Shenley Church End is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, district and wider

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 ...

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 ...

England. Together with its neighbouring districts of

Shenley Brook End Shenley Brook End is a village, district and wider civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Together with its neighbouring districts of Shenley Church End, Shenley Wood and Shenley Lodge, the districts are collectively known as ...

, Shenley Wood and Shenley Lodge, the districts are collectively known as "The Shenleys".

History

The village name 'Shenley' 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 meaning 'bright clearing'. 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 area was collectively known as ''Senelai''. The distinction between the Brook End and the Church End happened in the 12th century when a new

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 ...

was constructed in Shenley Brook End by the Mansell family. However, by 1426 the two manors were owned by the same person and the distinction between the two places was in name only. Shenley Church End is also home to the Shenley Toot, a 13th-century

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...

(of which only the motte remains), which was originally a home of the

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

and is now a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Today, the historic village is the core of the new district that bears its name. The district is bounded by V3 Fulmer Street, V4

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 ...

, H5 Portway and H6 Childs Way.

Education and other services

The district contains Denbigh School (a secondary comprehensive), Glastonbury Thorn First School, a nursery in the former village school, and Shenley Church End Pre-School (situated in the Shenley Leisure Centre). The Leisure Centre beside the secondary school includes a sports hall, gym, squash courts and outdoor football/tennis courts, as well as the Sportsman's Rest bar. The local retail centre opposite (south of) the school and Leisure Centre is a shopping area consisting of a

fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

shop, a pharmacy, a cafe, a gym, a barber shop, a bike shop, a bookmaker, a charity shop, a Chinese restaurant, a medical practice and a dental surgery. In June 2014,

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

opened new supermarket opposite (east of) the Leisure Centre, on the site of the former Dolphin Splashdown swimming pool.

Sport

;Shenley Church End Cricket Club The cricket club has been in existence since 1947. Previously known as Rickley Park CC until 1992, the club was renamed after moving from

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best known ...

to play home matches at Denbigh School, but in 2002 SCECC relocated to the bottom pitch at Manor Fields in

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 ...

(where Bletchley Town CC play) - though choosing to retain their current name. SCECC currently have a Saturday side playing in the Morrant Four Counties Cricket League Division 3 and play friendlies on Sundays.

Civil parish

The parish includes Shenley Dens, Shenley Hill, Grange Farm, Crownhill, Oakhill/Woodhill, Shenley Wood (including Medbourne), Shenley Church End and Oxley Park. The parish is bounded to the north-east by V4

, to the north-west by the border with Calverton parish, to the south-west by the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

boundary with the

Buckinghamshire Council Buckinghamshire Council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary Local Government in England, local authority in England, the area of which constitutes most of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. It was created in April 2020 from the ar ...

unitary authority (at Whaddon) and to the south-east by H6 Childs Way.

Oxley Park

Oxley Park, primarily a residential area, is relatively young district having been formed via a development framework in 2004. The street naming convention is based on the Silver Screen era of Film, with surnames of film stars forming street names. For example, Audrey Hepburn provides the name of Hepburn Crescent. It is also the location of a

site of special scientific interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Oxley Mead Oxley Mead is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Oxley Park district of Shenley Church End in Milton Keynes, (ceremonial) Buckinghamshire. The site is an ancient hay meadow which has a nationally rare plant community, due ...

, and a nationally notable architecture-led development,

Oxley Woods Oxley Woods is a housing development in Oxley Park, a district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The development was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and built by Newton Woods, who were subcontracted by Taylor Wimpey after w ...

Medbourne

Medbourne is another residential district. It forms part of the grid square that includes Shenley Wood.

Grange Farm

Grange Farm is another residential district. It occupies a full grid square and is relatively new. It was originally to be named Grange Hill: this was changed due to it also being the name of a school drama on the BBC.

Crownhill

Crownhill is district of both residential and commercial properties. It is also the location of the city

crematorium A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be ...

Oakhill

Oakhill is the location of HMP Woodhill and residential developments. At above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, it occupies the land with highest elevation in Milton Keynes.

References

External links

Shenley Church End Parish Council
{{authority control Areas of Milton Keynes Villages in Buckinghamshire