Loughton () is a village dating back to ancient times and modern district 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Loughton and Great Holm in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, Buckinghamshire, England. The village spreads between

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

and the modern

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

, to the west of, and about 1 mile from,

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 ...

. Although Loughton is now largely residential, much of the character of the original village remains. To the north-east of Bradwell Road, the area bounded by School Lane and Church Lane contains All Saints Church and remnants of the original parish of Great Loughton. To the south-west of Bradwell Road, around The Green, there is a cluster of sixteenth-century buildings, including Manor Farm, Manor Farm Cottages, and Cell Farm, which represent the remains of the original parish of Little Loughton. Today, Loughton is home to a large equestrian centre, within whose grounds the medieval field pattern and fish pond are still visible. The district is bounded by the A5 to the east, H5 Portway to the north, V4 Watling Street to the west, and H6 Childs Way to the south.

Natural features and green spaces

Loughton is bordered by the Loughton Valley Park, a

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

that follows the course of Loughton Brook through the district. The park is part of Milton Keynes's green infrastructure and provides traffic-free walking and cycling routes connecting to nearby areas such as Bradwell and Shenley Church End. The park includes woodland, open meadows, and wetlands that support local biodiversity.

Education

Local education is served by Loughton School, which caters to junior-aged pupils, and Loughton Manor First School, which serves early years and Key Stage 1 students. Both schools are situated within the district and have strong links with community organisations. For secondary education, most children attend nearby institutions such as Shenley Brook End School or Denbigh School in Shenley Church End.

Demographics and housing

Loughton features a blend of historical and modern housing stock. The area closest to The Green contains several listed buildings dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, while the rest of the district includes mid- to late-20th century developments and newer infill housing. The population is diverse, comprising long-term residents, families, and professionals who commute to nearby employment centres including

Transport and accessibility

Loughton enjoys good transport connectivity due to its location just west of Milton Keynes Central railway station. The station offers frequent services to London Euston,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, and

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

. Several local bus routes also pass through or near the area, linking it with Central Milton Keynes and the wider urban area. Additionally, the district is served by the Milton Keynes Redway system, a network of dedicated pedestrian and cycle paths.

Community and local life

Loughton maintains a strong community identity, with events and initiatives led by the Loughton and Great Holm Parish Council. The historic All Saints Church, a Grade II listed building, remains active as a religious and social centre. The district also features a local equestrian centre, which preserves aspects of the medieval field pattern including ridge-and-furrow earthworks and an ancient fish pond.

Historic Loughton

The village name is an

Old English language Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo- ...

word, and means 'Luhha's estate'. 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 the village was recorded as ''Lochintone''.'Parishes : Loughton'

Victoria History of the Counties of England The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp. 395–401. Date accessed: 14 September 2010 All Saints Church is the oldest surviving building in Loughtonthe

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

and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

probably date from the first years of the 13th century, though all the original details have been removed during subsequent alterations.

Modern Loughton district

The original village has now been incorporated into the modern 'grid square' of Loughton. However much of the character of the old village remains; to the north-east of Bradwell Road the area bounded by School Lane and Church Lane contains the Church and remnants of the original parish of Great Loughton. To the south-west of Bradwell Road, around The Green there is a cluster of several sixteenth century buildings (Manor Farm, Manor Farm Cottages and Cell Farm) which constitute the remains of the original parish of Little Loughton. Today Loughton is a mainly residential area but is also home to a large Equestrian Centre, in the grounds of which the medieval field pattern and

fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical g ...

can still be seen. The district is bounded by the A5 to the east, H5 Portway to the north, V4 Watling Street to the west and H6 Childs Way to the south.

Pronunciation

The

Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent of British English regarded as the Standard language, standard one, carrying the highest Prestige (sociolinguistics), social prestige, since as late as the beginning of the 2 ...

of Loughton is (the "ou" rhymes with "ouch", the "gh" is silent), in contrast to the similarly-spelt neighbouring areas of Broughton and Woughton .

Notable people

* John Athawes (born 1837), cricketer

References

External links

Archival photos and recorded interviews with long-term residents of Loughton are available i
'Living Memories of London Road'
an

{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Areas of Milton Keynes