North Marston
Encyclopedia
North Marston is a village
and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
district in Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located about three miles south of Winslow
, and four miles north of Waddesdon
.
The village name 'Marston' is a common one in England, and is Anglo-Saxon
for 'farm by a marsh'. This refers to the common state of the land in the Aylesbury Vale, where the water table
is quite high. The prefix 'North' was added later to distinguish the village from nearby Fleet Marston
. The population of the village is approximately 700 and there are about 500 houses.
The facilities in North Marston include:
A recent project within the village has re-created the sports field, which is now called the North Marston and Granborough Community Sports Field. In the field there is a pavilion, football pitch, running track, nature trail and cricket nets. There is a cricket team (North Marston & Granborough Cricket Club).
A community shop in the village is now established. Construction work started on The Shop North Marston on November 11, 2010 and opened in June 2011.
The village borders with Oving
, Pitchcott
, Quainton
, Hogshaw, Granborough
, Swanbourne
and Hoggeston
.
The parish church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and the foundation stones of the church on this site were laid around the 12th century. Pilgrim money enabled the nave roof to be raised and clerestory windows put in. The inner part of the tower dates back to the 15th century: from 2002 to 2004 all of the outer stones were replaced due to crumbling. There are six bells in the tower - tuned to the key of F - and a tenor weight of 13-2-27 from 1925 (with original inscriptions dating from as far back as C16th). There is a plan to build a meeting room, with kitchen and toilet facilities on the north side of the church, to replace those facilities of the Methodist chapel, which it is planned to sell. Since 2004, when the Methodist Chapel closed, the Parish Church has been in a Local Ecumenical Partnership
with the Methodists.
There is a holy well in the village, found by Sir St John Schorne
, who was rector of the parish
of North Marston in about 1290. He was referred to as a saint who, it is claimed, performed many miracles. It was he that blessed the village well and after his death it became a resort of great pilgrimage
. Pilgrims probably stayed at one or two of the houses in Church Street that still stand today, but most of the houses were destroyed in a later fire. The Holy Well was renovated in 2004/2005, after many other designs had been put in place. On the day of its official re-opening a poem was read; this can be found here, with some 'before' and 'after' pictures.
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 100 pupils. It is situated across the road from the parish church.
The school has 3 "houses" each named for local reasons: Camden Neild (Red,) Verney (Green,) Schorne (Blue.)
There was also "The Schorne College" situated in the grounds of the church directly opposite the present site of the School
The Village has a pre-school called Schorne Pre-School which has been running for around twenty years now.
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 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...
. It is located about three miles south of Winslow
Winslow, Buckinghamshire
Winslow is a small market town and also a civil parish designated as a town council within Aylesbury Vale district in north Buckinghamshire. It has a population of about 4500....
, and four miles north of Waddesdon
Waddesdon
Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...
.
The village name 'Marston' 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 'farm by a marsh'. This refers to the common state of the land in the Aylesbury Vale, where the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
is quite high. The prefix 'North' was added later to distinguish the village from nearby Fleet Marston
Fleet Marston
Fleet Marston is a civil parish and deserted medieval village in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is west of Aylesbury, just off the main A41 to Waddesdon....
. The population of the village is approximately 700 and there are about 500 houses.
The facilities in North Marston include:
- a village hallVillage hallIn the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, which was built as a war memorial after the First World War - a pub called The Pilgrim (formerly, The Bell) that re-opened on May 1, 2010
- a recreation ground and sports field (that is now shared with GranboroughGranboroughGranborough is a village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about five miles north of Waddesdon, seven miles south east of Buckingham. The nearest town is Winslow....
)
A recent project within the village has re-created the sports field, which is now called the North Marston and Granborough Community Sports Field. In the field there is a pavilion, football pitch, running track, nature trail and cricket nets. There is a cricket team (North Marston & Granborough Cricket Club).
A community shop in the village is now established. Construction work started on The Shop North Marston on November 11, 2010 and opened in June 2011.
The village borders with Oving
Oving, Buckinghamshire
Oving is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about three and a half miles north east of Waddesdon, four miles south of Winslow....
, Pitchcott
Pitchcott
Pitchcott is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about two and a half miles north east of Waddesdon, and four miles south of Winslow....
, Quainton
Quainton
Quainton is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, north west of Aylesbury. The population is 1290, of which 1000 are adults. The village has two churches , a school and two public houses...
, Hogshaw, Granborough
Granborough
Granborough is a village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about five miles north of Waddesdon, seven miles south east of Buckingham. The nearest town is Winslow....
, Swanbourne
Swanbourne
Swanbourne is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about two miles east of Winslow, three miles west of Stewkley, on the secondary road B4032.-History:...
and Hoggeston
Hoggeston
Hoggeston is a village and is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Aylesbury Vale, about two and a half miles south east of Winslow....
.
St Mary's Church
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
and the foundation stones of the church on this site were laid around the 12th century. Pilgrim money enabled the nave roof to be raised and clerestory windows put in. The inner part of the tower dates back to the 15th century: from 2002 to 2004 all of the outer stones were replaced due to crumbling. There are six bells in the tower - tuned to the key of F - and a tenor weight of 13-2-27 from 1925 (with original inscriptions dating from as far back as C16th). There is a plan to build a meeting room, with kitchen and toilet facilities on the north side of the church, to replace those facilities of the Methodist chapel, which it is planned to sell. Since 2004, when the Methodist Chapel closed, the Parish Church has been in a Local Ecumenical Partnership
Local ecumenical partnership
In England and Wales, a local ecumenical partnership is a partnership between churches of different denominations. First piloted in 1964, over 850 now exist to promote unity between different Christian denominations....
with the Methodists.
Holy Well or Schorne Well
John Schorne
Sir John Schorne was rector of North Marston in the English county of Buckinghamshire. He was a very pious man and was said to have effected many miraculous cures for gout and toothache....
, who was rector of 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...
of North Marston in about 1290. He was referred to as a saint who, it is claimed, performed many miracles. It was he that blessed the village well and after his death it became a resort of great pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
. Pilgrims probably stayed at one or two of the houses in Church Street that still stand today, but most of the houses were destroyed in a later fire. The Holy Well was renovated in 2004/2005, after many other designs had been put in place. On the day of its official re-opening a poem was read; this can be found here, with some 'before' and 'after' pictures.
Education in the Village
The North Marston Church of England School is a mixed Church of EnglandChurch 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 100 pupils. It is situated across the road from the parish church.
The school has 3 "houses" each named for local reasons: Camden Neild (Red,) Verney (Green,) Schorne (Blue.)
There was also "The Schorne College" situated in the grounds of the church directly opposite the present site of the School
The Village has a pre-school called Schorne Pre-School which has been running for around twenty years now.
Famous links in North Marston
- John SchorneJohn SchorneSir John Schorne was rector of North Marston in the English county of Buckinghamshire. He was a very pious man and was said to have effected many miraculous cures for gout and toothache....
- Local Saint and Rector of North Marston around 1290. - John Camden NeildJohn Camden NeildJohn Camden Neild was an English miser.Neild, son of James Neild, prison reformer, was probably born in St. James's Street, London, about 1780. He was educated at Eton from 1793 to 1797, then at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1801, and being awarded his honorary M.A. three years later,...
- Miser and whose memory the chancel of North Marston is dedicated to when Queen Victoria paid for refurbishment.