Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Clifton Reynes "Clifton Reynes is situated about one mile eastward from Olney; the River Ouse being the common boundary of both these Parishes. It derives its name from the hill and cliff on the eastern bank of the River, on which it stands, and acquired the distinctive epithet of Reynes, from a family by which the principal Manor was possessed, from the time of Edward I., if not earlier, to the reign of King Henry VIII. It is bounded, on the North, by the Ouse, by which this Parish is separated from Lavendon and Brayfield; on the East, by Newton-Blossomville; on the South, by Petsoe and Emberton; and on the West, by the latter and by Olney." [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

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Cemeteries

• War memorial details are available online on the Roll of Honour web site.

Census

In 1642 there were 32 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £12.1.7 of which sum Raines Lowe esq contributed £10.0.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 51 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Clifton Reynes.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 221 inhabitants in 50 families living in 45 houses recorded in Clifton Reynes.

* = 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

• Rectors of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin

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 Mary the Virgin, Clifton Reynes 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 Clifton Reynes showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

Clifton Reynes was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

CLIFTON-REYNES, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies about half a mile to the east of Olney, across the river, but the nearest road to it from that town is about two miles and a half. This place took its name from the ancient family of Reynes, who possessed a manor in this parish, which passed by a female heir to the Lowes, and was sold by them to the celebrated Serjeant Maynard. From the Maynards it passed by marriage to the noble family of Hobart, and was sold about the year 1750, by the Earl of Buckinghamshire, to Mr. Small, father of the present proprietor, Alexander Small esq. who has a seat at Clifton-Reynes. Another manor, called also the manor of Clifton-Reynes, was from an early period in the noble family of Mordaunt, and was sold by the Earl of Peterborough in 1786, to John Higgins esq. of Turvey in Bedfordshire, who is the present proprietor. In the church are some ancient tombs of the families of Beauchamp, Zouche and Reynes, the only one which has an inscription, is that of Sir John Reynes, who died in 1428. Mr. Small is patron of the rectory.

Names, Geographical

The name Clifton Reynes is in two parts; the first word derives from the position on the River Ouse and the second from the Reynes family who held the manor from at least 1302.

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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]