Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Chicheley "Chicheley is a small Parish, situated about two miles and a half north-east of Newport Pagnell; having for its boundaries, Sherington on the North; Astwood and Crawley on the East; Newport Pagnell on the South; and Tyringham and Lathbury on the West. The soil is a sandy clay, inclining to humidity; a small stream running through the Parish from its northern verge, and uniting with the Ouse at Lathbury." [The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847]

Bibliography

The following reference sources have been used in the construction of this page, and may be referred to for further detail. Most if not all of these volumes are available in the Reference section of the County Library in Aylesbury.

"Buckinghamshire Contributions for Ireland 1642", Wilson J., 1983.
"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham", Lipscomb G., 1847
"The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire", Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., 1925.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire", Page W. ed., 1905-1928
"War Memorials and War Graves: Newport Hundred, Volume 1", Peter Quick.

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Cemeteries

• War memorials in Chicheley have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published in a booklet entitled "War Memorials and War Graves: Newport Hundred, Volume 1", available from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorial details are also available online on the Roll of Honour web site.

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Census

In 1642 there were 35 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £2.1.4 of which sum Wm. Giles contributed £0.5.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 66 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Chicheley.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 189 inhabitants in 39 families living in 39 houses recorded in Chicheley.

* = No names were recorded in census documents from 1801 to 1831.
** = Census documents from 1911 to 2001 are only available in summary form. Names are witheld under the 100 year rule.

Microfilm copies of all census enumerators' notebooks for 1841 to 1891 are held at the Local Studies Libraries at Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as well as centrally at the PRO. A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.

Availability of census transcripts and indexes.

• 1851 - Full transcripts and indexes for Buckinghamshire are available on CD-ROM, hard copy and microfiche from the Buckinghamshire Family History Society.
• 1861 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• 1881
  • Available on CD-ROM from the Church of the Latter Day Saints, as part of the National 1881 Census Index.
  • Available on CD-ROM for Buckinghamshire, with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from Drake Software.
• 1891 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.

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Church History

• Vicars of the Parish Church of St Lawrence

Details of the stained glass in the church can be found on the following web sites (the site includes many photos):

• Buckinghamshire Stained Glass

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Lawrence, Chicheley have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

Copies or indexes to the parish registers are available from societies as follows:

* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting

An ecclesiastical census was carried out throughout England on 30 March 1851 to record the attendance at all places of worship. These returns are in the Buckinghamshire Record Office and have been published by the Buckinghamshire Record Society (vol 27). The returns for Chicheley showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

Chicheley was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

CHICHLEY, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies about two miles and a half north-east of Newport-Pagnell. The manor of Chichely (probably the same which is spoken of in Dugdale's Monasticon, by the name of the manor of Thickthorn, in Chichley and Hardmead) was given to the monastery of Tickford, by its founder Fulk Paganell. It was given by King Henry VIII. to Cardinal Wolsey, and by him made part of the endowment of his new College; but on his attainder it reverted to the crown, and was granted to Anthony Cave, from whose family it passed by a female heir to the Chesters. Anthony Chester esq. of Chichley, was created a baronet in 1619: his son Sir Anthony, the second baronet, distinguished himself in the royal army at the battle of Naseby. His estates were sequestered, and his house at Chichley sustained much injury, when the neighbouring town of Newport-Pagnell was garrisoned by the parliament. The manor of Chichley is now the property of Charles Chester esq. M.P. whose father Charles Bagot, next brother to the late Lord Bagot, took the name of this family by act of parliament, in 1750: he succeeded to this estate on the death of his cousin, Sir Charles Bagot Chester, the last baronet, in 1755. Chichley-house is at present uninhabited.

The great tithes, which belonged to the priory of Tickford, are now the property of Mr. Chester, who is patron of the vicarage. Browne Willis supposes that Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, Lord Treasurer to King James I. was a native of Chichley, and that he was the same person, who, being then Richard Weston esq. was married in that church to Elizabeth Newdigate, in 1596.

Names, Geographical

The name Chichley is beleived to derive from two elements. The first part being a persons name and the second element being leah. Consequently the meaning is 'Cicca's clearing'.

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Photographs

• Buckinghamshire Church Photos by Kevin Quick.
• Buckinghamshire Village Photos by Kevin Quick.
• Buckinghamshire Records and Local Studies Service - large collection of old photos of Buckinghamshire

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[Last updated: 1st February 2004 - Kevin Quick]