Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Foscott "The parish of Foscott or Foxcott covers 718 acres, of which 501 are permanent grass, 157 arable and 47 woods or plantations. The land falls from over 400 ft. above the ordnance datum in the north-west to about 260 ft. in the south and south-east. The Ouse with one of its tributaries and the Grand Junction Canal form a portion of the county boundary." [© copyright of the editors of The Victoria Histories of the Counties of England]

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.
"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: Buckingham Hundred, Volume 7", Peter Quick.

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Cemeteries

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

• Monumental Inscriptions for St Leonard's church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorials in Foscott 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

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Census

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

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 85 inhabitants in 17 families living in 17 houses recorded in Foscott.

* = 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 Leonard

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Leonard, Foscott 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 Foscott showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

FOXCOTE, in the hundred and deanery of Buckingham, lies about two miles north-east of Buckingham. The manor was anciently in the family of Girund, who, in 1198, conveyed it to the De la Hayes, from whom (about the year 1350) it passed by a female heir to the Ayotes, and from them in like manner to the family of Purefoy. The Dentons became possessed of it about 1480: in 1544 they surrendered it to the king by a forced exchange: in 1557 it was granted to Thomas Smith, and within the course of a century, passed successively to the families of Cleaver, Philips, and Hunt. In 1639, it was purchased by Edward Grenville esq. who nearly rebuilt the manor-house, and made it his residence. On failure of issue, this manor devolved to the elder branch of the family, and is now the property of the Marquis of Buckingham, who is patron of the rectory. The manor-house is in the occupation of a farmer.

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Names, Geographical

The name Foscott means 'fox-cottage(s)'.

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Photographs

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

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[Last updated: 16th November 2009 - Kevin Quick]