Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Haversham "Haversham is situated on the north side of the river Ouse, the Parish being bounded thereby, between Stoney-Stratford and Newport Pagnell, and is nearly equi-distant from those towns, but in the Hundred and Deanery of Newport, before the three ancient divisions were united. It is a very small village, in a low situation, the neighbourhood being often exposed to considerable floods from the river Ouse, on the northern side of which it is built; the Manor-House, Church and Parsonage, being at the western extremity of the place, and no public road passing through it. The extent of the Parish is about one thousand six hundred and five acres, chiefly in meadow, pasture, and woodland." [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 in Haversham 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.
• War memorial details are also available online on the Roll of Honour web site.

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Census

In 1642 there were 71 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £3.6.10 of which sum Mic. Bostocke minister contributed £0.15.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 64 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Haversham.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 223 inhabitants in 53 families living in 43 houses recorded in Haversham.

* = 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.
  • Haversham transcript published by Buckinghamshire Family History 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, Haversham 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 Haversham showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

HAVERSHAM, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies nearly four miles north-east of Stony-Stratford. The manor was in the Peverells at the time of the Norman survey, and afterwards in an ancient family, who took their name from the village. From the Havershams this manor passed by heirs female to the families of De la Plaunch, Pabenham, Hugford, and Lucy. John de Haversham had the king's licence to embattle his mansion at Haversham, in 1304. The Lucys continued to be possessed of the manor till after the middle of the 17th century. In 1664, it was purchased by the Thompsons: John Thompson esq. was created a peer in 1697, by the title of Lord Haversham, which became extinct on the death of his son. The manor was sold by the last Lord Haversham, in 1720, to Lucy Knightley esq. a descendant of its ancient owners, the Lucys. In 1764 it was purchased of Valentine Knightley esq. by the trustees of Alexander Small esq. the present proprietor, then under age. The manor-house, which was the seat of the Thompsons, has been in part pulled down; the remainder is fitted up as a farm-house.

In the parish church is a beautiful monument, with the effigies of a female, lying on an altar tomb, under a rich Gothic canopy, supposed to be that of Elizabeth Lady Clinton, the heiress of the De la Plaunches, whose fourth husband was Sir John Clinton.

Mr. Small is patron of the rectory. In 1763, just before he sold the estate, an act of parliament passed, to enable Lucy Knightley esq. to inclose certain fields in Haversham, and to acquire the tithes and glebe, making a compensation to the rector, by an allotment of land and a corn-rent, then valued at 195 l. per annum.

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Names, Geographical

The name Haversham is composed of two parts. The first is a persons name, Hæfer, and the second the old english word ham meaning 'homestead'. Hence, Haversham means 'Hæfer's homestead'.

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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: 1st February 2004 - Kevin Quick]