Hide

Akeley

hide
Hide

(including the hamlet of Stockholt)

Hide

"A pink brick and cream-washed village bisected by the tarmac road from Buckingham to Towcester. The simple school of 1834 is its most decorative building. The church, by S. Tarring, 1854, is inhospitable, and a dull essay in decorated." [Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide]

Hide
topup

Bibliography

The following reference sources have been used in the construction of this page, and may be referred to for further detail. Most if not all of these volumes are available in the Reference section of the County Library in Aylesbury.

"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide." editors John Betjeman & John Piper, London, 1948
"The Buckinghamshire Village Book", Federation of Womens Institutes, 1987, pp 9-10, ISBN 0 905392 80 9.
"The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham", Lipscomb G., 1847
"The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham", Browne Willis, London, 1755.
"The History of Buckinghamshire", Reed Michael, 1993, p95, ISBN 0 85033 637 6.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire", Page W. ed., 1905-1928
"War Memorials and War Graves, Volume 7, Buckingham Hundred", Quick P., 1995, p 9.

topup

Cemeteries

War Memorials

War memorials in Akely have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published in a booklet titled "War Memorials and War Graves, Volume 7, Buckingham Hundred", available from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.

Monumental Inscriptions

Browne Willis in his book "The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham", 1755, surveyed the original parish church, and recorded the following:

"Here are no painted Glass or Monuments whatsoever, except these four on ordinary Grave-stones in the Chancel:

1. 1618. Heare lyeth William Smithe, Son of Doctor Smithe.
2. Here lyeth the Body of Paul Pavely, of Stepney in the County of Middlesex, Esq. who departed this Life the 15 Dec. 1690. And also of Anne his Wife, who deceased the 26 day of May, Anno Domini 1693.

These two lye without the Communion-Rails.

3. Here lyeth interred the Bodis of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Elizabeth Smyth, late of Buckingham, his Sister. She dyed the 19 day of November, in the 27. Year of her Age.
4. Richardus Fienes junior, obiit April 16, sepultus April 18, 1710.
Gulielmus filius Richardi Fienes, natus duodecimo die Martii, denatus undecimo die Julii ejusdem Anni,

These two are within the Communion-Rails.

Doctor Thomas Philpot, Rector of this Church, and of Turweston, as they informed me, was buried here, but there is not the least Memorial for him."

topup

Census

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 55 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Akeley.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 245 inhabitants in 50 families living in 41 houses recorded in Akeley. But according to Browne Willis, at the time of his book, 1755, there were 41 families and about 240 inhabitants.

Census YearPopulation
1801*245
1811*257
1821*295
1831*291
1841362
1851373
1861366
1871378
1881387
1891380
1901341

* = No names were recorded in census documents from 1801 to 1831.
** = Census documents from 1911 to 2001 are only available in summary form. Names are witheld under the 100 year rule.

Microfilm copies of all census enumerators' notebooks for 1841 to 1891 are held at the Local Studies Libraries at Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as well as centrally at the PRO. A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.

Availability of census transcripts and indexes.

  • 1851 - Full transcripts and indexes for Buckinghamshire are available on CD-ROM, hard copy and microfiche from the Buckinghamshire Family History Society.
  • 1861 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
  • 1881
    • Available on CD-ROM from the Church of the Latter Day Saints, as part of the National 1881 Census Index.
    • Available on CD-ROM for Buckinghamshire, with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from Drake Software.
  • 1891 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
topup

Church History

St. James the Apostle

Akeley had a church in 1164 which came under the living of Longueville Abbey, but a later church, St. James the Apostle, was built in 1854. This church however, due to the state of the stonework, was pulled down in 1979.

Browne Willis in his book "The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham" describes the original church as follows:

"The Church here, dedicated to St. James the Apostle, whose Festival is here observed the Sunday after July 25, is a mean small Building, consisting only of a Nave which is leaded, and Chancel which is tyled. At the West End is a wooden Turrit, lately rough cast, in which hang two small modern Bells. Over the Porch is this Date, 1656, being the Year when the said Porch was rebuilt."

Methodist Chapel

A Methodist Chapel was built in 1829, this however was closed down in 1986.

topup

Church Records

The original copies of the Akeley parish registers have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

EventDates covered
Christenings1682 - 1979
Marriages1688 - 1978
Banns1789 - 1979
Burials1682 - 1954

Browne Willis comments in his book

"The Register of this Parish begins Anno 1682. The old one being burnt by one Morgan, Curate to Mr. Longworth the Rector, who being disordered in his Senses, also burnt his own Sermon-Notes, and Papers, as I am told."

Copies or indexes to the parish registers are available from societies as follows:

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1682 - 1838
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1600 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society

* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting

An ecclesiastical census was carried out throughout England on 30 March 1851 to record the attendance at all places of worship. These returns are in the Buckinghamshire Record Office and have been published by the Buckinghamshire Record Society (vol 27). The returns for Akeley showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel100 Afternoon General Congregation
80 Evening General Congregation
topup

Description & Travel

Akeley was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

Akeley, in the hundred and deanery of Buckingham, lies about three miles nearly north of the county town. The manor was given by Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, to the alien priory of Newton-Longueville: having been seized by the crown during the wars with France, it was given by King Henry VI. with other estates of that priory , to the warden and scholars of New College, in Oxford.

The manor of Stockholt, in this parish, belonged successively to the families of Barton, Fowler, and Lambard. Sir Edward Bigot, who married the heiress of the last-mentioned family, sold it to Sir Simon Bennet; from the Bennets it passed by a female heir to the noble family of Cecil, and was purchased of the Marquis of Salisbury, in 1800, by the present proprietor, Lord Carrington.

The advowson of the rectory, which belonged formerly to the priory of Newton-Longueville, is vested in the warden and scholars of New College. This parish, by the name of Akeley cum Shockholt, was inclosed, pursuant to an act of parliament passed in 1794, when a corn rent was settled on the rector in lieu of tithes, but the Marquis of Salisbur's estate was exempted from the operation of the act. An allotment was given to the poor in lieu of furze.

You can see pictures of Akeley which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

topup

History

Evidence of a medieval deer park can still be detected in the curving shapes of the hedgerow boundaries to fields at Akeley.

Akeley was noted for its Lace industry and had a large school where children were taught pillow lacemaking.

At one time, in the early 1800s, Akeley had a flourishing brickyard and pottery, which was owned by a Mr and Mrs Barton. The clay used, was dug from the water filled pits in a field at the rear. For a number of years after the brickyard closed the kiln still remained standing, the property was then owned by a Mr Watts who had a large house and orchard in the village. The garden wall of this house contains some of the ornamental bricks from the brickyard.

One of the main events of village life was the Horticultural Show that was considered the best in North Buckinghamshire. In 1918 this closed down, but since 1976 is once again a popular event.

topup

Maps

A street map of Akeley and a County map of Buckinghamshire can be found on the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society pages.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP709376 (Lat/Lon: 52.032286, -0.967918), Akeley which are provided by:

topup

Names, Geographical

  • Akeley - The name came from Ake an Anglo-Saxon word for oak and Ley for field. The Domesday Book spells it as Achelei.
  • Stockholt - The name derives from the old english words stocc + holt, and means 'Stump-wood'
topup

Societies

The following is a list of societies and groups specifically for this parish or village and which relate to either local, or family history.