Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Ivinghoe (including Horton, Ivinghoe Aston, Ringshall, St Margaret, and Seabrook) "Ivinghoe, with its Hamlets of Ivinghoe-Aston, St. Margaret's, Clippersdown, Barley-End, Ringshall, and Wardhurst, is bounded, on the North, by Cheddington and Edlesborough; on the East, by the Hamlets belonging to Edlesborough; on the South, by Pightlesthorne; and on the West, by a small slip of Hertfordshire. The soil is chalk and flints; the latter in irregular strata, of various thickness; and the flints, in many instances, of enormous size, and every imaginable variety of shape; their interior perfectly black, and free from intermixture with gravel or other extraneous substances, and their coats every where of the purest chalk. A small brook, which originates in this parish, runs due north, and, unless wholly intercepted and swallowed up by the Grand Junction Canal, in its course towards Slapton, there unites with another stream, which forms the boundary line (for several miles) between Bucks and Bedfordshire." [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: 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:

• Monumental Inscriptions for St Mary the Virgin church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• Monumental Inscriptions for the Baptist church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorials in Ivinghoe 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 1642 there were 138 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £23.0.0 of which sum The Lady Miller contributed £2.10.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed the following numbers of men between the ages of 16 and 60:

• Ivinghoe - 97
• Ivinghoe Aston - 66
• Seabrook and Horton - 23
• St Margaret, Ringshall and Ward - 98
• Nettleden - 10

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

• Ivinghoe - 452 inhabitants in 92 families living in 78 houses
• Ivinghoe Aston - 233 inhabitants in 50 families living in 39 houses
• St Margaret's - 424 inhabitants in 72 families living in 60 houses
• Seabrook - 62 inhabitants in 13 families living in 10 houses

* = 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

• Prioresses of St Margaret's Nunnery
• Rectors & Vicars of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin

Details of the stained glass in the church can be found on the following web sites (the site includes many photos):

• Buckinghamshire Stained Glass

Return to top of page

Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Mary the Virgin, Ivinghoe 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 Ivinghoe showed the following numbers:

Return to top of page

History & Descriptions

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

IVINGHOE, in the hundred of Cotslow and deanery of Muresley, is a small market-town, 33 miles from London by way of King's Langley, and 32 by way of Watford: it lies near the ancient Ikeneld-Street. A market at this town, on Thursdays, was granted to the bishop of Winchester, in 1318: the present market-day is Saturday, but the market is so small that it may be almost said to be discontinued. A fair of St. Margaret's-day was granted in 1227, another on the assumption of the Virgin Mary, by the charter of 1318; the present fairs are May 6th, and October 17th. The manor of Ivinghoe was given by Edward the Confessor to the see of Winchester; bishop Poynet surrendered it to the crown. It was restored to bishop White, but reassumed by Queen Elizabeth, who granted it, together with the profits of the market and fairs, to Sir John Mason: having again reverted to the crown, it was given to Lord Keeper Egerton, and is now the property of his descendant, the Earl of Bridgwater.

Berrysted-House, in this parish, is said to have been the seat of Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, brother of King Stephen; it is now a farm-house, belonging to the Earl of Bridgewater.

In the parish church, which is a handsome Gothic building, are some memorials to the family of Duncombe, who had a seat in this parish, called Barley-end House, now the property and residence of their representative, Mrs. Lucy. On the north side of the chancel is an ancient altar-tomb, with an effigies of the deceased, said to have been that of a brother of King Stephen, meaning perhaps Henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester: Browne Willis supposes it to be the tomb of Peter Chaceport.

The great tithes were appropriated to the monastery of Asheridge, in 1413: they are now the property of the Earl of Bridgewater, who is patron of the vicarage.

The principal hamlets in this parish are Aston, where was formerly a chapel dedicated to St. James, Wardhurst, Ringshall, Clippersdown and St. Margaret's. At the latter, which is a populous hamlet, containing about three-score houses, and is distant about five miles from the town of Ivinghoe, are the remains of the monastery of Muresley, founded by henry de Blois, bishop of Winchester, in the reign of Henry I. for nuns of the Benedictine order, and dedicated to St. Margaret. Its revenues were valued in the reign of Henry VIII. 14 l. 3s. 1d. The site, with the manor, or reputed manor, of Muresley, was granted, almost immediately after the dissolution, to Sir John Dance: it has been lately sold by Mr. George Catherall, in whose family it has been during several generations, to Mr. Mercer, of Long-acre.

The building was, in 1802, almost entire: the parlour and hall, which are of Toternhoe stone, appear to be of the age of Henry VII.

Return to top of page

Names, Geographical

• Ivinghoe derives its name from the old english Ifinga-ho(g)e and means 'the hoh of Ifa's people'.
• Ivinghoe Aston. The name Aston means 'East farm'.
• Horton derives from 'Muddy farm'.
• Seabrook is thought to possibly mean 'slow moving brook'.

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

[Last updated: 11th January 2003 - Kevin Quick]