Contents Buckinghamshire  Nearby Places Simpson "The area of the parish of Simpson, or Sympson is 1312 acres; part of which is included in the town of Fenny Stratford. Rateable value, £3654. The soil is gravelly, with portions of loamy ground and a clayey subsoil, with abundance of spings. The Grand Junction Canal passes through the parish. The open fields and commons have been inclosed under two Acts of Parliament passed in 1763 and 1770. The Village is seated at the foot of a hill, about 1 1/2 mile N. by E. from Fenny Stratford, 2 1/2 miles N.E. from Bletchley, and 5 miles S. from Newport Pagnell - on the road between the latter town and Fenny Stratford. Thirty years ago it was, in appearance, one of the most wretched of many miserable villages in the county. During a great portion of winter time the main road was generally impassable, without wading through water three feet deep, for a distance of about 200 yards. But chiefly through the exertions of Mr. C. Warren, the road has been raised 3 1/2 feet; and the handsome Villa residence of this gentleman, with its tastefully laid out pleasure grounds, summer-houses, grottoes, rock-work, fountain, fish-pond, &c., sets the place off to great advantage. There are also several other genteel houses here." [History and Topography of Buckinghamshire, by James Joseph Sheahan, 1862]

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.
"History and Topography of Buckinghamshire", Sheahan, James Joseph, 1862
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"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: Milton Keynes & Wolverton area, Volume 6", Peter Quick.

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Cemeteries

• War memorials in Simpson have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published in a booklet entitled "War Memorials and War Graves: Milton Keynes & Wolverton area, Volume 6", 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 89 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £6.12.10 of which sum John Maydwell rector contributed £2.0.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 93 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Simpson.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 367 inhabitants in 74 families living in 73 houses recorded in Simpson.

* = 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 Thomas the Apostle

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Thomas the Apostle, Simpson 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 Simpson showed the following numbers:

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History & Descriptions

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

SIMPSON, in the hundred and deanery of Newport, lies about a mile and a half north of Fenny-Stratford, on the road to Newport-Pagnell. The manor at a remote period belonged successively to the families of Giffard, Cauz, and Grey. From the latter it passed, in the year 1510, to the Pigots, who possessed it about a century. It was afterwards in the family of Hatch; and, about the year 1686, passed by purchase to the Waldens. The present proprietor is Sir Thomas Hanmer bart. who resides occasionally in the manor-house, having inherited it by descent from Job Hanmer esq. who married Susanna, the heiress of Thomas Walden esq.

In the parish church are some monuments of the Hanmers; that of the late Sir Walden Hanmer, who was one of the knights of the shire is a handsome piece of sculpture by Bacon.

Sir Thomas Hanmer is patron of the rectory. His father purchased the advowson of the Cranwell family in 1760. The parish has been inclosed pursuant to two acts of parliament passed in 1763 and 1770, and an allotment of land has been assigned to the rector in lieu of tithes, &c.

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Names, Geographical

The name of Simpson derives from old english, being a persons name (at the time of the Domesday Book it was called Sevinstone) + tun, and means 'Sigewine's farm'.

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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: 1st February 2004 - Kevin Quick]