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Walton was historically a
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
and 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
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 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. For local government purposes, it is part of the Danesborough and Walton
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 12,100. The historic hamlet is located about four miles south of Central Milton Keynes and just east of Simpson, 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 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 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 ...
language 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, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...
) or 'walled village'. The village is first recorded (in the 12th century) as ''Wauton''. Walton Hall, 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
of the village, and its
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
(now deconsecrated) are in the campus grounds of
The Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
, in the Walton Hall 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'', e ...
, a tributary of the Great Ouse 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; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
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 (pronounced ) 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 that manages flood water on 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'', e ...
just as it enters
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 ...
. 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 , 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 ...
meaning ''"cold cottage"''. This refers to a resting place for travellers or other strangers on the road. The original
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 ...
to London road (modern Brickhill Street) runs nearby, just short of its junction with
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 ...
(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.


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, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
.


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, later 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 subsidiar ...
as well as housing.


Walton Hall

Walton Hall is in the northwest of the parish, and is the location of the campus and offices of
The Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
. The university campus covers In the university campus grounds are 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
(Walton Hall), which gives the district its name, and the ancient
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
of St Michael, now deconsecrated. The manor farm-lands are divided between Walton Hall, the modern Walton, Kents Hill and
Walnut Tree Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family (biology), family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with ...
. The manor house itself, built in 1830 in the Regency style for the Pinfold family, is home to the
vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
's offices of the Open University. Walton Hall is on the banks of the Ouzel, a tributary of the Great Ouse where Walton Lake, a small balancing lake, has become naturalised and is home to reeds, bulrushes, reed warbler, reed bunting, water rail, sparrowhawk,
kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...
, green woodpecker,
grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecie ...
and many varieties of
odonata Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies (as well as the '' Epiophlebia'' damsel-dragonflies). The two major groups are distinguished with dragonflies (Anisoptera) usually being bulkier with ...
. Surrounding the reedbed are ponds and open water, ancient hedgerows and hay meadow.


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 in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...
s. Walnut Tree is home to a local centre, including small shopping outlets and takeaway restaurants. The district also contains a GP surgery, a sports injury clinic, a pub and a pet supplies store. 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 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The ...
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. 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
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
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 that is west of the River Ouzel and east of the M1. The ONS discontinued this usage in the 2011 Census.


See also

* Caldecote, Moulsoe * Walton (disambiguation) – other places and people named Walton


References


External links

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