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Emberton

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(including Ekeney and Petsoe)

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"Emberton is bounded, on the North, by Olney; on the East, by Newton-Blossomville; on the South, by Sherrington; and on the West, by Stoke-Goldington and Weston-Underwood. This Parish, which contains about one thousand three hundred acres, is situated about four miles north from Newport Pagnell, on the road to Olney, being connected with the latter by a very long bridge over the Ouse, and the low marshy track bordering upon that River." [The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847]
"In the east of the parish is Petsoe Manor (Pettesho, Petrosho, xii cent.; Petisho, Pottesho, xiii cent.), the property of Lincoln College, Oxford, and formerly a separate parish, but now annexed to Emberton for ecclesiastical purposes [1650]. The hamlet, called Petsoe End at its western extremity, contains Grange Farm, and the manor-house at the northern end is occupied by Messrs. M. A. Inns & Sons. A free chapel formerly existed at Petsoe and another at Ekeney, the adjoining manor, coupled in the 15th and 16th centuries with Petsoe as the manor or manors of Petsoe and Ekeney. Now no trace remains of Ekeney or of the churches." [© copyright of the editors of The Victoria Histories of the Counties of England]

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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.
"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
"War Memorials and War Graves: Newport Hundred, Volume 1", Peter Quick.

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Cemeteries

  • War memorials in Emberton have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published in a booklet entitled "War Memorials and War Graves: Newport Hundred, Volume 1", available from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
  • War memorial details are also available online on the Roll of Honour web site.
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Census

In 1642 there were 72 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £4.18.0 of which sum Sim. Younger rector contributed £1.0.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 122 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Emberton.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 549 inhabitants in 131 families living in 111 houses recorded in Emberton.

Census YearPopulation of Emberton
1801*549
1811*541
1821*549
1831*598
1841658
1851613
1861632
1871637
1881653
1891526
1901510

* = 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 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 All Saints, Emberton have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

EventDates covered
Christenings1658 - 1963
Marriages1674 - 1953
Burials1673 - 1881

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Marriages
1674 - 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 Emberton showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Emberton, All Saints160 - Morning General Congregation
106 - Morning Sunday Scholars
266 - Morning Total

175 - Evening General Congregation
58 - Evening Sunday Scholars
233 - Evening Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Emberton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

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

EMBERTON, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies about four miles north of Newport-Pagnell, on the road to Olney. The manor belonged successively to the baronial families of Paganell and Somery, under whom it was held by the Olneys and Pakenhams. From the latter it passed by a female heir to the Tyringhams, of whom it was purchased, about the year 1670, by the Coppins of Market-Street, in Bedfordshire. In 1727 the Coppins sold it to John Gore esq. from whom it passed by marriage to the family of Mellish. It is now, by a late purchase, the property of William Praed esq. representative of the female line of its former proprietors, the Tyringhams: Mr. Praed is patron of the rectory. This parish has been inclosed by an act of parliament, passed in 1798, when an allotment of land was given to the rector in lieu of tithes; the parish was then estimated to contain 1300 acres.

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

OKENEY, or EKENEY, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lay a little to the south of Olney. The village is quite depopulated, not a single house remains; its site is denoted by some broken and uneven ground, but the spot where the church stood is not known. The manor was successively in the families of Somery, Ekeney, and Chamberlayne; of the latter it was purchased by Lincoln College, in Oxford, under which society it has been held on lease by the families of Norton, Martin, and Park. The lease is now vested in the representatives of the late Robert Pomfret, rector of the neighbouring parish of Emberton: the great tithes and advowson belong to Linclon College: the land-holders are assessed to the poor rates of Emberton.

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

PETSOE, in the hundred of Newport, which lies about two miles and a half to the south-east of Olney, was formerly a separate parish, the manor-house of which (together with the manor) belonging to Lincoln college in Oxford, still maintains its own poor , but the poor of Petsoe-end are maintained by the parish of Emberton, and the inhabitants attend that church. The church of Petsoe was consolidated with Okeney; they have both been long ago destroyed: there are no remains of Petsoe church, but its site is discernible. Admiral Rowley has been for many years lessee of the manor under Lincoln college.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP886495 (Lat/Lon: 52.136705, -0.706885), Emberton which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

  • Emberton - The name derives from the old english Eanberht(es)-tun, and means 'Eanberht's farm'.
  • Ekeney - The name is though to derive from the old english æcen + eg, meaning 'island grown over with oaks'.
  • Petsoe - The name probably derives from the old english Peotes + hohe, meaning 'Peot's spur of land'.