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Twyford

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(including the hamlets of Charndon and Pounden)

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"This parish, including the hamlets of Charndon and Poundon, contains 4100 acres, and 848 inhabitants; of which 1520 acres, and 428 persons belong to Twyford township. The rateable value of the latter is £1747. There are about 200 acres of woodland here. The soil is chiefly heavy clay. The Buckinghamshire Railway intersects the parish, and the river Ouse separates it from Oxfordshire, on the west. The Village is situated 6 miles S.W. of Buckingham... [ should be S.E.] ...
Charndon Hamlet. - Charndon is a large hamlet consisting of several good farm-houses, and a number of cottages, 2 miles N.E. [should be S.E.] of Twyford. Area, 1880 acres, of the rateable value of £1445. Population, 170. The principal landowners are the Baroness Wenman, Mr. J. E. Kinch, Mrs. Lambourn, Mr. E. Jonson, Sir Harry Verney, Bart., and the executors of the late A. Wing, Esq. From Windmill Hill is a remarkably beautiful and extensive prospect. 
Pounden Hamlet. - This hamlet, situated 1 1/4 mile N.W. [should be S.W.] of Twyford, consists of two farm-houses, an inn, and about twenty cottages. Area, 710 acres; population, 95, rateable value, £1171. The place is the property of the Baronness Wenman." [History and Topography of Buckinghamshire, by James Joseph Sheahan, 1862]

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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 Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Dictionary of English Place-Names", A.D. Mills, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0 19 28131 3
"History and Topography of Buckinghamshire", Sheahan, James Joseph, 1862
"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 Twyford 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 117 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Twyford.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were the following statistics recorded:

  • Twyford - 296 inhabitants in 52 families living in 51 houses
  • Charndon - 146 inhabitants in 36 families living in 29 houses
  • Poundon - 75 inhabitants in 16 families living in 16 houses
Census YearPopulation of
Twyford township
Population of
Charndon
Population of
Poundon
Total population of
Twyford parish
1801*29614675517
1811*31715377547
1821*36716591623
1831*41616084660
1841452190112754
1851511204133848
186142917095694
187134616585596
188133915072561
189134913174554
190134014846534

* = 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 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Twyford have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

EventDates covered
Christenings1558 - 1957
Marriages1561 - 1962
Burials1561 - 1961

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1635 - 1721
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1635 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1635 - 1709
1813 - 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 Twyford showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Twyford,
Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
170 - Morning General Congregation
80 - Morning Sunday Scholars
250 - Morning Total

75 - Afternoon General Congregation
78 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
153 - Afternoon Total

Twyford,
Independent Chapel
51 - Morning Sunday Scholars
51 - Morning Total

117 - Afternoon General Congregation
47 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
164 - Afternoon Total

130 - Evening General Congregation

Twyford (Charndon),
Independent Congregational
60 - Afternoon General Congregation
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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Twyford which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

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

TWYFORD, in the hundred and deanery of Buckingham, lies on the borders of Oxfordshire, about seven miles south-west of Buckingham. The manor was anciently in the family of Fulgeres, and having been forfeited to the crown, was given to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. In the reign of Henry III. it was the property of Ralph Fitz-Nicholas, who had a grant of a fair at Twyford, in 1251. Ralph, his younger son, who took the surname of Pipard, and was steward of the king's hawks, succeeded his father in this manor. From his family it passed by marriage to theBotelers, Earls of Ormond, and was held under them by the family of Giffard, who afterwards became possessed of the fee. Ursula, daughter and heir of Thomas Giffard, who died in 1550, brought this manor in marriage to Thomas Wenman esq. ancestor of the late Lord Viscount Wenman. It is now vested in his lordship's executor, in trust for his nephew P.T. Wykham esq. The Giffards were seated at Twyford, as early as the year 1340; it was afterwards a principal seat of the Wenman family: the ancient manor-house having gone to decay, they resided afterwards at a house called the Lodge. Twyford was wholly deserted by them, about the beginning of the last century, when the lodge was converted into a farm-house. The church of Twyford continued to be the family burial place, and there are several monuments for them, but none which require any particular description. An ancient monument of a crusader is supposed to have been intended for Sir John Giffard, or one of that family. The south door of the church has a curious Saxon arch.

The advowson of the rectory was given by the family of Fulgeres, to the monastery of Fengers, in Normandy. In the reign of Henry III. the abbot gave it to the see of Lincoln, in which it continued till 1475, when Bishop Rotheram, one of the founders of Lincoln College, annexed it for ever to the rectorship of that society.

Charndon and Poundon are hamlets of this parish. Twyford and Charndon were inclosed by an act of parliament, passed in 1774; when an allotment was assigned to the rector in lieu of tithes. A good house has been built on this allotment, which is the summer residence of the rector of Lincoln College. The curate resides in the old parsonage-house near the church.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP664263 (Lat/Lon: 51.931261, -1.035687), Twyford which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

  • Twyford - this name derives from old english being either twi + ford, or, twi + fyrde, and means 'double ford'.
  • Charndon - this name derives from old english, being a person's name + dun, and means 'Cærda's hill'.
  • Poundon - the derivation of this name is very uncertain. It is supposed to consist of two elements, the first unknown, and the second being the old english word dun meaning 'hill'.