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Bow Brickhill

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(including the hamlet of Caldecotte)

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"Bow Brickhill is on a sandy, high hill, in a coniferous district bordering Beds, with wide view to west. Pleasant brick and stone cottages border road and sandy tracks that climb to the brown ironstone west tower of the church. The church is large and of unremarkable Perp.; whitened and furbished within." [Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide]

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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 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.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide." editors John Betjeman & John Piper, London, 1948
"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
"War Memorials and War Graves: Cottesloe Hundred, Volume 2", Peter Quick.

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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 69 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £2.10.0 of which sum Ric. White (yeoman) contributed £0.4.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 77 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Bow Brickhill.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 431 inhabitants in 94 families living in 97 houses recorded in Bow Brickhill.

Census YearPopulation of Bow Brickhill
1801*431
1811*392
1821*438
1831*475
1841566
1851591
1861546
1871468
1881460
1891464
1901448

* = 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 parish registers for All Saints, Bow Brickhill have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

EventDates covered
Christenings1653 - 1969
Marriages1654 - 1837
Banns1754 - 1904
Burials1653 - 1885

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1600 - 1991
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1600 - 1991
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1600 - 1991
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 Bow Brickhill showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Bow Brickhill, All SaintsThe form was not completed
Bow Brickhill, Independent and
Baptist Chapel
54 - Morning General Congregation
45 - Morning Sunday Scholars
99 - Morning Total

59 - Evening General Congregation
20 - Evening Sunday Scholars
79 - Evening Total

Bow Brickhill, Wesleyan140 - Afternoon General Congregation

150 - Evening General Congregation

You can see pictures of Bow Brickhill which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

Bow Brickhill was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

BOW BRICKHILL, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies about two miles nearly east of Fenny Stratford. The manor was anciently in the Giffards, Earls of Buckingham, afterwards successively in the families of Cauz, Fermband, and Stafford: about the year 1520, it belonged to the family of Watson, from whom is passed, in 1626, to Sir Francis Brown; Sir William Boreman died seised of it in 1697; it has since passed through several hands, and is now the property of the Duke of Bedford, having been purchased by the late duke of Francis Moore esq. in the year 1792.

The parish church stands in a very exposed situation, at the edge of a steep hill, and is a very conspicuous object, seen at the distance of many miles: there is no house near it; the village lies on the side of the hill, about a quarter of a mile lower down. The church was for many years suffered to go to decay, being reduced to a mere shell; during which time, divine service was performed at a school-house in the village, which was built by the Perrot family, and endowed by them in 1633. The church was repaired by Mr. Browne Willis the antiquary, in 1757, since which time divine service has been performed in it as formerly. The advowson of the rectory, which had till then been always annexed to the manor, was sold to Sir William Ashton, about the year 1630: Sir William Buck (descended by a female heir from the Ashtons) was patron in 1757; the advowson is now the property of the Rev. Dr. Dupré, of Great-Berkhamsted. This parish has been inclosed by an act of parliament, passed in 1790, when an allotment of land was assigned to the rector in lieu of tithes.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP905347 (Lat/Lon: 52.003372, -0.683052), Bow Brickhill which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

  • Bow Brickhill - The first part of the name Bow Brickhill was written as Bolle in early records, and is believed to be a persons name (probably a one-time tenant). The second part of the name can be considered to also be composed of two parts, firstly, brik meaning top or summit, and the second part hill.
  • Caldecotte - The name derives from the old english words cald + cot, and means "cold cottages".