Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) 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 authorit ...
in east
Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the
Chiltern Hills, centred east of
Aylesbury and south of
Leighton Buzzard. It directly adjoins the village of
Ivinghoe
Ivinghoe is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England, close to the border with Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. It is northwest of London, north of Tring and south of Leighton Buzzard, close to the village of Pitstone.
Ety ...
, and the two villages share some facilities.
History
The village name is
Anglo-Saxon in origin, and means 'Picel's thorn tree'. It was recorded 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 manus ...
of 1086 as ''Pincelestorne''.
Pitstone was given to the
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
at
Ashridge by the
Earl of Cornwall
The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne.
Condor of Cornwall
* Condor of Cornwall, ...
in 1283. In 1290
King Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
spent
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
in Pitstone at the estate that had been given to the abbey, and stayed for five weeks, during which time he held
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in Ashridge. His stay caused great inconvenience to the local inhabitants of the village who were legally obliged to keep the king and his court.
It was described in a Victorian gazetteer by John Marius Wilson as "7 miles in length and 1 in breadth. Post-town, Tring. Acres, 2,836 [] Real property, £3,692. Pop., 581. Houses, 109. The property is divided among a few.". Its area dropped between 1851 and 1891 from the said number acres to 1,644. The number of houses rose most steeply in the 1950s, from 169 to 252.
Landmarks and neighbourhoods
Its Castlemead area of housing and business units was named after Castle Cement Company which was the last owner of the Pitstone
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
works, which operated from 1937 to 1991.
The area around
St Mary's Church is known as Church End.
A notable building is
Pitstone Windmill
Pitstone Windmill is a listed building, Grade II* listed windmill in England. It is thought to have been built in the early 17th century, and stands in the northeastern corner of a large field near the Civil parish, parish boundary of Ivinghoe ...
, which is owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. The windmill was formerly capable of rotating to face the prevailing wind, as evidenced by the wheel protruding from one side of the structure. Although it no longer can do so, the wheel remains and its pivot point is clearly visible.
Pitstone Green Museum provides working insights into agricultural history and various supporting trades. The museum is to the south of the village proper on a farm.
Pitstone Hill, above the village, is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated for its botanical interest. The hill is crossed by the
Ridgeway National Trail
The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside
The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...
. A former chalk quarry has been converted to
College Lake nature reserve, a flagship reserve of the
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust,
and the area east of the lake within the nature reserve is a geological SSSI,
Pitstone Quarry.
Geography
The elongated civil parish is semi-urban in the extreme west north-west (WNW) and is otherwise rural and elevated, rising to the opposite direction. Approximately following the north-west border is the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
. Its population rose in the ten years to 1961 from 544 to 766.
Sport and leisure
Pitstone has a
Non-League football team
Pitstone & Ivinghoe United F.C. who play at The Recreation Ground on Vicarage Road.
Pitstone is the home of internationally acclaimed cyclist, Nick Clarke who holds the record for the RRA "Side to Side" record of Pembroke to Great Yarmouth.
See also
*
St Mary's Church, Pitstone
References
External links
Pitstone Green MuseumVillage WebsiteThe Benefice of St.Mary’s includes the villages of Ivinghoe, Pitstone, Slapton, Horton and Ivinghoe Aston
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Villages in Buckinghamshire
Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire