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Aston Sandford

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"Aston Sandford is a small out-of-the-way village in the meadows of the Thame valley to the south of Haddenham. It has only a small church (with a chancel, nave, and bell turret) which seems to have been rebuilt in the thirteenth century." [Buckinghamshire, by E.S. Roscoe]

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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", E.S. Roscoe, London Methuen & Co Ltd, 1935.
"Buckinghamshire Contributions for Ireland 1642", Wilson J., 1983.
"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Domesday Book, Buckinghamshire", text and translation edited by John Morris, Phillimore & Co Ltd, ISBN 0 85033 168 4
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"Royal Commission on Historical Monuments - An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire", H.M.S.O, 1912/3.
"The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham", Lipscomb G., 1847
"The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire", Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., 1925.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire, Page W. ed., 1905-1928

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Cemeteries

The following Monumental Inscriptions are available as publications or as part of a Society library:

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

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Census

In 1642 there were 27 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £1.10.0 of which sum Robert Lenthall minister contributed 10 shillings.

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 5 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Aston Sandford.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 71 inhabitants in 15 families living in 13 houses recorded in Aston Sandford.

Census YearPopulation
1801*71
1811*76
1821*84
1831*82
184186
185188
186159
187158
188159
189148
190146

* = 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.
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Church Records

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

EventDates covered
Christenings1609 - 1987
Marriages1615 - 1987
Burials1615 - 1982

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1575 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1575 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1575 - 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 Aston Sandford showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Aston Sandford, St Michaels55 - Morning General Congregation
including 12 Sunday Scholars
55 - Morning Total

73 - Afternoon General Congregation
including 21 Sunday Scholars
73 - Afternoon Total

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Description & Travel

In 1927 "The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire" states as follows:

Aston Sandford contains an area of 678 acres, of which by far the greater part is pasture land. It is watered by the Standbridge Brook, a tributary of the Thames. The land has only a variation of some 10 feet in level, being about 255 feet above the ordnance datum. The soil is gault and sandstone, the subsoil clay and limestone. The chief crops are wheat, oats, and beans. The village, with the church, lies in the south-west of the parish. The rectory-house, which was built by the Rev. Thomas Scott on his appointment as rector in the early 19th century stands to the south-east and the manor-house to the south-west of the church. Part of a homestead moat lies a mile north-east from the church on the site of Aston Court. [© copyright of the editors of The Victoria Histories of the Counties of England]

Aston Sandford was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

Aston Sandford, in the hundred of Ashendon and deanery of Waddesdon, lies about 6 miles south-west of Aylesbury, and about 5 north-east of Thame in Oxfordshire. This parish took its distinguishing name from the family of Sandford, who were proprietors of the manor in the 13th century, and brought it in marriage, with other estates to the Veres, Earls of Oxford. It was purchased of Edward, Earl of Oxford, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Sir William Fleetwood, and continued in his descendants till about the year 1737: in 1745 it was the property of Charles Price esq. and has since passed through several hands. The present proprietor is Mr Barber of Cheapside in London, who is also patron of the rectory.

You can see pictures of Aston Sandford which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) Aston (Sandford) Manor then known as Cold Aston, previously held by Sotiny, one of Earl Tosti's men was then assessed at 4 1/2 hides and was held by Manno the Breton.

Before the Domesday survey, Manno had subinfudated Aston Manor to Odo, probably the ancestor of the family from whom it appears to have derived the name of Sandford. John de Sandford held lands there in 1199, 1219, and 1220. Nicholas de Sandford had succeeded before 1234. His descendants had mesne over lordship rights in Aston Sandford during the next two centuries, at least until 1439, when one of his heirs is mentioned.

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Maps

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP756078 (Lat/Lon: 51.763788, -0.905945), Aston Sandford which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Aston, originally Estone/Eston means 'East farm'. Sandford is derived from John de Sandford who was the feudal holder in 1199. There is a suggestion that the 'east' part of the name is a distinction marking the difference from the West End on the opposite side of Haddenham. Haddenham and Aston had the same lord according to the Domesday Book.