Ravenstone 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
unitary authority area of the
City of Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, England. The village is about west of
Olney, and north of
Newport Pagnell and about from
Central Milton Keynes. The
2011 Census recorded the parish population as 209.
History
The
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, 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 ...
is derived from the
Old English
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-S ...
for "Hrafn's farm".
In 1255 a
priory of
Augustinian canons was founded in Ravenstone by
King Henry III. It was
dissolved in 1525 and its lands granted to
Cardinal Wolsey; and then in 1544
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
seized all of Wolsey's estates including Ravenstone Priory. After changing hands privately a number of occasions, the building was eventually demolished, and today nothing remains standing.
The oldest parts of the
Church of England parish church of
All Saints are 11th-century. The church includes the tomb of
Heneage Finch, 1st
Earl of Nottingham
:''See also Earl of Winchilsea''
Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham, John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard ...
. He had the neighbouring almshouses built, originally six for men and six for women, now combined into six cottages. The original inhabitants had to be single and members of the Church of England, and received a small pension, firewood, and a new cloak every Christmas.
Scheduled monuments and listed buildings
The parish has one
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
(Ravenstone Priory), one grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
(the Church of All Saints) and a further 29 buildings or structured listed at. grade II.
Amenities
The only communal facility in Ravenstone is the village hall. A post office and The Wheatsheaf pub closed in the early 1990s.
Notes
Sources and further reading
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External links
Ravenstone Home Page
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire
Areas of Milton Keynes
Villages in Buckinghamshire