Wraysbury

Wraysbury (previously Wyrardisbury) is a village in Berkshire, England. It is located in the very east of the county, in the part that was once part of Buckinghamshire (until 1974). It sits on the northern bank of the River Thames.

Related Topics:
Village - Berkshire - England - Buckinghamshire - 1974 - River Thames

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The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin and means 'Waerheard's town'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as Wyrardisbury. A nearby pub, the Bells of Ouseley (in Old Windsor) refers to yet another archaic spelling of Wraysbury.

Related Topics:
Anglo Saxon - Domesday Book - 1086

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The parish church of Saint Andrew is an old Gothic structure, between Norman and Early English, supposed to have been built by King John. The register dates from the year 1734. On the Ankerwycke estate in the village are the ruins of a Benedictine nunnery, founded in the reign of King Henry II.

Related Topics:
Parish - Saint Andrew - Gothic - Norman - King John - 1734 - Benedictine - Nunnery - King Henry II

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The village was once a portion of hunting grounds when the Saxons resided at Old Windsor. New Windsor was built in 1110 by King Henry I and he moved in, in 1163. The lands around Wraysbury were held by a number of noblemen.

Related Topics:
Old Windsor - New Windsor - 1110 - King Henry I - 1163

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Magna Carta Island, in the parish of Wraysbury, is (possibly) the location of the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215.

Related Topics:
Magna Carta Island - 1215

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