Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Marsworth "Marsworth, about seven miles east from Aylesbury, and on the verge of the County adjacent to Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, is situated close to the ancient British road, which intersecting the County, from Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, at its point of junction with the Watling-street, passes south-west, and quits this County on its western side, near Saunderton and Bledlow, proceeding into Oxfordshire. It is bounded, on the North by Cublington and Ivinghoe; on the East, by Pitston; on the South by Hertfordshire and Drayton Beauchamp; and on the West, by Puttenham, Co. Herts THE GRAND JUNCTION CANAL, which crosses this Parish from north to south, has given rise to much improvement in the village, and the erection of many cottages for the abode of persons in the employment of the Company of Proprietors, on its banks and near the locks. About one furlong south-west of the Church, a branch of the Canal diverges to Aylesbury; which, quitting Marsworth at the junction of the Counties of Hertford and Bucks, passes in a western direction, pursuing nearly a straight course through the Parish of Tring." [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.

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Cemeteries

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

• Monumental Inscriptions for All Saints church are in the library* of the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
• War memorials in Marsworth 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 £16.8.7 of which sum Mr Becke and Mr Pratte contributed £5.0.0 each

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 50 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Marsworth.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 259 inhabitants in 47 families living in 40 houses recorded in Marsworth.

* = 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

• Vicars of the Parish Church of All Saints

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for All Saints, Marsworth 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 Marsworth showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

MARSWORTH, in the hundred of Cotslow and deanery of Muresley, lies about seven miles east of Aylesbury, on the borders of Hertfordshire, part of which county is nearly surrounded by Buckinghamshire. Sir John Cobham having surrendered the manor of Marsworth to King Edward III. that monarch gave it to his shield-bearer, Thomas Cheney, ancestor of the Cheneys of Drayton-Beauchamp, it reverted not long afterwards to the crown by surrender or exchange. King Richard II. granted it to the family of Brian, who, about 1570, sold the whole, or a part of it, to the Wests. There are now three manors; Marsworth-De la Hay, the property of Mrs. Henrietta Seare; in whose family it has been many years; Marsworth cum Goldington, the property of Sir Drummond Smith bart. who purchased it of Charles Orlando Gore esq. of Tring Park; and another manor belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital.

In the parish church are some monuments of the familes of West and Seare. The last heir male of the Wests died in 1700. On an altar-tomb belonging to this family, is an engraved brass plate, on which is represented a man in armour, lying on a bed, Death striking him with his dart, his wife and children kneeling by the bedside, and a divine in his canonicals at the foot of the bed.

The great tithes of this parish are vested in the master and scholars of Trinity College, in Cambridge, who are patrons of the vicarage. Sir Drummond Smith is lessee of the great tithes under the college.

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Names, Geographical

The name Marsworth derives from old english and means 'Mæssa's enclosure'.

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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: 12th January 2003 - Kevin Quick]