Aston Abbotts
Encyclopedia
Aston Abbotts is a village
and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
district in Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is situated about four miles north of Aylesbury
and three miles south west of Wing
. The parish had a population of 404 according to the 2001 census.
The village name 'Aston' is a common one in England, and is Anglo-Saxon
for Eastern Estate. The suffix 'Abbotts' refers to the ancient abbey
in the village, which until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
was the country home of the abbots of St Albans
in Hertfordshire
. The present house known as The Abbey, Aston Abbotts
was largely rebuilt in the early 19th century.
The hamlet of Burston sits within this parish.
During the Second World War from 1940 to 1945 Dr Edvard Beneš
, the exiled President of Czechoslovakia
, stayed at The Abbey in Aston Abbotts. His advisers and secretaries (called his Chancellery) stayed in nearby Wingrave
, and his military intelligence staff stayed at nearby Addington
. President Beneš donated a bus shelter to the villages of Aston Abbotts and Wingrave in 1944. This is on the A418 between the two villages.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale
The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...
district in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated about four miles north of Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
and three miles south west of Wing
Wing, Buckinghamshire
Wing is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is on the main A418 road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard...
. The parish had a population of 404 according to the 2001 census.
The village name 'Aston' is a common one in England, and is Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
for Eastern Estate. The suffix 'Abbotts' refers to the ancient abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
in the village, which until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
was the country home of the abbots of St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. The present house known as The Abbey, Aston Abbotts
The Abbey, Aston Abbotts
The Abbey, Aston Abbotts is a small country house in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The house derived its name from being a property of St. Albans Abbey in the Middle Ages, and it belonged to the Dormer family from the Dissolution of the Monasteries until the early 19th century...
was largely rebuilt in the early 19th century.
The hamlet of Burston sits within this parish.
During the Second World War from 1940 to 1945 Dr Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
, the exiled President of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, stayed at The Abbey in Aston Abbotts. His advisers and secretaries (called his Chancellery) stayed in nearby Wingrave
Wingrave
Wingrave is a village in Buckinghamshire, England located about four miles north east of Aylesbury and three miles south west of Wing.The civil parish is called Wingrave with Rowsham within Aylesbury Vale district and incorporates the hamlet of Rowsham.Wingrave is twinned with La Bouëxière in...
, and his military intelligence staff stayed at nearby Addington
Addington, Buckinghamshire
Addington is a village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, about west of Winslow and south east of Buckingham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 145....
. President Beneš donated a bus shelter to the villages of Aston Abbotts and Wingrave in 1944. This is on the A418 between the two villages.