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Chetwode

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"CHETWODE (Finmere Stat., Oxon, 2 1/2 m.; Buckingham, 3 3/4m.) is another of those places in the county which in reality had no village, the church being the centre of the parish. It adjoined the Augustinian Priory, founded in 1244 by Sir Ralphe de Norwich, of which it was the conventual church." [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 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.
"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: Buckingham Hundred, Volume 7", Peter Quick.

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Cemeteries

War Memorials

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

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Census

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 27 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Chetwode.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 123 inhabitants in 27 families living in 20 houses recorded in Chetwode.

Census Year Population of Chetwode
1801* 123
1811* 98
1821* 131
1831* 149
1841 197
1851 217
1861 177
1871 173
1881 155
1891 170
1901 157

* = 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.

Full transcripts and indexes in both hard copy and on microfiche for all Buckinghamshire parishes included in the 1851 census are available from the Buckinghamshire Family History Society.

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Church History

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

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Nicholas & St Mary, Chetwode have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

Event Dates covered
Christenings 1583 - 1813
Marriages 1583 - 1948
Burials 1583 - 1813

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1583 - 1840
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1583 - 1877
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1583 - 1840
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 Chetwode showed the following numbers:

Church Attendance
Chetwode, St Nicholas & St Mary 77 - Morning General Congregation
21 - Morning Sunday Scholars
98 - Morning Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Chetwode which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

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

CHETWODE, in the hundred and deanery of Buckingham, lies about five miles south-west of the county town, on the borders of Oxfordshire. Sir Ralph de Norwich founded a priory at Chetwode, in the year 1244, for Augustine monks. In 1460 it was dissolved on account of its poverty, and annexed to the abbey of Nutley.

The principal manor is the property of Sir John Chetwode bart. a lineal descendant of Robert de Thain, who held it under the bishop of Baieux, at the time of the Norman survey, since which it has never been alienated by sale. It passed indeed for a time, by the heir female of an elder branch of the Chetwodes, to the baronial family of Woodhull or Wahul; but, after a few generations, reverted by the marriage of an heiress of the Wahuls, to a younger branch of the Chetwodes, from whom the present baronet is descended: the Chetwodes had formerly a seat here, but it has long been deserted, their chief residence being at Oakley in Staffordshire.

The priory manor which belonged to Nutley abbey, after the dissolution of the monastery of Chetwode, was granted in 1541 to the family of Risley, who continued to possess it until the death of Paul Risley esq. Without issue in 1755: it is now in severalties.

The old parish church of St. Martin, which stood a quarter of a mile east of the priory, was pulled down in Queen Elizabeth's time: in this church was a monument of Sir John Chetwode, an ancestor of the present baronet of that name, and his lady. The conventual church, which was made parochial in 1480, still remains: in the chancel, which appears to be coeval with the foundation of the priory, are some memorials of the family of Risley. There was anciently an hermitage at Chetwode, dedicated to St. Stephen and St. Lawrence. which was founded by an ancestor of the Chetwodes.

Edward Lame esq. William Pearson esq. and Mrs. Lynch, have the impropriation of the great tithes. The benefice of Chetwode and the neighbouring parish of Barton-Hartshorne are consolidated.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP640298 (Lat/Lon: 51.963005, -1.069937), Chetwode which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

The name Chetwode is a compound of the same type as Brill i.e. the first part being Bristish for a wood and the second being the English word also for a wood .