Wavendon 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 south east of the

Milton Keynes urban area The Milton Keynes urban area or Milton Keynes Built-up Area is a designation established by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics. Milton Keynes has no statutory boundary: the 1967 designated area only determined the area assi ...

, in

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.

History and geography

The village name is an

Old English language Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th cen ...

word, and means 'Wafa's hill'. In the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'' in 969 the village was recorded as ''Wafandun''. The ancient village lies just outside the 1967 designated area 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

ecclesiastic 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 ...

of Wavendon anciently contained the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Woburn Sands Woburn Sands () is a town that straddles the border between Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in England, and also is part of the Milton Keynes urban area. See map. The larger part of the town is in Woburn Sands civil parish, which is in the City ...

(originally known as 'Hogsty End, Wavendon'), which became a separate civil parish in 1907. The parishes are separated by the Marston Vale line.

Wavendon Tower

Wavendon Tower is a large country house with substantial modern additions on the edge of the village. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was used as a recording studio for

black propaganda Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propaganda ...

. From 1969 to the late 1970s, it was the base for the

Milton Keynes Development Corporation Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was a development corporation operating from 1967 to 1992 oversee the planning and early development of Milton Keynes, a new town midway between London and Birmingham. Establishment MKDC established o ...

. Until 2011 it was an operating centre for Scicon (subsequently EDS). In 2012, Landar Limited, an automotive management consultancy, moved into Wavendon Tower.

Expansion plans for Milton Keynes

In the 2004

expansion plans for Milton Keynes In January 2004, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the United Kingdom government's Expansion plans for Milton Keynes However, the change of government in 2010 and the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategy (SE Plan) in 2012/13 saw ...

, it was proposed that Wavendon would become a part of the city and a neighbourhood centre, in a similar way to the other towns and villages that provided the roots of early Milton Keynes districts. However, following the 2010 general election, the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government cancelled the expansion plans of the outgoing Labour government. Consequently, it is not clear whether or when (if at all) the expansion plan will be realised. In 2012,

Milton Keynes Council Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority of the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It has both borough status a ...

approved the designated area within the scope of the Neighborhood Plan to be developed by the parish council. Since the 2011 National Census, the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

shows Wavendon as part of the Milton Keynes built-up area.

Magna Park

Magna Park Magna may refer to: Companies * Magna (bicycle company) * Magna Corporation, an American public company * Magna Entertainment Corp., gaming and horse racing company * Magna Home Entertainment, entertainment distributor also known as Magna Paci ...

is a large distribution site on the part of Wavendon civil parish east of the

A421 The A421 is an important road for east/west journeys across south central England. Together with the A428 road, A428, the A43 road, A43 and A34 road (England), A34, it forms the route from Cambridge through Milton Keynes to Oxford. The sectio ...

(and in the 'Eastern Expansion Area', one element of the

that has gone ahead). In 2012 its occupants included

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and

River Island River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...

, both of which have very large distribution centres. ,

AG Barr A.G. Barr plc, commonly known as Barr's, is a soft drink manufacturer based in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is widely known for manufacturing the drink Irn-Bru. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

, H&M and

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

have joined them. The site is at the south-east edge of Milton Keynes, about from M1 Junction 13 or about from Junction 14 via Fen Street and Newport Road, Broughton (former A5130). Access is from the A421.

Housing developments

Following an increase in housing demand in the

, the Wavendon civil parish has undergone major development, including the construction of two new estates (

Eagle Farm Eagle Farm is an eastern industrial suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagle Farm had a population of 0 people. The neighbourhood of Whinstanes is located in Eagle Farm (). Geography Eagle Farm is situated nor ...

and Glebe Farm) on its eastern outskirts.

regards this part of the parish as a major part of Milton Keynes' "Eastern Expansion Area."

The Stables

Jazz artists

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

and

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)The Stables The Stables (also known as the Stables Theatre) is a music venue situated in Wavendon, a small village in south-east Milton Keynes. The Stables hosts over 400 concerts and around 250 education events a year including the National Youth Music ...

live venue in 1970 in what was the old stables block in the grounds of their home. It was an immediate success with forty-seven concerts given in the first year. The venue was completely rebuilt in 2000, with a subsequent development in 2007 to create Stage 2. Each year, the venue presents over 350 concerts and around 250 education events in its two auditoria including summer schools; the 400 seat Jim Marshall Auditorium, and smaller studio space at Stage 2. Dame Cleo Laine continues to live in the village.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Areas of Milton Keynes Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire