Bradenham

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 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: Aylesbury Hundred part three - Risboroughs, Missendens and their environs, Volume 9", Peter Quick.

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

• Monumental Inscriptions for St Botolph church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorials in Bradenham have been transcribed by Peter Quick and published by the 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

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 41 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Bradenham.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 170 inhabitants in 34 families living in 33 houses recorded in Bradenham.

* = 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

• Rectors of the Parish Church of St Botolph

Details of the stained glass in the church can be found on the following web sites (the site includes many photos):

• Buckinghamshire Stained Glass

The original copies of the parish registers for St. Botolph, Bradenham have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

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

* = 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 Bradenham showed the following numbers:

• Buckinghamshire Church Photos by Kevin Quick.
• Buckinghamshire Village Photos by Kevin Quick.
• Buckinghamshire Records and Local Studies Service - large collection of old photos of Buckinghamshire

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Bradenham to another place.

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

BRADENHAM, in the hundred of Desborough and deanery of Wycombe, lies about four miles north-west of High-Wycombe. The manor belonged in the 13th century to the Earls of Warwick: towards the end of that century it came into the possession of the Bradenhams, (who took their name from the village,) and was afterwards successively in the families of Falwesley, Wiltshire, Botiler and Scot. After this, Bradenham was for many years a seat of the noble family of Windsor, having been purchased in 1500 by Sir Andrews Windsor, who was, in 1529, created Lord Windsor of Bradenham. In 1566 Queen Elizabeth, being on her return from the university of Oxford, was most sumptuously entertained at Bradenham, by Edward, Lord Windsor, whose kinsman, Miles Windsor, spoke an oration on the occasion, which was highly commended by her majesty. This Lord Windsor, by his last will, directed a hospital to be founded at Bradenham, for six poor men, the rector Bradenham to be the master, and to have 20 marks a-year as an augmentation to his living; and he requested that letters patent might be procured to incorporate the said rector and poor men, by the name of the master and brethren of the hospital of Bradenham. His executors seem altogether to have neglected their trust, as far as related to the foundation of this hospital, which never took place. About the year 1640, Bradenham became the seat of Sir Edmund Pye bart. who purchased the manor of the Windsor family. Sir Edmund left issue two daughters, the elder of whom married John Lord Lovelace, whose daughter and heir (being also the representative of the Wentworth family, and Baroness Wentworth in her own right) married Sir Henry Johnson, and died without issue in 1745, when this, and other estates, devolved to the present Viscount Wentworth, [footnote: as descended from Sir William Noel, who married Margaret, elder daughter of the first Lord Lovelace, by Lady Anne Wentworth], who in 1787 sold it to John Hicks esq. Bradenham-House was built by William Lord Windsor, the second of that title, but it has not much the appearance of antiquity, having undergone several alterations: it has lately been let by Mr. Hicks, together with the manor and demesne lands, on a lease of 21 years, to Peregrine Dealtry esq. The parish church contains nothing worthy of note, excepting the tomb of Joanna Mitchen, who died at the age of 103. A chapel on the north side of the chancel was built by William Lord Windsor, in 1542, as appears by an inscription round the cornice of the ceiling; in this chapel is a monument for Elizabeth, younger daughter of Sir Edmund Pye, and her husband, the Hon. Charles West, who died without issue. The advowson of the rectory has been always attached to the manor. Catherine Lady Pye left lands for the purpose of educating poor children of this and some other parishes in Buckinghamshire.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SU825970 (Lat/Lon: 51.665732, -0.808539), Bradenham which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

The name Bradenham is believed to mean 'Brada's homestead'.