Deanshanger () 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 ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

, west-northwest 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 ...

. In 2007 it was joined with the

of Wicken to form Deanshanger ward, returning two councillors. The population of the civil parish (including Puxley) at the 2011 census was 3,817. Deanshanger is 50 miles (80 km) northwest of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of

and 52 miles (83 km) southeast of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

History

Deanshanger used to be called Daneshanger, "hanger" being an old English word, meaning a clearing in the woods – hence Daneshanger was a clearing in the woods where the Danes lived. The original population centre of the parish was the hamlet of

Passenham Passenham is a small village in the civil parish of Old Stratford in south-west Northamptonshire, England. It is just north of the River Great Ouse, which forms the boundary with Buckinghamshire, and close to (but separated by the river from) ...

. However, from the late 18th century the coming of 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 ...

to the east made Deanshanger an agricultural industrial centre causing it to grow quickly. This growth accelerated with the building of the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

in the first half of the 19th century which passed through the nearby villages of

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and ...

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 know ...

and Roade. After a fall out with Henry II in 1170 AD,

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...

is said to have sought refuge in the Gilbertine Monastery in Deanshanger (or ''Dinneshangra'' as it was then known). Although disguised as a peasant, he was nevertheless recognised by a farm labourer. At the time the only water supply in the village was foul and brackish, and having heard of the miracle that Becket was said to have performed at nearby Northampton, the farm labourer pleaded with Becket to repeat the performance. Becket is said to have looked towards Heaven, struck the ground with his staff, and immediately a fresh spring appeared. This is one of 703 miracles that is said to have led to his canonisation. The school, a sports college, merged with former Roade school in September 2011, and was renamed The

Elizabeth Woodville School The Elizabeth Woodville School, in Northamptonshire, England, is a secondary school with academy status, run by the Tove Learning Trust. It was formed by the merger of Roade Sports College and Kingsbrook Specialist Business and Enterprise Colleg ...

. Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 13 June 2011

Demography

At the time of the 2001 census, Deanshanger parish had a population of 2,900 citizens and in 2010 was estimated to be 3,877, falling to 3,817 at the 2011 census.

Industry

From the 1820s, the main industry in the village was an iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and later an

iron oxide Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of wh ...

works (making

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

for

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

). This gave some of the surrounding area a red colouration from the oxide dust. However, in 1999, the works closed and was demolished. By 2008, most of the works land has been replaced by the construction of several new housing estates. Extensive remedial work was needed to reverse the harmful effects of the previous industrial use of the site there are still signs of the red stained oxide all around the village. Some land has designated for light industrial use.

Local Amenities

The village has village hall and community centre (extended in 2008) to provide a venue for events and facilities for community groups, a doctor's surgery and a library. Other amenities include a primary school, and a secondary school, the aforementioned

, which is split over two sites across the town. The schools' grounds include the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

. There is a

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, ...

(Holy Trinity,

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 Brit ...

) and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

chapel, a post office, a pub and two members' clubs (sports and social,

Conservative club The Association of Conservative Clubs is an organisation associated with the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It represents and provides support to the largest association of political clubs in the country estimated at 1,100. The Assoc ...

), a pharmacy, a hairdresser, a pizza and

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

takeaway, a Chinese and

fish and chips Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created ...

takeaway, a mobile takeaway, and other village stores and

newsagent's shop A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of loca ...

s including a greengrocers. In December 2015, The Co-operative Food opened a store on the High Street, where The Fox & Hounds Public House was situated, previously planned to be a

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headq ...

. On the edge of the village on the

A422 The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow singl ...

, is a golf and country club, a hotel, an Indian restaurant and a petrol and service station. The town has a parish council office, which is a former school and Baptist Church, which was renovated in 2008. Football The village is home to Deanshanger Athletic Football Club, founded in 1946. The club consists of two men's teams (First and Reserves) who play in the North Bucks & District Football League, an under 18's team, competing in the Milton Keynes Youth Football League, and as of June 2017, a Ladies team, the first time the club has offered ladies football at a senior level. For children, there is a

pre-school playgroup A pre-school playgroup, or in everyday usage just a playgroup, is an organised group providing care and socialisation for children under five. The term is widely used in the United Kingdom. Playgroups are less formal than the preschool education ...

, youth club, and the junior football club, Deanshanger Colts. Annual Celebrations The village's annual event is a revival of the historic Feast held on a Saturday afternoon and evening in October each year. This includes a fun fair, stalls and firework show. There is an active village heritage society that organises the Feast, the planting of spring flowers on the roads into the village in autumn, cleaning of the

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

(the King's Brook) in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

and carol singing in December.

Transport

There are two regular bus services between Deanshanger and Milton Keynes - the 89/X89, operated by Stagecoach and running hourly between 6:00-19:00 Monday to Friday, and 8:00-18:00 Saturday only - and the 90/90A, which are operated by UNO on weekdays and Saturdays and run between 8:00-15:30 every two hours. There are also bus services between MK and Deanshanger and Buckingham on Friday and Saturday nights, running from 19:00-1:00AM. These are also operated by Stagecoach. Finally, there is the 83, a school service open to the public which runs from Deanshanger to Buckingham once a day (8:00AM), and Buckingham to Deanshanger (5:30PM). This bus also stops at Silverstone UTC, and is operated by a Stagecoach double decker. On a Sunday Country Lion operate a menagerie of the 89 and the 90, numbered 90, which operates at a far reduced frequency but stops at a combination of the stops on both routes. School bus services operate additionally between Deanshanger and Buckingham, stopping at Buckingham School and The Royal Latin School. This is the 943, operated by Bucks County Council, contracted out to Marshall's Coaches. It leave Deanshanger in convoy at 8:10, and generally leave Buckingham (Via RLS) at about 15:45, arriving back at 16:00. The nearest railway station is

for services to London

Euston railway station Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

and north.

railway station (on the same line) is the nearest station to give access to fast trains to London (40 minutes), intercity and cross-country services. There are several private hire taxi services.

References

External links

Short history of Deanshanger

Deanshanger Village Heritage Society

Village web site

Deanshanger Parish Council web site

Holy Trinity Church Deanshanger web site

Deanshanger Conservative Club web site
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire