Civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, England
Human settlement in England
Hanslope
is a village and
civil parish
in the
unitary authority area
of the
City of Milton Keynes
,
Buckinghamshire
, England. The village is about 4 miles (6.4 km) west northwest of
Newport Pagnell
, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of
Stony Stratford
and 8 miles (13 km) north of
Central Milton Keynes
. The northern parish boundary is part of the county boundary with
Northamptonshire
.
The
West Coast Main Line
between London
Euston
and
Glasgow
passes through the western part of the parish, just over 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village.
Toponymy
[
edit
]
The name of the village has evolved over the centuries. In the 11th century, it was variously spelt
Hammescle
,
Hanslepe
or
Anslepe
.
In the 13th century, it was
Hameslepe
or
Hamslape
, and the latter form continued in use into the 14th century.
It was
Hanslopp
in the 15th century and
Hanslap
or
Anslope
in the 16th century.
Anslap
,
Anslapp
and
Hanslapp
were used early in the 18th century
and
Hanslape
was used in the 19th century.
The toponym's
etymology
is from the
Old English
for a slippery or muddy place belonging to
Haema
, or possibly "hemmed-in land at the slope".
[5]
History
[
edit
]
Hanslope was included in the grant of land to the
Norman
Maudit (or Mauduit)
family by
William the Conqueror
following the
Norman Conquest
and the family's seat was
Hanslope Castle
, which later became
Castlethorpe
.
In the
Domesday Book
of 1086, the manor was assessed 10
hides
and held by Winemar.
On 28 November 1215, the castle was captured after William Maudit had started a rebellion against
King John
and was defeated in battle by the king's men, who were led by
Falkes de Breaute
.
The castle building has been lost but the grassy mounds of the
motte and bailey
earthworks survive. After King John's death, Maudit reclaimed his seat and founded a great park in the parish, remnants of which still survive in Hanslope. Isabel Mauduit was the mother of
William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick
(1237?98).
From 1293 the Earl was chartered to have a weekly market in Hanslope on Thursdays and a three-day annual market on the eve, day and morrow of the feast of
St. James the Great
(24, 25 and 26 July).
In the
Middle Ages
the parish was part of
Salcey Forest
and Hanslope Park was originally a
medieval deer park
.
Much later, the park was
landscaped
by
Humphry Repton
before 1794.
Hanslope was a centre of Buckinghamshire lacemaking in the 19th century. Early in the 19th century, Hanslope lace was noted as being particularly fine, and in 1862 about 500 women and children in the parish were employed making pillow lace.
Listed buildings and structures
[
edit
]
The parish has one
scheduled ancient monument
,
[9]
one grade I
listed building
,
[10]
and 33 at grade II.
[11]
Governance
[
edit
]
Milton Keynes' wards before (top) and after (bottom) 2014: Hanslope is in the borough's most westerly ward in both configurations.
Hanslope has been part of the Borough (now City) of Milton Keynes since 1973, which has been a
unitary authority
since 1997.
[12]
This gives
Milton Keynes City Council
the responsibility for the provision of most
local government services
. Voters registered in Hanslope are represented on MK City Council, which has (since 2014) been divided into 19 wards each carrying 3 councillors with Hanslope being part of the Newport Pagnell North and Hanslope ward.
[13]
[14]
Between 2002 and 2021, the ward of Newport Pagnell North and Hanslope had a single representative that was voted in every four years and always returned a
Conservative
councillor.
At the parish level, Hanslope has a parish council based at the village's Recreation Ground on Castlethorpe Road.
[15]
For the purposes of representation in the
House of Commons
, Hanslope was part of the
Milton Keynes North East
constituency from 1992 until its abolition in 2010 and Hanslope has since sat within the
Milton Keynes North
constituency.
Geology
[
edit
]
Hanslope is conveniently close to quarries for
Great Oolite
limestone,
which has been used in the parish's traditional
vernacular architecture
.
Landmarks
[
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]
Parish church
[
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]
The
chancel
arch of St. James the Great parish church is Norman. The five-light east window is 13th century but its present intersecting tracery is a modern replacement.
The
Church of England parish church
of St. James the Great was originally a
Norman
building,
established as a
dependent chapelry
of Castlethorpe.
Later St. James the Great became the parish's principal church, with Castlethorpe as its dependent chapel.
The
Perpendicular Gothic
church spire is a prominent feature of the village and surrounding landscape. It was originally built early in the 15th century and was 200 feet (61 m) high.
In 1804 it collapsed after being struck by lightning and afterwards it was rebuilt to the slightly lesser height of 186 feet (57 m).
However, it is still the tallest in Buckinghamshire.
The church has an open day each summer, when the tower is open to the public.
The spire can be seen for long distances across the low-lying countryside. In 1722, when the spire was 200 feet high, the
antiquarian
Thomas Hearne
, who was a friend of John Knibb, wrote that Knibb "...told me he hath seen Anslapp spire in Bucks from
Brill
...".
This is a distance of just over 22 miles (35 km).
William Newcome
was ordained as a
Church of England
priest and became curate at Hanslope in
Buckinghamshire
until 1846, when he was appointed rector of
Boothby Pagnell
in
Lincolnshire
.
[20]
One notable incumbent was James Mayne
MA
who was rector from 1841 to 1851,
[21]
previously curate of
St Matthew's, Bethnal Green
. In series 5 of the
Who Do You Think You Are?
television programme,
Patsy Kensit
discovered that he was one of her ancestors and was shown his grave during a visit to the church.
[22]
The church is a
Grade I listed building
,
[23]
the highest level of designation.
Hanslope Park
[
edit
]
About half a mile south-east of the village is
Hanslope Park
. Once the
manorial
estate of the village, it is now owned by the UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, and is home to
His Majesty's Government Communications Centre
.
[24]
Transport
[
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]
Road
[
edit
]
Hanslope is served by the 33 bus which has
Northampton
and
Central Milton Keynes
as opposite ends of its routes and also passes through
Wootton
,
Quinton
,
Roade
,
Ashton
,
Hartwell
,
Castlethorpe
,
Haversham
,
Wolverton
and
Bradwell
, running approximately hourly from Monday to Saturday and does not run on Sundays or public holidays.
[25]
Rail
[
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]
Hanslope does not have its own railway station. Until 1964, it was served by
Castlethorpe railway station
, about 2 miles (3.2 km) away. At present, the nearest stations are
Wolverton
and
Milton Keynes Central
.
Hanslope Junction
[
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]
The four-track
West Coast Main Line
passes about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of the village, northwest-/southeast-bound. To the north of Hanslope, just north of the former
Roade railway station
, the line divides. Two tracks go directly to
Rugby
and the other two form the
Northampton Loop Line
to
Northampton
. Most fast [intercity] trains are on the Rugby route and can continue without changing tracks; the same is true of slower commuter trains taking the Northampton route.
Hanslope Junction
(at
52°07′06″N
0°51′37″W
/
52.1183°N 0.86028°W
/
52.1183; -0.86028
, roughly midway between Roade and Castlethorpe) is the point where trains may cross between the mainline and the loop tracks, under signal control. In the
chainage
notation traditionally used on the railway, its location on the line is 56
miles
65
chains
(56.81 mi; 91.43
km
) from
Euston
.
[26]
Notable people
[
edit
]
In 1316, the Crown official and judge
Adam de Harvington
was given the
living
of Hanslope.
[27]
He became England's
Chancellor of the Exchequer
in 1327.
In 1697 the distinguished clockmaker
Joseph Knibb
(1640?1711) retired from London to Hanslope,
acquiring Green End Farm with a total of about 230 acres (93 ha) of land.
Despite his retirement, he continued at Hanslope to make clocks, some of which survive.
His will, proved in 1712 left his Hanslope property to his younger brother
John Knibb
(1650?1722),
who was a notable clockmaker in
Oxford
.
However, John kept his business in Oxford and only one clock marked
"John Knibb Hanslapp"
is known.
Green End Farmhouse predated the Knibbs' ownership of the farm and was a
scheduled monument
under the
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
.
Despite this protection its last owner demolished the historic house in 1954.
In 1714,
Gervase Pierrepont, 1st Baron Pierrepont
was made Baron Pierrepont of Hanslope in the County of Buckingham, in the
Peerage of Great Britain
, with this creation giving him an automatic seat in the
House of Lords
.
[
citation needed
]
On his death on 22 May 1715, the barony became extinct,
but the title
Baron Pierrepont
has been used twice since in other parts of the country.
[
citation needed
]
Walter Drawbridge Crick
was born in Hanslope on 15 December 1857. He was an English businessman (
shoemaker
), amateur geologist and palaeontologist who published with
Charles Darwin
.
[32]
[33]
[34]
He was the grandfather of
Francis Crick
, the molecular geneticist.
[35]
References
[
edit
]
The Green Man Inn
public house
and the steeple of St James the Great in the 1950s
- ^
UK Census
(2011).
"Local Area Report ? Hanslope CP (E04001256)"
.
Nomis
.
Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
1 October
2019
.
- ^
"Key to English place names: Hanslope"
. Institute for Name-Studies,
University of Nottingham
. Retrieved
6 August
2023
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Moated site 70m south of Long Plantation, Hanslope Park (1011303)"
.
National Heritage List for England
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"CHURCH OF ST JAMES THE GREAT (1289671)"
.
National Heritage List for England
.
- ^
"Search Results for 'Hanslope'
"
. Historic England
. Retrieved
22 November
2022
.
(Note: the 43 results returned by the search include seven in Castlethorpe and Gayhurst.)
- ^
"Contact your parish or town council"
.
? Milton Keynes Council.
- ^
"The Milton Keynes (Electoral Changes) Order 2014"
.
- ^
Local electoral arrangements for Milton Keynes (final recommendations)
(PDF)
(Report). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 December 2014.
- ^
"Hanslope Parish Council - Home"
. Retrieved
22 December
2022
.
- ^
J. Venn and J. A. Venn.
"Alumni Cantabrigienses: William Newcome"
. Cambridge, University Press. p. 534
. Retrieved
14 October
2014
.
- ^
"Clergy of Hanslope"
. Hanslope & District Historic Society
. Retrieved
29 November
2009
.
- ^
"Patsy Kensit"
.
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
. BBC Worldwide
. Retrieved
29 November
2009
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Church of St James the Great (Grade I) (1289671)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
8 January
2015
.
- ^
HMGCC
, retrieved
25 May
2012
- ^
"Bus and Taxi, Bus Timetables, Maps and Travel Updates"
.
Milton Keynes City Council
.
- ^
Engineer's Line References
RailwayCodes.org
- ^
Lipscomb, George (1847).
History and Antiquities of the County of Buckinghamshire
. Vol. 4. J. and W. Robins. p. 176.
- ^
Thompson, Beeby (1905).
"Obituary. Mr. W. D. Crick, F.G.S."
Northamptonshire Natural History Society and Field Club
.
12
: 134?144.
- ^
Sarjeant, William A. S.
1980?96. Geologists and the history of geology: an international bibliography. 10 vols. including supplements. London: Macmillan. Florida: Krieger Publishing.
- ^
Ridley, Matt
(2004).
"Crick and Darwin's shared publication in
Nature
"
.
Nature
.
431
(7006): 244.
Bibcode
:
2004Natur.431..244R
.
doi
:
10.1038/431244a
.
PMID
15372004
.
- ^
Ridley, Matt (30 July 2006).
"Excerpt from Chapt. 1,
Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code
"
.
NY Times
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Beeson, C.F.C.
(1989) [1962]. Simcock, A.V (ed.).
Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400?1850
(3rd ed.). Oxford:
Museum of the History of Science
. pp. 8, 118, 120, 122?125, 184?186.
ISBN
0-903364-06-9
.
- Page, W.H.
, ed. (1927).
"Parishes : Hanslope with Castle Thorpe"
.
A History of the County of Buckingham, Volume 4
.
Victoria County History
. pp. 348?362.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus
(1960).
Buckinghamshire
.
The Buildings of England
. Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books
. pp. 155?156.
ISBN
0-14-071019-1
.
- Reed, Michael (1979).
Hoskins, W.G.
; Millward, Roy (eds.).
The Buckinghamshire Landscape
. The Making of the English Landscape. London:
Hodder & Stoughton
. pp. 125, 130, 136, 159, 190.
ISBN
0-340-19044-2
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Hanslope
.