Slapton, Buckinghamshire

Slapton

Holy Cross Church in Slapton
Slapton
Slapton shown within Buckinghamshire
Population 529 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference SP934207
Civil parish
  • Slapton
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LEIGHTON BUZZARD
Postcode district LU7
Dialling code 01525
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament

Slapton is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located between the Grand Union Canal and the border with Bedfordshire, about three miles south of Leighton Buzzard, three miles west of Edlesborough.

Hamlets

Towards the edge of the parish near Horton in Ivinghoe is the hamlet of Horton Wharf. The village of Grove is also within the boundary of Slapton parish.

History

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "farm by a slippery place". It is a common place name. This village was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Slapetone.

The manor of Slapton once belonged to a convent in Barking, Essex, though it was seized by the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1547. The manor was for some time after that the property of the Earl of Bridgwater.

The village hall was built and given to the village by the Griffin family of Bury Farm in memory of Elizabeth Griffin in the 1950s. Until recently, the Griffin family continued to own Bury Farm, and had the unusual distinction of farming buffalo in the village. Slapton once had a splendid 18th century rectory of classical design. This was demolished in the 1960s and a development of four-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses in the style of that era was built on its site.

There was a farm (Church Farm) immediately next to the church, until the mid-1970s; this property had been in the ownership of one family since 1086, having originally been given to the de Tournai's by William the Conqueror. The family survived in Slapton, spelling their name in various ways, until the death of William Turney in circa 1975. He was childless, so the farm was sold for the first time in 900 years. The new owners demolished the farm-house and buildings, and on the site built a development of houses and flats known as Tournay Court.

Current

Today Slapton contains few old buildings of any architectural merit. The church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is of plain design with tower, nave and chancel. The chancel is probably the oldest part of the building. The church yard contains many memorials to the Turney and Buckmaster families.

Local history and interest

The Court - circa 1988

Great Train Robbery took place at Bridego Railway Bridge (No. 127) on 8 August 1963, which is situated one mile (as the crow flies) from Slapton, heading towards Ledburn.

Notable people

Frank Bruno lives on the outskirts of the village.

References

  1. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013
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