Great Brickhill is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the unitary authority area of
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, England. It is on the border with the
City of Milton Keynes
The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder o ...
, located south-east of
Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a #Civil parish, civil parish in its own right, with a town council#England and Wales, town council.
The district is approximately long by w ...
, and in the same direction from
Fenny Stratford
Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 1895 ...
.
History
The village name is a compound of
Brythonic and
Anglo Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
origins, which is a common occurrence in this part of the country. The Brythonic ''breg'' means 'hill', and the Anglo Saxon ''hyll'' also means 'hill'. In the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086 the village was recorded as ''Brichelle''. The affix 'Great' was added in the 12th century to differentiate from nearby
Bow Brickhill
Bow Brickhill is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is bounded to the north, west and east by the Milton Keynes urban area, approximately east of Fenny Stratford a ...
and
Little Brickhill
Little Brickhill is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Located immediately to the west of the A5, it is just outside and overlooking the Milton Keynes urban area, abo ...
.
Robert Merydale was parson of the parish church of Great Brickhill in 1470, according to a legal record, in which Edward Lucy & Thomas Hampden claim that he owed them £20.
Great Brickhill was described in 1806 in ''
Magna Britannia
''Magna Britannia, being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain'' was a topographical and historical survey published by the antiquarians Daniel Lysons and his brother Samuel Lysons in several volumes between 180 ...
'' as follows:
:Great-Brickhill, in the hundred and deanery of
Newport, lies about two miles and a half to the south-east of
Fenny Stratford
Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 1895 ...
. The
manor was anciently in the
Beauchamps, from whom it passed by female heirs to the Bassets and Greys. Richard Grey, Earl of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, sold it in 1514 to Sir Charles
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, of whose son, Sir George it was purchased in 1549, by the Duncombes: from this family it passed, by female heirs, to the Bartons and Paunceforts, and is now the property of Philip Duncombe Pauncefort esq.
:The manor of Smewnes-Grange, in this parish, became the property of
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...
, in 1293.
King Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour ...
granted it to Edward Stanton esq. of whose descendant it was purchased in 1792, (under an act of parliament which had passed the preceding year,) by the present proprietor, Edward Hanmer esq. of Stockgrove. This manor extends into the parish of
Soulbury
Soulbury is a village and also a civil parish within the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale, about seven miles south of Central Milton Keynes, and three miles north of Wing. The village nam ...
: the manor-house, which was built by Edward Stanton, the grantee, within a moated site near the
River Ouzel
The River Ouzel , also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills and flows north to join the Ouse at Newport Pagnell.
It is usually called the ''River Ouzel'', e ...
, has long been suffered to go to decay.
:In the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
church are memorials of the families of Duncombe, Barton, Pauncefort, and Chase. The advowson of the rectory is annexed to the manor. This parish was inclosed by an act of
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, passed in 1776, when an allotment of land was assigned to the
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
, in lieu of
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s, and an allotment to the poor in lieu of their right of cutting furze.
The
Victoria History of the Counties of England
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
provides substantially more detail on the manorial record, but does not mention the Beauchamps (apart from one mention of 'the wife of the Earl of Warwick').
![GreatBrickhill CromwellsCottages](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/GreatBrickhill_CromwellsCottages.JPG)
In 1643 Great Brickhill was touched by the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. The
Parliamentarian Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
and his army camped in the village for a month. Great Brickhill was considered a strategic site due to its elevation and proximity to
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...
(now the
A5 road
A5 Road may refer to:
;Africa
*A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan
* A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown
;Americas
* Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada
* County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...
), at the time the main approach road to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
from the north. However, there were no
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
s or even skirmishes here.
Modern Great Brickhill
That Great Brickhill survives today as a village is due in no small part to the objections of its residents to the ever-increasing development of
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
. The expansion of this large urban area has led to parts of the civil parish being swallowed up.
The high brick wall, reminiscent of that at nearby
Woburn, which runs for some distance adjacent to the road, now neglected and ruined in places, surrounds the 70-acre (280,000 m
2) park which once housed the principal seat of the Duncombe family, Great Brickhill Manor. The last
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
to occupy this park was built circa 1835, a large square brick stuccoed building of no particular architectural merit – old photographs show a slight
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
influence in the design, a style later made popular by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
at
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...
. This house was demolished in 1937 after serving for a time as Stratton Park
Preparatory School.
The Duncombe family (the head of whom since 1859 has been a
Baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
) continue to live in the village and own the estate; however, they now reside at what used to be the old
Rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
near the church. Ironically the rectory is shielded from the empty site of the family's former more splendid home by a battlemented folly wall, built by a former Duncombe who disliked the
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
so much that he did not wish to see him or his home!
The
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of
St. Mary the Virgin is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, dating back to the 13th century.
![GreatBrickhill OldRedLion01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/GreatBrickhill_OldRedLion01.jpg)
Another large house in the area was
Stockgrove, built in the 1920s on the site of a much older mansion (see ''Magna Britannia'' above) this
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
-style house was built by the industrialist Sir
Ferdinand Kroyer-Kielberg
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
. The estate was divided and sold in the 1950s. The house for a time became a 'Special School' and in the 1990s was divided into luxury apartments.
Great Brickhill no longer has a shop, like so many other villages its
bakery
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...
and
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
are long closed. It has a local
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, the 'Old Red Lion'.
The village
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
is High Ash Church of England Combined School, which is a mixed,
voluntary controlled
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
,
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
school. It takes children from the age of four through to the age of twelve and has approximately 240 pupils. It is one of several Buckinghamshire schools which host
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
masts. Contracts between
Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council was the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county and later the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom established in 1889 following the Local Government Act 1888 ...
and various mobile phone operators generate an income of £145,000 per annum, of which about £59,000 comes from contracts for masts that are installed in schools.
[ ]
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Buckinghamshire
Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire