Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Drayton Parslow "Drayton Parslow (Swanbourne, 3 m.), which takes its second name from the family of Passelaw, who were lords of the manor for several generations from the time of Henry I, is a rural village of red-brick cottages, hardly any old buildings being left, which has grown up round the church. The village is, however, secluded and picturesque." [Buckinghamshire, by E.S. Roscoe]

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", E.S. Roscoe, London Methuen & Co Ltd, 1935.
"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 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: Cottesloe Hundred, Volume 2", Peter Quick.

Return to top of page

Cemeteries

The following Monumental Inscriptions are available as publications or as part of a Society library:

• War memorials in Drayton Parslow have been transcribed by Peter Quick and published by the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.

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

Return to top of page

Census

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 96 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Drayton Parslow.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 307 inhabitants in 69 families living in 49 houses recorded in Drayton Parslow.

* = 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.

Return to top of page

Church History

• Rectors of the Parish Church of Holy Trinity

Return to top of page

Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for Holy Trinity, Drayton Parslow 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 Drayton Parslow showed the following numbers:

Return to top of page

History & Descriptions

Drayton Parslow was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

DRAYTON-PASSELEW or PARSLOW, in the hundred of Cotslow and deanery of Muresley, lies about five miles nearly to the east of Winslow. In the reigns of King Henry the First and Second, the manor belonged to the Passelews, from whom the parish takes its name, and afterwards to the monastery of Woburn. In 1562 it was granted to Sir John Fortescue; on the death of his descendant, Sir Francis Fortescue bart. in 1720, it passed by a female heir to the Whorwoods. It is now the property of Charles Greenwood esq. whose father married the daughter and sole heir of Thomas Whorwood esq. who died in 1751. The advowson of the rectory was held with the manor by the Fortescues: it is now the property of the Rev. Dr. Lord, who is the present incumbent. This parish has been inclosed by act of parliament, in 1797, when an allotment of land was given in lieu of tithes to the rector.

Names, Geographical

The name Drayton Parslow is composed of two parts. The first part, Drayton, is believed to mean 'place where timber is dragged'. The second part, Parslow (or earlier Passelewe), derives from a family of that name that owned possessions at Drayton Parslow.

Return to top of page

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

Return to top of page

Taxation

• Poll Tax 1641 Cotteslow Hundred has been published by the Buckinghamshire Family History Society

Return to top of page

[Last updated: 16th October 2004 - Kevin Quick]