Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Dorney "A preserved Thames Valley village among elm trees, with some seventeenth-century cottages, mostly restored as residences. Dorney Court, near the church, is of old brick and timber framing. It was built in the early sixteenth century." [Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide]

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 Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Dictionary of English Place-Names", A.D. Mills, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0 19 28131 3
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"Murray's Buckinghamshire Architectural Guide." editors John Betjeman & John Piper, London, 1948
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire", Page W. ed., 1905-1928

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Census

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 53 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Dorney.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 190 inhabitants in 41 families living in 37 houses recorded in Dorney.

* = 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 & Vicars of the Parish Church of St James

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St James, Dorney 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 Dorney showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

DORNEY, in the hundred and deanery of Burnham, lies two miles and a half nearly west of Eton. The manor was parcel of the possessions of Burnham abbey, and afterwards in the Garrard family. It is now the seat of Sir Charles Harcourt Palmer bart. His ancestor, Sir, James Palmer knt. gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Charles I. married the daughter and heir of Sir William Garrard, who died in 1607. Sir Philip Palmer knt. son of Sir James, was cup-bearer to King Charles II. On the death of Sir Thomas Palmer bart. of Wingham, in Kent, which happened in 1725, without issue, Charles Palmer esq. of Dorney, succeeded to the title. In the church is the monument of Sir William Garrard above-mentioned.

Sir C.H. Palmer is impropriator of the great tithes, which formerly belonged to Burnham abbey, and patron of the donative.

The learned bishop Montague was born at Dorney, about the year 1577, his father being then minister of the parish.

Names, Geographical

The name Dorney means 'Island, or dry ground in marsh, frequented by bumble-bees'.

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Photographs

• 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: 16th October 2004 - Kevin Quick]