Horton is 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 ...

in the

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 o ...

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 ...

, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the

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 ...

of Slapton. The name '' Horton'' is a common one in England. It derives from

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 ...

''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. Although in the parish of Ivinghoe, the hamlet is nearer to

Cheddington Cheddington is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish has an area of . The village is about 6 miles north-east of Aylesbury and three miles north of Tring in Her ...

with its shops and churches, so that is the main village to which most residents of Horton feel most attached. On the 14 February 1942 a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rel ...

(R5927) was operating a training flight out of RAF Yatesbury. The pilots lost control of the aircraft after hitting a balloon cable. The aircraft came down in an area of Horton known as Wiggins Field & caught fire on impact. All six crew & one person in the ground died in the accident. The hamlet of Horton was held after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

by the de Brocas family. The hamlet is very small, but a few new modern houses have been built over the last twenty years, most notably Brocas Way and The Grange. The latter was built in the 1970s as a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family ...

for Horton Hall. Horton Hall is a large moated farmhouse with 18th-century origins. It is probably on the site of the original manor or hall. It was the home of Norman Shand-Kydd, a charity fund-raiser, and former champion amateur jockey, who bred horses on the adjoining farm. Two 16th-century half-timbered cottages remain in the village. One, still known as ''King's Head Cottage'', used to be an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. The other, which is older, is a renovated Tudor hall on the outskirts of the hamlet.

Notable residents

* Roger Goad (1538-1610),

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Provost of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

and three times Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Born in Horton * John Milton (1562–1647), the composer, moved here from Hammersmith in 1636 with his wife, Sara, and family, including the poet John Milton (1608 – 1674). In 1641, he moved to

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

. * Robert Scawen (1602-1670),

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

of the House of Commons of England that supported the parliamentarian side of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Moved to Horton in 1658 until his death. *

Horace Davey, Baron Davey Horace Davey, Baron Davey, PC, FRS, FBA (30 August 183320 February 1907) was an English judge and Liberal politician. Background and education Davey was the son of Peter Davey, of Horton, Buckinghamshire and Caroline Emma Pace, and was bo ...

(1833-1907), judge, politician and member of parliament of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1880 until 1892.

References

{{Aylesbury Vale Hamlets in Buckinghamshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England