Soulbury
Encyclopedia
Soulbury is a village
and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale
district in Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale
, about three miles south of the Milton Keynes
urban area, three miles north of Wing
. The village name is Anglo Saxon
in origin, and means 'stronghold in a gully'. In the Domesday Book
of 1086 the village was recorded as Soleberie.
contains the hamlets
of :
The parish extends as far as Rammamere Farm on Watling Street
. Rammamere Heath is managed with King's Wood in Heath and Reach
as a nature reserve.
Family was rebuilt in the 1920s by the Bonsor Family who live there today. The house is built of brick with small turrets and crennelations, in the style of an 18th century pseudo gothic castle. The interiors are a mixture of panelling and some 18th century styles. Near to the house is the former much older chapel, this today has been converted to a billiards room. The house is not open to the public, but the gardens are sometimes used for fairs and fetes.
The stable block has been converted to a leisure and health complex, with a polo cross field. There is a riding stables, open to the public, adjacent to the complex.
, which was founded by Quaker settlers from Soulbury.
There is a public house
in Soulbury called The Boot. Its pub sign features a boot of the Duke of Wellington
, but the tradition of the Soulbury Boot is said to be much older than that. It is said that the Devil himself once came to the village, but the villagers came together to fight him off. One of them took his sword
and cut off the Devil's foot and as it fell to the ground it turned to stone. The stone came to be known as the Soulbury Boot. Although fascinating, this story is said by some to have been made up by a previous pub landlord in order to attract visitors.
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 in 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...
, about three miles south of the 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...
urban area, three miles north 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 village name 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 'stronghold in a gully'. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 the village was recorded as Soleberie.
The Parish
The parishParish
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...
contains the hamlets
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...
of :
- Hollingdon in the west,
- Chelmscote on the Stoke HammondStoke HammondStoke Hammond is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Valedistrict in north Buckinghamshire, England, about two and a half miles south of Fenny Stratford ....
to Leighton BuzzardLeighton Buzzard-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
road, - Bragenham to the east of the River OuzelRiver OuzelThe River Ouzel , also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills and flows 20 miles north to join the Ouse at Newport Pagnell....
, and - Stockgrove near Stockgrove Country ParkStockgrove Country ParkStockgrove Country Park, £2.00 to park just been introduced' is located on the Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire border in the village of Heath and Reach between Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes, England, with easy access from the A5...
on the border with BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
.
The parish extends as far as Rammamere Farm on Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. Rammamere Heath is managed with King's Wood in Heath and Reach
Heath and Reach
Heath and Reach is a village, civil parish, and political ward near the Chiltern Hills in Bedfordshire. It is about two miles north of Leighton Buzzard and three miles south of Woburn and adjoins the county boundary with Buckinghamshire....
as a nature reserve.
Liscombe Park
A 17th century mansion Liscombe Park, originally the seat of the LovettRichard Lovett
Richard Lovett was a Seigneur of Upper Normandy who accompanied William the Conqueror into England in 1066 AD. The surname derived from the Anglo-Norman French lovet, a nickname which meant 'wolf cub.' Richard Lovett's sons, William and Robert Lovett were rewarded with land grants in England that...
Family was rebuilt in the 1920s by the Bonsor Family who live there today. The house is built of brick with small turrets and crennelations, in the style of an 18th century pseudo gothic castle. The interiors are a mixture of panelling and some 18th century styles. Near to the house is the former much older chapel, this today has been converted to a billiards room. The house is not open to the public, but the gardens are sometimes used for fairs and fetes.
The stable block has been converted to a leisure and health complex, with a polo cross field. There is a riding stables, open to the public, adjacent to the complex.
Soulbury
Soulbury gave its name to Solebury Township, PennsylvaniaSolebury Township, Pennsylvania
Solebury Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,692 at the 2010 census.The Solebury School is located in the township, off U.S...
, which was founded by Quaker settlers from Soulbury.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Soulbury called The Boot. Its pub sign features a boot of the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, but the tradition of the Soulbury Boot is said to be much older than that. It is said that the Devil himself once came to the village, but the villagers came together to fight him off. One of them took his sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
and cut off the Devil's foot and as it fell to the ground it turned to stone. The stone came to be known as the Soulbury Boot. Although fascinating, this story is said by some to have been made up by a previous pub landlord in order to attract visitors.