Great Horwood
Encyclopedia
Great Horwood is a small village
and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
district in Buckinghamshire
, England
with a population of about 1025 people (2001 Census). It is about five miles ESE of Buckingham
, six miles WSW of Milton Keynes
.
The village name 'Horwood' is Anglo Saxon
in origin, and means 'muddy wood'. The affix 'Great' was added later to differentiate it from the adjacent village Little Horwood
. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
in 792 the village was recorded as Horwudu.
The village was from ancient times on the periphery of the Whaddon Chase: royal
hunting land that stretched across the north part of the Aylesbury Vale
. In 1447 the village was granted Royal charter
to hold a weekly market
, thus becoming a market town
. The rents from the market were collected by New College, Oxford
.
Great Horwood is no longer a market town.
A hamlet
within the parish
border of Great Horwood is Singleborough
.
Both Great Horwood village itself and Singleborough have Conservation Areas and there are 46 Grade II listed buildings in the Parish.
The parish church is dedicated to St James
.
The village is also home to Great Horwood Church of England Combined School, which is a mixed Church of England
primary school. It is a voluntary controlled school, which takes children from the age of four through to the age of eleven. The school has approximately 160 pupils. Its catchment area also includes the villages of Thornborough
, Nash
, Beachampton
and Whaddon
.
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 is also a 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...
with a population of about 1025 people (2001 Census). It is about five miles ESE of Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
, six miles WSW of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
.
The village name 'Horwood' 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...
in origin, and means 'muddy wood'. The affix 'Great' was added later to differentiate it from the adjacent village Little Horwood
Little Horwood
Little Horwood is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about four miles ESE of Buckingham and two miles north east of Winslow....
. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
in 792 the village was recorded as Horwudu.
The village was from ancient times on the periphery of the Whaddon Chase: royal
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
hunting land that stretched across the north part of the 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...
. In 1447 the village was granted Royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
to hold a weekly market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
, thus becoming a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
. The rents from the market were collected by New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
.
Great Horwood is no longer a market town.
A hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
within the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
border of Great Horwood is Singleborough
Singleborough
Singleborough is a hamlet in the parish of Great Horwood, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile from the main village.The hamlet name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'gravel hill'....
.
Both Great Horwood village itself and Singleborough have Conservation Areas and there are 46 Grade II listed buildings in the Parish.
The parish church is dedicated to St James
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
.
The village is also home to Great Horwood Church of England Combined School, which is a mixed Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
primary school. It is a voluntary controlled school, which takes children from the age of four through to the age of eleven. The school has approximately 160 pupils. Its catchment area also includes the villages of Thornborough
Thornborough, Buckinghamshire
For the village in North Yorkshire, see Thornborough, North Yorkshire.Thornborough is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Valedistrict in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about two miles east of Buckingham....
, Nash
Nash, Buckinghamshire
Nash is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the north of the county, near Milton Keynes and four miles east of Buckingham....
, Beachampton
Beachampton
Beachampton is a village and civil parish beside the River Great Ouse in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about east of Buckingham and a similar distance west of Milton Keynes....
and Whaddon
Whaddon, Buckinghamshire
For other villages with the same name, see Whaddon.Whaddon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district, in Buckinghamshire.The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'hill where wheat is grown'...
.