Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes (pronounced{{fn|1}} {{IPA|}}) is a purpose-built, high technology city in the south east of England approximately 50 miles (80km) north of London and mid-way between Oxford and Cambridge. Although legally still a town (since city status in the United Kingdom is only possible through grant of Royal Charter), it was designed to be, and behaves as, a full city. Its administration is through the Borough of Milton Keynes, a unitary authority, of which it is the dominant part. (The Borough contains other towns in addition to Milton Keynes itself.)

Historical towns and villages that are now part of Milton Keynes

The historical settlements have been focal points for the development of the city. Every grid square has historical antecedents, if only in the field names. The more obvious ones are listed here.

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Bancroft Park

The foundations of a Romano-British farm are to be seen in what is now the North Loughton Park, overlooking the Shenley Brook. This part of the brook is part of the flood control system and there is a permanent wetland that is home to water creatures, notably Odonata (dragon flies and damsel flies).

Related Topics:
Romano-British - Flood control system - Odonata

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Bletchley

The present day name of Bletchley is Anglo Saxon and means Blæcca's wood. It was first recorded in manorial rolls in the 12th century as Blechelai. Its station was a major Victorian junction (the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford-Cambridge line), leading to the huge urban growth in the town in that period. It expanded to absorb the villages of Water Eaton and Fenny Stratford.

Related Topics:
Bletchley - Anglo Saxon - Manor - 12th century - Its station - Victorian - London and North Western Railway - Water Eaton - Fenny Stratford

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Also within the parish is the stately Bletchley Park, which, during the Second World War, was home to the Government Code and Cypher School. The famous Enigma code was cracked here, using what was arguably the world's first programmable computer, Colossus. The house is now a museum of war memorabilia, cryptography and computing.

Related Topics:
Bletchley Park - Second World War - Government Code and Cypher School - Enigma code - Computer - Colossus - Museum

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Bradwell Abbey, Bradwell Village and New Bradwell

The Benedictine Priory at Bradwell was of major economic importance in this area of North Buckinghamshire before the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The routes of the medieval trackways converge on the site from some distance (many of which are now Redways or bridleways). Nowadays, there is only a small medieval chapel and a manor house occupying the site. The house is the base for the City Discovery Centre and provides a meeting point for various societies such Astronomy and Natural History. The West Coast Main Line (railway line) now splits the abbey from the later hamlet.

Related Topics:
Benedictine - Priory - Bradwell - Dissolution of the Monasteries - West Coast Main Line

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New Bradwell, to the north of the medieval Bradwell (Abbey) and just across the canal and the railway to the east of Wolverton, was built specifically for railway workers. Its grid pattern is echoed (on a far larger scale) by the new city. It has a working windmill. The level bed of the old tramway from Newport Pagnell to Wolverton ends here and has been converted to a redway, making it a favourite route for cycling.

Related Topics:
New Bradwell - Windmill - Newport Pagnell - Wolverton

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Broughton

Broughton{{fn|1}} was a tiny hamlet on the old Northampton to London turnpike, joining Watling Street at Fenny Stratford. It is near Junction 14 of the M1.

Related Topics:
Broughton - Northampton - London - Watling Street - Fenny Stratford

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Caldecotte

Caldecotte is small hamlet, originally of 8 houses, in the south east of Milton Keynes near Bow Brickhill, now largely surrounded by a balancing lake.

Related Topics:
Caldecotte - Bow Brickhill - Balancing lake

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Fenny Stratford

The name Fenny Stratford is an Anglo Saxon expression meaning "marshy ford on a Roman road". The Roman road in this case is the Watling Street. There are traces of the Roman settlement Magiovinium on the edge of the present day occupation. The town was recorded in manorial rolls in 1252 as Fenni Stratford, though previously it was just known as Stratford: the prefix being added to distinguish the town from nearby Stony Stratford.

Related Topics:
Fenny Stratford - Anglo Saxon - Ford - Roman road - Watling Street - Manor - 1252 - Stony Stratford

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The town grew in the canal era, when the Grand Union Canal came through. The lock at Fenny Stratford steps up a whole foot. The next lock northwards is at Cosgrove in Northamptonshire, just north of Wolverton.

Related Topics:
Grand Union Canal - Cosgrove - Northamptonshire

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With the coming of the railway, Fenny declined and was swept up by the minor hamlet to the east, Bletchley, which grew to be a brash railway town. There is still a small railway station here.

Related Topics:
Hamlet - Railway station here

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Great Linford

Written as Great Linford to distinguish it from the even tinier Little Linford, the village is another on the Grand Union Canal. It appears in the Domesday Book as Linforde. Today, the manor house is an Arts Centre.

Related Topics:
Great Linford - Grand Union Canal - Domesday Book - Manor house

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Loughton

The present day name of Loughton{{fn|1}} is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Luhha's estate'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as Lochintone. The village is in the linear park and hosts the National Badminton training centre and a major equestrian facility.

Related Topics:
Loughton - Domesday Book - Badminton

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Milton Keynes Village

This is the original village to which the New City owes its name. The original village is still evident, with a pleasant thatched pub and traditional housing. The area around the village has reverted to its original name of Middleton, as shown on old maps of the 1700s.

Related Topics:
Thatch - Pub - Middleton - 1700s

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Shenley Brook End, Shenley Church End, Shenley Lodge and Shenley Wood

This group of villages are on the west side of Watling Street opposite Loughton and were originally part of the larger settlement recorded in the Domesday Book as Senelai.

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Simpson

Simpson is a small hamlet on the old Northampton to London turnpike (via Watling Street at Fenny Stratford near by) and on the Grand Union Canal. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Siwinestone.

