON PARROT WASHINGTON ALLEN
WHITE HARRIS HOLT HINDS
STEVENS RIGBY HINES TAPLIN
HURLES TAYLOR HOUNSLOW WASHINGTON
Wotton-under-Wood Parish (Pop. 312)
Two Day and Sunday National Schools, containing 50 males and the same number of females; the master's salary of 20 guineas per annum, and the mistress's of £19., with books and all requisites for the Schools, together with clothing for 40 of the children annually, is paid by Her Grace the Duchess of Buckingham and Chandos.
Worminghall
Worminghall Parish
Poor Law District: Thame
Worminghall PARISH St Peter and St Paul
Rignald NAMES name for Rignall in 1766
Sandridge Wood NAMES name for Sandwich Wood in 1826
Spurling End NAMES name for Spurlands End in 1826
Wermelle NAMES name for Worminghall in Domesday Book in 1086
Wormenhall(e) NAMES name for Worminghall in 1806
Wormynale NAMES name for Worminghall in 1503
Wornall NAMES name for Worminghall in 1525
Wurnall NAMES name for Worminghall in 1535
Field Farm PLACE within the parish
Redding Wick PLACE within the parish
Rignall PLACE within the parish
Sandwich Wood PLACE within the parish
Spurlands End PLACE within the parish
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Worminghall St Peter & St Paul Baptisms 1538 1901 Yes,
Worminghall St Peter & St Paul Marriages 1538 1912 Yes,
Worminghall St Peter & St Paul Burials 1538 1909 Yes,
TIPPING TIPPING BALDWIN TIPPING
PHILLIPS HAWES TIPPING HAWES
STEVENS BATTY WALKER BALDWIN
WINTER FOWLER HAWES WALKER
TIPPINGE WOODBRIDGE JOINER JOINER
TYPPING WINTER LOWE LOWE
STEEVENS MOTT CHADBONE CHADBONE
ROBERTS LOADER FRANKLIN MOTT
COPE RUMBALL MOTT HERRING
PRICE SMITH HERRING FRANKLIN
Worminghall is situated on the border of Buckinghamshire, its near neighbours being Oakley, Ickford and Waterperry.
The oldest building is the church, dedicated to St Peter and Paul. It stands in a field and is approached across a cattle grid which makes it both unusual and in wintertime, somewhat inconvenient. Architecturally, the church is a mixture of 12th, 13 th and 14th century styles. It was repaired and restored substantially in the 19th century, mainly financed by the family of Lord Clifden, who held the Manor at that time.
It is in memory of Henry King, Bishop of Chichester, that the Almshouses at the junction of The Avenue with Clifden Road were built by his son John King in 1675. Originally they housed six poor single men and four women, who received 3s 3d a week, a ton of coal at Christmas and the Bread Charity every Sunday with extra bread on Good Friday and at Easter. The men received coats, and the women dresses in alternate years. In the middle of this century, the interiors were modernised and they now comprise six dwellings. The charities are no longer maintained.
The Clifden Arms on the south west edge of the village, is an exceptionally picturesque black and white 16th century pub. The Clifden is becoming increasingly popular as a village meeting place. It hosts the fete which is held on a date as near as possible to the feast of St Peter and Paul, which was originally Worminghal's Feast Day. The market day has long since been completely lost.
In the Second World War, Worminghall was invaded by the Royal Air Force based on the airfield adjacent to the village, flying Wellington bombers. After the war, the empty buildings were taken over by people needing homes and some of the descendants of these people were rehoused in the village and are now, of course, totally absorbed into the village. They still talk about the school bus 'going up the camp' as it used to pick up the children living in the old airfield buildings. The airfield reverted to being a farm, and its runways stored hundreds of British Leyland cars awaiting dispatch all over the world in the 1960s.
Worminghall Parish (Pop. 297)
Two Daily Schools, in which 8 males and 8 females receive instruction at the expense of their parents.
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