181 



BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 



BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 



182 



have a place of worsliip. Many of the inhabitants are dependent on 

 the plaiting of straw ; there are several plaiting schools in the parish. 

 ffaddenliam, 7 miles S.S.W. from Aylesbury: population'1703 in 

 1851. The church is a spacious and very fine building. The Wesleyan 

 Methodists and Baptists have places of worship. In the parish are some 

 mineral springs, Ifambledon, near Marlow : population 1365 in 1851. 

 Greenland House, near this village, the seat of the Doyleys, was a 

 severely contested post in the war between Charles I. and the Parlia- 

 ment. The church has been modernised. There is an Independent 

 chapel. Uampden, near Prince's Risborough, about 9 miles S. from 

 Aylesbury : population 308 in 1851. The manor was for centuries in 

 the Hampden family, the male line of which became extinct in 1764. 

 The celebrated John Hampden lies buried in the churchyard ; and 

 there is a representation of the battle of Chalgrave Field, in which he 

 received his death-wound in 1643, on the monument of John 

 Hampden, Esq., the last heir male of the family. Hampden House, 

 the former seat of the Hampdens, contains several family pictures. 

 There is a whole-length portrait of Oliver Cromwell. The church is 

 mostly perpendicular, with parts of earlier date. The Independents 

 have a chapel at Hampden. Horton, near Colnbrook, at the south- 

 eastern extremity of the county is chiefly remarkable as having been 

 the residence of Milton in his early manhood. No vestige of the 

 house remains. The population of the entire parish, which is partly 

 in the county of Middlesex, was 842 in 1851. The ancient church 

 with it ivy-mantled tower is a rather picturesque object. In it is an 

 inscription in memory of the mother of Milton. There is a Free 

 school. On the Colne is a large water-mill. Iver, on the Colne near 

 Uxbridge, 17 mi'es from London, was once a market-town ; it has 

 still two fairs: the population in 1851 was 1985. The church is 

 partly Norman and early English. The Wesleyan Methodists have a 

 a place of worship. There is a National school. On the Colne are 

 extensive paper and oil mills. The Great Western railway and the 

 Grand Junction Canal pass through this parish. Langley JUarish is 

 a good sized village near Colnbrook, part of which town is in this 

 parish : the population of the entire parish in 1851 waa 1874. The 

 r'mirch is ancient, and contains Rome good monuments. In the 

 churchyard is a noble yew-tree. The Wesleyan Methodists, Inde- 

 pendents, and Baptists have places of worship. There are almshouses 

 for 10 poor persons. Mtdmenham, on the left bank of the Thames, 

 4 miles W. from Great Marlow : population 401 in 1851. Here was a 

 cell belonging to the Cistercian monastery at Woburn, founded in 

 1200. What remains of it is now converted into a private resi- 

 dence. The church, which is ancient, has been lately repaired. 

 There are two Free schools. Great Mitttndtn, between Amersham 

 and Wendover, 9 miles 8. by E. from Aylesbury, was the seat of 

 a rich abbey of the canons of St. Augustine. Some small por- 



<>f the conventual buildings remain. The population of the 

 parish hi 1851 was 2097. The parish church is a handsome cruci- 



1 >ui Ming, of tlie decorated and perpendicular styles ; it was 

 thoroughly repaired in 1828. The Wesleyan Methodists and Baptists 

 have places of worship. There are National, British, and Infant 

 schools. In the neighbourhood are several good mansion?. Penn is 

 situated on an elevated site, commanding extensive prospects, 16 

 miles S.S.E. from Aylesbury : population 1254 in 1851. The original 

 part of the church is of the early English style, but it has been spoiled 

 by tasteless modern additions and alterations. There are chapels for 

 Wesleyan Methodists and Baptists, and National and Infant schools. 