Related Topics:
Simpson - Northampton - London - Turnpike - Watling Street - Fenny Stratford - Grand Union Canal - Domesday Book

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Stantonbury

Little if anything remains of the original village that was Stantonbury. Today it is better known for its collegiate secondary school, Stantonbury Campus.

Related Topics:
Stantonbury - Collegiate - Secondary - School - Stantonbury Campus

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Stony Stratford

The generic town name Stratford is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'ford on a Roman road'. The Roman road in this sense is the Watling Street that runs through the middle of the town. The ford is the crossing of the river Ouse. The prefix Stony refers to the stones on the bed of the ford, differentiating the town from nearby Fenny Stratford.

Related Topics:
Watling Street - Fenny Stratford

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There has been a market in Stony Stratford since 1194 (by charter of King Richard I).

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Two hotels in the centre of town, The Cock and The Bull were originally coaching inns on the main London to Chester and North Wales turnpike (Watling Street). Travellers gossip and rumour was exchanged at the two and was renowned for being far-fetched and fanciful. This is believed to be the origin of the .

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Today Stony Stratford is a busy market town on the northern edge of Milton Keynes, and is considered by many to be quite picturesque.

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Tattenhoe

Just a few farm houses remained of Tattenhoe village before the land was built upon. Nearby and just outside the city boundary, the foundations of the Benedictine Priory at Snelshall can still be seen. The Priory was a brother house to that at Bradwell.

Related Topics:
Tattenhoe - Benedictine - Priory

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Walton

Walton, Milton Keynes is listed in the Domesday Book as Waletone. Today, the Manor house, Walton Hall, is the headquarters of the Open University and the tiny parish church (deconsecrated) is in its grounds. It is on the banks of the river Ouzel, a tributary of the Great Ouse, where there a disused balancing lake has been naturalised and is home to reeds, bulrushes, reed warbler, reed bunting, water rail, sparrowhawk, kestrel, green woodpecker, grass snake and many varieties of odonata. Surrounding the reedbed are ponds and open water, ancient hedgerows and hay meadow.

Related Topics:
Walton, Milton Keynes - Domesday Book - Open University - Great Ouse - Balancing lake - Reed - Bulrush - Reed warbler - Reed bunting - Water rail - Sparrowhawk - Kestrel - Green woodpecker - Grass snake - Odonata - Reedbed

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Willen

The name Willen is probably from Anglo-saxon or old English meaning (at the) 'willows': the River Ouzel meanders through land ideal for willows. Today, there is a large balancing lake to capure flash floods before they cause problems down stream on the Great Ouse. The north basin is a wild-life sanctuary and a favourite of migrating acquatic birds. The south basin is for leisure use, favoured by wind surfers and dinghy sailors. The circuit of the lakes is a favoured "fun run".

Related Topics:
Willen - River Ouzel - Willow - Balancing lake - Flash flood - Great Ouse

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The tiny Parish Church (1680) at Willen contains the only unaltered building by the architect and physicist Robert Hooke still in existence and is a classic of the early English Baroque period.

Related Topics:
1680 - Robert Hooke - English Baroque

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Nearby, there is a Buddhist Temple and a large stupa (known locally as the Peace Pagoda), built in 1980 by the Monks and Nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji and was the first to be built in the western hemisphere.

Related Topics:
Buddhist - Stupa - 1980 - Nipponzan Myohoji

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Finally, overlooking the lake, Willen Hospice provides specialist care for people whose illness no longer responds to curative treatment (also known as specialist palliative care).

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Wolverton and Old Wolverton

The town name Wolverton is Anglo Saxon, meaning 'Wulfhere's estate'. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wluerintone. The original Wolverton was a medieval settlement just north and west of today's town. This site is now known as Old Wolverton, although the medieval village no longer remains. The Ridge and Furrow pattern of agriculture can still be seen in the nearby fields and the Saxon (rebuilt in 1819) Church of the Holy Trinity still sits next to the Norman Motte and Bailey site.

Related Topics:
Domesday Book - Ridge and Furrow - Motte and Bailey

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The newer area built for the railways in the 19th century assumed the Wolverton name when, in the 19th century became a town of some importance for the national rail network as carriages and engines for trains were constructed here. See also Wolverton railway station and Wolverton railway works.

Related Topics:
Wolverton railway station - Wolverton railway works

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Wolverton is separated from New Bradwell by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast (railway) Line. Just north of Wolverton, the Iron Trunk Aqueduct carries the Grand Union Canal over the Great Ouse: this was considered a substantial engineering feat for the day and indeed the first attempt collapsed into the river.

Related Topics:
New Bradwell - Grand Union Canal

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The Woolstones

The twin villages of Great Woolstone and Little Woolstone are centrally located in the new city, yet retain much of their rural charm. They are listed in the Domesday Book as Wlsiestone, an Anglo-saxon word meaning "Wulfsige's farm". The Grand Union Canal runs alongside: the village pub was built to relieve the navvies of their wages and retains many original features.

Related Topics:
Great Woolstone - Domesday Book - Grand Union Canal

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Woughton on the Green

In the Domesday Book, Woughton on the Green was recorded as Ulchetone. This is an Anglo Saxon name, which means Eoca's Farm. The village had gained its more modern name by the mid 12th century when the manor was recorded as belonging to the Verley family. Over the years, the pronunciation{{fn|1}} altered to "Wufton". The village was originally just called "Woughton": the suffix was added in the Victorian era to distinguish the village from other nearby places with the same name. On the Green refers to the large grassy area that lies in the centre of the village: the traditional village green. The Grand Union Canal runs alongside.

Related Topics:
Domesday Book - Woughton on the Green - Grand Union Canal

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