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Upton

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"The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, in the south-east of the county, has since 1900 been mainly included in the modern civil parish of Slough. Parts of it were added to Eton in the same year and to Wexham in 1901. Its area in 1831 was 1943 acres, the greater part being rural in character and including a detached portion near Wexham practically all woodland, Upton Wood, Rowley Wood, Gallions Wood and others being found there. A stream called Chalvey Ditch borders the south of Upton, and eventually flows into the Thames below Eton. The main interest of the parish centres in the old village of Upton, now continuous with the south-eastern part of Slough. It includes the ancient parish church of St Lawrence, Merton Grange, which by its name recalls the estate formerly held by Merton Priory in this parish, and Upton Court." [© 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 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.

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Census

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 256 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Upton-cum-Chalvey.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 1018 inhabitants in 205 families living in 165 houses recorded in Upton-cum-Chalvey.

Census YearPopulation of Upton-cum-Chalvey
1801*1018
1811*1083
1821*1268
1831*1502
18412296
18513573
18614688
18715940
18817030
18917700
19019406

* = 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 St Lawrence, Upton-cum-Chalvey have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

St Mary (later Slough)

EventDates covered
Christenings1539 - 1954
Marriages1539 - 1949
Banns1754 - 1965
Burials1539 - 1967

St Lawrence

EventDates covered
Marriages1858 - 1943

St Peter, Chalvey

EventDates covered
Marriages1942 - 1958

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1539 - 1850
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1539 - 1893
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1539 - 1842
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 Upton-cum-Chalvey showed the following numbers:

ChurchAttendance
Upton-cum-Chalvey,
St Lawrence
567 - Morning General Congregation
151 - Morning Sunday Scholars

378 - Afternoon General Congregation

618 - Evening General Congregation

Upton-cum-Chalvey,
A licensed room in the Eton
Union Workhouse
109 - Morning General Congregation
63 - Morning Sunday Scholars
172 - Morning Total

109 - Afternoon General Congregation
63 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
172 - Afternoon Total

Upton-cum-Chalvey,
Independent or Congregational
Chapel
130 - Morning General Congregation
90 - Morning Sunday Scholars
220 - Morning Total

160 - Evening General Congregation
12 - Evening Sunday Scholars
172 - Evening Total

Upton-cum-Chalvey,
Independent or Congregational
Buckingham Room
No figures for 30 March 1851

Average attendance during previous 12 months:
15 - Morning General Congregation
15 - Morning Total

35 - Afternoon General Congregation
17 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
52 - Afternoon Total

20 - Evening General Congregation
20 - Evening Total

Upton-cum-Chalvey,
Independent or Congregational
Temperance Hall
No figures for 30 March 1851

Average attendance during previous 12 months:
25 - Afternoon General Congregation
25 - Afternoon Total

Upton-cum-Chalvey (Slough),
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel
100 - Morning General Congregation

48 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars

100 - Evening General Scholars

Upton-cum-Chalvey (Slough),
Wesleyan Chapel
[possibly a second return for
the church above?]
30 - Morning General Congregation
40 - Morning Sunday Scholars
70 - Morning Total

50 - Evening General Scholars
50 - Evening Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Upton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

Upton-cum-Chalvey was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

UPTON, in the hundred of Stoke and deanery of Burnham, lies about three miles and a half to the north-west of Colnbrook, near Slough, which is a hamlet of this parish. The manor of Upton cum Chalvey, which had belonged to Merton Abbey, was on lease to the Barkers, in the reign of James I; it is now the property of George Edwards esq. of Henlow, in Bedfordshire, whose family possessed it as early as the year 1725; it was before in the Lanes.

Upton Court, a manor farm, now the property of William Lascelles esq. a bencher of the Inner-Temple, was many years in the family of Lane, of whom it was purchased by the grandfather of the present proprietor.

In the parish church, which is an ancient Saxon structure, are memorials for Edward Bulstrode, Squire of the body to King Henry VII. and King Henry VIII. and others of that ancient family, who were of Bulstrode in this parish: in the church-yard are memorials of the Lanes.

The rectory of Upton, which was given to Merton Abbey, by Paganus de Beauchamp, became the property of Eton College, by an exchange many years before the reformation: the vicarage is in the gift of the crown.

Bulstrode, the seat of the ancient family of that name, became afterwards the property and residence of that detested character, Lord Chancellor Jeffries, who being then Sir George Jefferies knt. and chief justice of Chester, and described as of Bulstrode, in the county of Buckingham, was made a baronet in the year 1681. It has been erroneously supposed that Bulstrode was forfeited by his attainder at the revolution, and given to the Earl of Portland; the fact is, that it was purchased by that Nobleman, of Mr. Dyve, son-in-law of the chancellor, about the latter end of King William's reign: the earl, who had the chief superintendance of the expedition, which placed that monarch on the throne of these realms, was sometimes visited by his royal master at Bulstrode. After the king's death he retired wholly to this place, where he took great delight in improving his gardens, and where he died in 1709: his son, who was created Duke of Portland in 1716, was grandfather to the present noble owner of Bulstrode.

Bulstrode house was built in 1686, by Lord Chancellor Jefferies; the offices are the remains of an older mansion, which it is probable was built by the Bulstrodes. At Bulstrode house is a small collection of pictures, by the old masters, among which the most remarkable are a holy family by Raphael, St. Cecilia by Carlo Dolce, and Orpheus charming the brutes by Roland Savery. Among the portraits are the first Earl of Portland, and others of this noble family; and Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, with the cat that accompanied him in the tower. The park, which contains about eight hundred acres, exhibits a pleasing variety of surface, and is well wooded.

The manor of Bulstrode belonged formerly to the abbess and convent of Burnham; in 1337, they had the king's licence to alienate it to William Montacute, earl of Salisbury, who the same year gave it to the monks of Bisham. This manor was purchased of Sir William Bowyer, by Sir Roger Hill, and by him sold in 1686, to Lord Chancellor Jefferies; it has since passed with Bulstrode-house, and is now the property of the Duke of Portland.

Slough, a well-known thoroughfare on the Bath road, is, as before-mentioned a hamlet of Upton. It has for several years been the residence of the celebrated astronomer Dr. Herschel. The forty feet telescope of his own construction, with which he has made most of those discoveries which will immortalize his name, stands in his garden at this place.

Chalvey is another hamlet in this parish.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SU980791 (Lat/Lon: 51.50235, -0.589485), Upton which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

The name of Upton is self-explanatory, meaning 'Upper' in relation to the low-lying land to the south.