Stewkley
Encyclopedia
Stewkley is a village
and a civil parish within the Aylesbury Vale
district of Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is located 5 miles (8 km) East of Winslow
and 4 miles (6 km) West of Leighton Buzzard
.
The village name Stewkley is Anglo Saxon
in origin, and means woodland clearing with tree stumps. In the Domesday Book
of 1086 it was recorded as Stiuclai.
The principal manor in Stewkley once belonged to the son of Geoffrey Chaucer
, who was an occasional visitor to the village.
The parish church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, is one of the least-altered of England's 6000 Norman churches
. There is also a Methodist Chapel in High Street South, and St Michael's Church of England Combined School, for children aged 4–11.
In 1969/70 Stewkley was scheduled to be destroyed to make way for the building of London's Third Airport, but was saved after villagers fought an environmental and political campaign; the Wing Airport Resistance Association (WARA).
Stewkley has one of the longest village High Streets in Britain, a title also claimed by Combe Martin
in Devon, whose two mile (3 km) high street is not as continuously populated as Stewkley's 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of High street.
Comedian Al Murray
, best known for his stand-up persona "The Pub Landlord", was born in Stewkley.
Former England cricket
player Darren Gough
has also previously lived in the village.
Within the civil parish attached to the village are also the hamlets
of North End and Stewkley Dean.
England cricket legend Alastair Cook
(MBE) is getting married here.
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 a civil parish within 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...
district of 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 5 miles (8 km) East 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 4 miles (6 km) West of Leighton Buzzard
Leighton 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...
.
The village name Stewkley 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 woodland clearing with tree stumps. 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 it was recorded as Stiuclai.
The principal manor in Stewkley once belonged to the son of Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
, who was an occasional visitor to the village.
The parish church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, is one of the least-altered of England's 6000 Norman churches
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
. There is also a Methodist Chapel in High Street South, and St Michael's Church of England Combined School, for children aged 4–11.
In 1969/70 Stewkley was scheduled to be destroyed to make way for the building of London's Third Airport, but was saved after villagers fought an environmental and political campaign; the Wing Airport Resistance Association (WARA).
Stewkley has one of the longest village High Streets in Britain, a title also claimed by Combe Martin
Combe Martin
Combe Martin is a village and civil parish on the North Devon coast about east of Ilfracombe. It is a small seaside resort with a sheltered cove on the edge of the Exmoor National Park...
in Devon, whose two mile (3 km) high street is not as continuously populated as Stewkley's 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of High street.
Comedian Al Murray
Al Murray
Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray , is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy...
, best known for his stand-up persona "The Pub Landlord", was born in Stewkley.
Former England cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
player Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
has also previously lived in the village.
Within the civil parish attached to the village are also 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 North End and Stewkley Dean.
England cricket legend Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
(MBE) is getting married here.