Walton (historically) was a

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 ...

that is now a district 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 Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. For local government purposes, it is part of the Danesborough and Walton electoral ward. The historic hamlet is located about four miles south of

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in Mi ...

and just east of

Simpson Simpson most often refers to: * Simpson (name), a British surname *''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom **The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons'' Simpson may also refer to: Organizations Schools *Simpso ...

, mostly along Walton Road in the modern Walnut Tree district. The modern H9 Groveway grid road severs a few of its houses into

Walton Hall Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada *Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

and the V10 Brickhill Street separates the Manor Farm off into the Walton grid square. The Manor Farm has been redeveloped, first into a research centre for Hoechst and subsequently as the UK headquarters of MSD Animal Health. The village name is a common one in England, and 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 either 'village of the Britons' (''wale'' being a word meaning

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

) or 'walled village'. The village is first recorded (in the 12th century) as ''Wauton''. The

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 ...

of the village, (Walton Hall) and its chapel of ease, now

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to ...

, are in the campus grounds of

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study o ...

, in the

district.

Modern Walton

The modern Walton district is a light-industrial and residential district on the banks of 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'' ...

, a tributary of the

Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the W ...

and on the other side of Brickhill Street from the hamlet that gives it its name. It is largely the grounds of Walton Manor Farm. The other village farm, Walnut Tree Farm, still exists and the Walnut Tree district is on its lands.

Walton Civil Parish

The civil parish of Walton includes the districts of Browns Wood, Caldecotte, Old Farm Park, Tilbrook, Towergate, Walton, Walton Hall, Walton Park, Walnut Tree and Wavendon Gate. Caldecotte Lake is one of the more significant geographic features, extending from Caldecotte and Walton Park. The Parish Council is entitled a 'Community Council". Walton Community Council is the first tier of local government serving those living, attending and working in this area of Milton Keynes. The Community Council is responsible for the estates and villages of Browns Wood, Caldecotte, Old Farm Park, Tilbrook, Tower Gate, Walnut Tree, Walton Hall, Walton Park and Wavendon Gate.

Browns Wood

Browns Wood is a district in the south-east corner of the civil parish which, in the 2001 Census, also gave its name to an

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 t ...

designated 'urban sub-area'. The Sports Ground at Browns Wood contains 2 football pitches, a pump track, children's play area, outdoor gym and a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) which is open access but can be hired from the Walton Community Council.

Caldecotte

Caldecotte is another district in the parish, that includes the site of an ancient village of the same name. It is also includes the larger part of Caldecotte Lake, an important manmade

balancing lake A balancing lake (also flood basin or Sustainable urban drainage scheme) is a term used in the U.K. describing an element of an urban drainage system used to control flooding by temporarily storing flood waters. The term balancing pond is also ...

that manages flood water on the

just as it enters Milton Keynes. The lake is used by a number of local clubs for rowing and other water sports. The place name is fairly common in England, and is

Old English 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 c ...

meaning ''"cold cottage"''. This refers to a resting place for travellers or other strangers on the road. The original Northampton to London road (modern Brickhill Street) runs nearby, just short of its junction with

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 ...

(itself a major route in continuous use since Roman times). The village declined when the Northampton road was rerouted in 1728 through Broughton and Woburn to join the Watling Street at

Hockliffe Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 and B5704 roads. It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Near ...

Old Farm Park

Old Farm Park is a residential area in the south-east of the parish.

Tilbrook

The industrial area of Tilbrook is noted for being the home of

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...

Walton (district)

Walton itself is to the north-west of the parish, contained by Groveway, Brickhill Street, Bletcham Way and the River Ouzel. Walton contains a research centre for

Hoechst AG Hoechst AG () was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999. With the new company's 2004 merger with Sanofi-Synthélabo, it became a subsidiary of th ...

as well as housing.

Walton Hall

The Walton Hall district, contained by Standing Way, Brickhill Street, Groveway and the river Ouzel, is mainly noted for containing the campus of The

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. It also contains former parish church of St Michael.

Walnut Tree

Walnut Tree is a residential district in Walton, with a population of 3,354 in the last UK census. It is named after the Walnut Tree Farm, on whose land the estate was built. All the street names in Walnut Tree are named after either wild flowers and herbs or 18th century

turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, ...

s. Walnut Tree is home to a local centre, including small shopping outlets and takeaway restaurants. The district also contains the Blackberry Sports Injury Clinic and a GP surgery. Walnut Tree also has a pub, The Tawny Owl, and a pet supplies business based on Walnut Tee Farm. The area features three schools, all operated by the Milton Keynes Education Trust (MKET) – Walton High for secondary education as well as the Heronshaw and Heronsgate schools for primary education, serving both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 respectively. There is a cricket ground and football pitch with changing facilities. There are a number of play parks for children scattered throughout the area.

Wavendon Gate

Wavendon Gate is a district within the civil parish which borders the village of

Wavendon Wavendon is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the south east of the Milton Keynes urban area, in Buckinghamshire, England. History and geography The village name is an Old English, Old English language word, and means 'Wa ...

. It is a mainly residential area which contains the Wavendon Gate junior school and also a cricket green and pavilion for recreational activities.

ONS Urban Sub-Areas

For the 2001 Census, the

designated urban sub-areas called Walnut Tree and Browns Wood that are far bigger than the districts of that name.KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas
(lines 1808 to 1815). The Walnut Tree and Browns Wood urban sub-areas together approximated to that part of the former

Newport Pagnell Rural District Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county. History The district had its origins in the Newport Pagnell Poor Law Union, ...

that is west of the River Ouzel and east of the M1. The ONS discontinued this usage in the 2011 Census.

References

External links

* {{Milton Keynes parishes Areas of Milton Keynes Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire