Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Hardwick (including Weedon) "This Parish of Hardwick-cum-Weedon, is bounded, towards the North, by Whitchurch and Cublington; on the East, by Aston Abbats; on the South, by Bierton and Aylesbury; and on the West, by Quarendon, Waddesdon, and Pitchcot; being about three miles in length, and two in breadth. Hardwick contains 1100 acres of land: and the Hamlet of Weedon 1800 acres." [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: Aylesbury Hundred, part two - Town and Environs, Volume 8", 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 Mary's church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorials in Hardwick 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 1642 there were 54 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £4.7.8 of which sum Mr Wm. Cleaver and Jn. Jackson contributed £0.10.0 each.

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed the following numbers men between the ages of 16 and 60: Hardwick - 44, Weedon - 101.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were the following numbers:

• Hardwick - 178 inhabitants in 46 families living in 39 houses recorded.
• Weedon - 385 inhabitants in 86 families living in 59 houses recorded.

* = 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

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, Hardwick 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 Hardwick showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

HARDWICK, in the hundred of Cotslow and deanery of Muresley, lies about four miles from Aylesbury, on the road to Buckingham. The manor belonged anciently to the family of Newmarch: upon a partition being made between two co-heiresses of that family, the manor became divided into moieties, one of which having been successively in the families of Moels and Russell, was sold to William of Wickham, bishop of Winchester, and by him made part of the endowment of his newly founded college, in Oxford: the other moiety passed to the family of Bottreaux, by whom it was sold about the year 1460, to the Brecknocks; and by them, about the year 1542, to the Lees. Both these estates were held of the king, as of his honor of Berkhamsted.

The manor of Weedon, a considerable hamlet in this parish, was also in the baronial family of Moels, who probably inherited it from that of Newmarch. It was afterwards in the Cobhams. Sir John Cobham gave the manor of Weedon-Hill, in Chesham, and Weedon in the vale, to the crown, in the reign of Edw. III. It is probable that it was, at a subsequent period, granted to the Brecknocks or Lees. The manor of Hardwick cum Weedon was purchased in 1801, of Lord Dillon, the representative of the Lee family, by the Marquis of Buckingham. Lillies, at Weedon, which is the manor-place, was the jointure house of Elizabeth, relict of Sir Francis Lee, (afterwards Countess of Lindsey,) who died in 1719: it is now occupied by Edward Nugent esq. The advowson of the rectory is annexed to the New-College estate. In the church are some memorials of the Lees. Hardwick was inclosed by an act of parliament, passed in 1778, when an allotment of land was assigned to the rector, who was entitled to all the tithes of the parish, except those of certain fields specified in the act. The hamlet of Weedon, containing 1700 acres, was not inclosed till 1801, when an allotment of land was again given to the rector of Hardwick.

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Names, Geographical

The name Hardwick derives from the old english words heorde, wic and means 'herd farm, farm for livestock'.

The name Weedon derives from the old english words weoh, dun and means 'hill with a heathen temple'.

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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: 11th January 2003 - Kevin Quick]