nt, anciently Pightelsthornt, about 10 miles W. from Aylesbury : 

 the population of the entire parish in 1851 was 545. In this parish 

 wax the rich abbey of Asheridgc. The abbey, for some time after the 

 dissolution of the community, was a royal palace ; and Queen Eliza- 

 beth, before her accession, frequently resided here. The conventual 

 Imililings were nearly all pulled down by the late Duke of Bridge- 

 water. Edward I. spent his Christmas at Asheridge, either in the 

 monastery or the neighbouring castle of his cousin, Edmund, earl of 

 Cornwall, son of Richard, king of the Romans, A.D. 1290. He held a 

 parliament there at the same time. There are here a small church, of 

 decorated and perpendicular styles, a chapel for Wesleyan Methodists, 

 iiinl .1 National school. Quainton, or Quainton Mallet, 7 miles N.W. 

 from Aylesbury : the population of Quainton township in 1851 was 

 854. The church is partly decorated and partly perpendicular. In 

 the chancel is a very showy altar-tomb in memory of R. Winwood, Esq., 

 1689 ; there are also some brasses in excellent preservation. The 

 Baptists have a chapel here. There are almshouses for six poor 

 widows. Plough, one mile and a half from Eton ; the town is situated 

 partly in the parishes of Stoke Poges and Upton : the population of 

 Slough in 1841 was 1189; and in the Census returns for 1851 an 

 increase of 1277 since 1841 in Upton parish is attributed to the erec- 

 tion of new buildings in the town of Slough and the neighbourhood. 

 Since Slough has been made a first-class station of the Great Western 

 railway, the town has considerably increased. A new church has been 

 built ; and the railway station and large railway hotel have added 

 much to the appearance of the place. Slough was for many years the 

 residence of Hir William Herschel ; it was here he constructed his 

 large reflecting telescope, and made most of his important discoveries. 

 He died here in 1822. Salt Hill, near Slough, was the scene of the 

 celebrated 'Eton Montem.' Rttrplr. C'laydon, 12 miles N.W. from 

 Aylesbury, waa at the Domesday Survey one of the most populous 



places in Buckinghamshire : in 1851 the population waa 869. The 

 church is of the decorated and perpendicular periods, with modern 

 transepts. It contains a monument to General Sir Harry Calvert, by 

 Chautrey. In the village is a Free school built and supported by Sir 

 Harry Verney. Claydou House is a handsome mansion, standing in a 

 fine park. State Poges lies to the right of the road, between Colnbrook 

 and Maidenhead : the population in 1851 was 1501. The manor waa 

 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth seized by the crown for a debt. It 

