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Monks Risborough

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"This Parish is bounded, on the North, by Dinton; on the East, by Great Kimble and Great Hampden; on the South, by Hughendon; and on the West, by Prince's Risborough. It contains about 1000 acres of which 755 are enclosed. The soil is clay, chalk, loam, and gravel; and the surface greatly diversified, the southern part of the parish being very high land. In 1821, the population of this parish was returned at 937; and in 1815, the property-tax was assessed at 310l." [The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847]

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

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Cemeteries

War Memorials

War memorials in Monks Risborough have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published in a booklet entitled "War Memorials and War Graves: Aylesbury Hundred - part three, Risborough, Missendens and their environs, Volume 9", available from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.

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Census

In 1642 there were 70 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £6.3.5 of which sum William Harwood rector contributed £1.10.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 186 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Monks Risborough.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 768 inhabitants in 167 families living in 167 houses recorded in Monks Risborough.

Census YearPopulation of Monks Risborough
1801*768
1811*899
1821*934
1831*1018
18411083
18511064
1861985
1871938
1881847
1891810
1901714

* = 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 St Dunstan, Monks Risborough have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

EventDates covered
Christenings1587 - 1953
Marriages1587 - 1986
Burials1587 - 1939

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1587 - 1841
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1587 - 1841
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1587 - 1841
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 Monks Risborough showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Monks Risborough, St Dunstan31 - Morning General Congregation
37 - Morning Sunday Scholars
68 - Morning Total

66 - Afternoon General Congregation
37 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
103 - Afternoon Total

Monks Risborough,
Askett Baptist Chapel
138 - Morning General Congregation
62 - Morning Sunday Scholars
200 - Morning Total

153 - Afternoon General Congregation
60 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
213 - Afternoon Total

126 - Evening General Congregation
30 - Evening Sunday Scholars
156 - Evening Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Monks Risborough which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

Monks Risborough was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

MONKS-RISBOROUGH, in the hundred of Aylesbury, lies near Prince's-Risborough, nearly five miles south-west of Wendover. It has been said that there was a cell of Benedictine monks at this place, subject to the monastery of Christ-church, in Canterbury; but of this no evidence has been found. It is certain that the manor was given by Æschwyn, bishop of Dorchester, to the monks of Christ-church. After the reformation it was for some time in the Windsor family, afterwards in the Hampdens, from whom it passed by inheritance to the present Lord Viscount Hampden.

The church, which is a handsome Gothic edifice, with a square tower, contains no monuments worthy of notice. The archbishop of Canterbury is patron of the rectory, which is in his peculiar jurisdiction.

White-leaf Cross, on the side of the Chiltern hills, (spoken of in the introduction) is in this parish.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP813043 (Lat/Lon: 51.731528, -0.824187), Monks Risborough which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

The name Risborough derives from the old english hrisen + beorg, and means 'the brushwood-covered hills'. The affix of 'Monks' results from it having belonged to Christ Church, Canterbury, from pre-Conquest days.