Water Stratford 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 ...

on the River Great Ouse in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about west of Buckingham, near the boundary with Oxfordshire.

Manor

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

"Stratford" is common in England, being derived from the

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 ...

for "

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

by a Roman road". The Roman road is still traceable through the village. The prefix "Water" was added to differentiate the village from other places called Stratford. The name has evolved through the centuries from ''Stradford'' 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, through ''Stratforwe'', ''Straford'' and ''Westratforde'' in the 13th to 15th centuries. The earliest known record of Water Stratford is from the time of Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042–66). After the Norman conquest of England Water Stratford was one of many manors in the region that

William of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

granted to

Robert D'Oyly Robert D'Oyly (also spelt Robert D'Oyley de Liseaux, Robert Doyley, Robert de Oiley, Robèrt d'Oilly, Robert D'Oyley and Roberti De Oilgi) was a Norman nobleman who accompanied William the Conqueror on the Norman conquest, his invasion of Engl ...

, who built

Oxford Castle Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and ...

. The

of 1086 assessed Water Stratford's cultivated land at eight hides. Water Stratford remained in the D'Oyly family until the 13th century, when it passed from Henry D'Oyly to his nephew

Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick (1208 – 26 June 1242), Earl of Warwick, Baron of Hocknorton (Hook Norton) and Hedenton, was the son of Henry de Beaumont, 5th Earl of Warwick and Margaret D'Oili. He was also known as Thomas de H ...

. The Earl died heirless, leaving his sister Margaret, by whose marriage Water Stratford then passed to the du Plessis family. Late in the 13th century Hugh du Plessis seems to have granted Water Stratford to Edward I in an exchange of lands. The manor was then the property of successive

Princes of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

until 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 ...

in the middle of the 17th century. No record of the feudal overlordship is known from after 1650. The present

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 ...

bears a date stone inscribed with the year 1598. The upper flight of the staircase has early 17th century pierced balusters. Other details were added to the house in the 20th century. The Domesday Book records that by 1086 Water Stratford had a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, presumably on the River Great Ouse. It is recorded again in 1278–79, but it was destroyed in 1349 by Isabel de Stratford, widow of a

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Water Stratford.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles was built in the 12th century. The south doorway is

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and has a finely carved tympanum of

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...

. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

arch and one lancet window on either side in the chancel are 13th century. The tower was built in the 14th century and some

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

and Perpendicular Gothic windows were added over the centuries. The tower was reduced in height in the 18th century. The church was almost entirely rebuilt in 1828, but unusually for that period its original features were preserved and replaced apparently ''in situ''. The tower has three bells. St. Giles' is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Notable people

John Mason (1645–94) was parish priest of St. Giles. He was a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

, admired by fellow-clergy including

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

. Mason wrote more than 30 hymns, including the still popular Anglican hymn ''How shall I sing that majesty''. In the last years of his life Mason's mental health deteriorated. From 1690 he preached that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. He claimed he was the prophet

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

and that he would be raised from the dead three days after his death. From 1693 hundreds of followers flocked to Water Stratford, where they lived in barns or camped in a field awaiting the Second Coming. Mason died on 22 May 1694. His followers' belief was so strong that his successor as parish priest had Mason's corpse exhumed to disprove his claim of resurrection. Still some of Mason's followers refused to leave, and stayed at Water Stratford awaiting his resurrection for up to 15 years when they were dispersed by the local militia.

Joseph Bosworth Joseph Bosworth (1788 – 27 May 1876) was an English scholar of the Anglo-Saxon language and compiler of the first major Anglo-Saxon dictionary. Biography Born in Derbyshire in 1788, Bosworth was educated at Repton School as a 'Poor Scholar' ...

(1788–1876), scholar of

, author of the first Anglo-Saxon dictionary, and Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford from 1858 to 1876, was parish priest of St. Giles from 1858. More recent former residents are

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series ''The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', which ...

, magician,

Peter Woodthorpe Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 13 August 2004) was an English actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' and BBC's 1981 radio serial. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cul ...

, actor, and

Yana (singer) Yana (born Pamela Guard; 16 February 193121 November 1989) was a British singer who was famous enough to be regarded as a household name in late-1950s Britain, but whose fame faded fast thereafter; by the time of her death in 1989 she was almost co ...

, (real name Pamela Guard).

References

Sources

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External links