 was the residence for a time of ' the grave Lord Keeper,' Sir Christo- 

 pher Hatton ; and subsequently of Sir Edward Coke, who in 1601 

 entertained Queen Elizabeth here, and presented her with jewels to a 

 considerable amount. The park is adorned with a colossal statue of 

 Sir Edward Coke ; and adjoining the park is a large monument, 

 erected to the memory of the poet Gray. The old manor-houae, now 

 pulled down, is the scene of Gray's ' Long Story,' and the churchyard 

 of his well-known ' Elegy.' The poet spent much of his youth in this 

 village ; and his remains lie in the churchyard, under a tomb which 

 he had erected over the remains of his mother and aunt. Stoke 

 church and churchyard well answer to the description in Gray's 

 At Stowe, near Buckingham, is the mansion which until 

 recently was the seat of the Duke of Buckingham. The groutids were 

 originally laid out in straight patha and avenues, and adorned with 

 canals and fountains. Subsequent improvements were made under 

 the direction of Bridgman, Kent, and other artists and amateura ; and 

 the beauties of Stowo were commemorated by Pope and West, who 

 spent many festive hours with the then owner, Lord Cobham. The 

 grounds when viewed from a distance appear like a vast grove, inter- 

 spersed with columns, obelisks, and towers. They are adorned with 

 arches, pavilions, temples, a rotunda, a hermitage, a grotto, a lake, and 

 a bridge. The temples are adorned with busts, under which are suit- 

 able inscriptions. The house was originally built by Peter Temple, Esq., 

 in the reign of Elizabeth ; it was rebuilt by Sir Richard Temple, who 

 died hi 1697, and has been enlarged and improved since. The whole 

 front extends 916 feet, the central part 454 feet. The costly and 

 splendid contents of this mansion were two or three years ago sold by 

 auction ; the mansion itself is now unoccupied. Taplow, on the banks 

 of the Thames, nearly opposite to Maidenhead, population 704 in 

 1851, may just be mentioned on account of Taplow Court, the seat of 

 the Earl of Orkney ; and the former mansion of Cliefden House, 

 destroyed by fire in 1795, and again about three years since : a new 

 mansion has been built by Mr. Barry. This magnificent house was 

 begun by the witty and profligate Duke of Buckingham, and was for 

 some time the residence of Frederick Prince of Wales, father of 

 George III. Cliefden is now the property of the Duke of Sutherland. 

 The church is a modern brick edifice. On the Thames at Taplow is 

 a large paper-mill. Waddesdon, 6J miles W.N.W. from Aylesbury on 

 the road to Bicester : parish population 1439 in 1851. The church is 

 very interesting ; it contains examples of every style of architecture 

 from Norman to perpendicular. There are chapels for Wesleyau 

 Methodists and Baptists, and a British school. Among other parochial 

 charities are almshouses for six poor widows, and a fund for distribu- 

 tion among needy parishioners. Weston Underwood, near Olney, was 

 for some years the residence of the poet Cowper ; and some of his 

 descriptions of rural scenery were drawn from nature in his walks 

 round this place. The church is of early English and perpendicular 

 styles. There are a Roman Catholic chapel and schools in the 

 parish : the population in 1851 was 405. Whitchurch, 4| milea from 

 Aylesbury: population 915 in 1851. The church is chiefly early 

 English. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists have places of 

 worship. Creslow manor-house in this parish is a picturesque example 

 of a manorial residence of the 1 6th century. Wolverton, 4 miles from 

 Stony Stratford, has grown into importance from having been made 

 the central station of the North-Western railway. The population of 

 Wolverton hi 1851 was 2070, being an increase of 1653 since 1831. 

 In the village or town are a church, a Wesleyan chapel, a school-room, 

 a lecture and news-room ; besides extensive gas-works, and workshops 

 for the repairing of the locomotives and carriages belonging to the 

 railway company. Most of the inhabitants are dependent on the 

 North-Western Railway Company. The houses though small are 

 generally convenient, and there are several plots of ground let out at 

 a very low rent by the company for workmen's gardens. The new 

 church is in ' the railway town,' as it is sometimes called, close by the 

 station. The old church is at some little distance from it, by the old 

 hamlet of Wolverton. Wyrardisbury, or Wrayibury, on the Thames, 

 3 miles N.W. from Staines : population 701 in 1851. In this parish 

 waa a Benedictine nunnery founded in the reign of Henry II. In the 

 grounds of Ankerwyke House is a celebrated yew-tree which over- 

 shadows a circle of 207 feet in circumference. It is believed to bo 

 older than the time when King John signed the Magna Charta on 

 Runnimede, on the opposite side of the river. Magna Charta Island 

 lies just off Wyrardisbury to which parish it belongs. Wyrardisbury 

 clnirch is a very handsome village church ; it has recently been well 

 restored. There is a station here of the Windsor and Rtaines railway. 

 XXvitiont for Ecclesiastical and Let/al purposes. Of the 201 parishes 

 79 are vicarages, and 29 curacies or donatives. The cminty is for the 

 most part in the diocese of Oxford, and in the archdeaconry of Buck- 

 ingham. The several parishes of the county are divided among the 

 seven rural deaneries of Buckingham, Burnham, Muresley, Newport, 



