Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Hardmead "Hardmead, or Hormead, which probably derived its name from its situation, is a sort of boundary to the Hundred and County, agreeably to the learned and igenious suggestion of the author of "A Treatise on Hor, or Hoar Stones," and is near the north-eastern verge of Newport Hundred; being bounded, on the North, by Emberton, Clifton-Reynes, and Newton-Blossomville; on the East, by Astwood; on the South, by Chicheley; and on the West, by Sherrington and Emberton." [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

War memorials in Hardmead 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.

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Census

In 1642 there were 24 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £0.10.4 of which sum Edw. Lewis, Theodory Fowler, and Jn. Cooper contributed £0.1.0 each.

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 14 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Hardmead.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 45 inhabitants in 9 families living in 9 houses recorded in Hardmead.

* = 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 the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hardmead 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 Hardmead showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

HARDMEAD, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies nearly six miles to the north-east of Newport-Pagnell. The manor was anciently in the families of Gifford and Reynes, afterwards for nearly three centuries in the Windsors: having been given to the crown in exchange, it was granted in 1544 to the family of Catesby, of whom it was purchased about the year 1675, by Serjeant Maynard. John Hobart, Earl of Buckinghamshire, whose father had married the serjeant's grandaughter, sold this manor about the year 1751, to Alexander Small esq. of whose family it was purchased in 1792, by the present proprietor, the Earl of Kinnoul.

In the parish church are some memorials of the Catesbys. The advowson of the rectory, which belonged formerly to Merton abbey, has, since the dissolution of monasteries, been annexed to the manor.

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Names, Geographical

The name Hardmead is believed to mean 'meadow of a man called Heoruwulf or Herewulf'.

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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: 4th January 2003 - Kevin Quick]