May 2026
I have spent some time looking at the history
of Saunderton, Buckinghamshire and the adjoining villages, with the intention
of building an interactive website.
However, I never seem to find the time to do a proper job and so I have put information on this temporary webpage with the (vain?) hope that I may get round to the proper website later.
I therefore apologise in advance,
but I hope that anyone who is interested in the area can at least see what I
have and perhaps contribute anything else they have found or may know
Saunderton - History
"This parish,
anciently called Santesdone , Sauntresdene , and Sawterdon , is bounded, on the
North, by Horsenden and Princes' Risborough; on the East, by Great and Little
Hampden; on the South, by Bradenham; and on the West, by Bledlow and part of Oxfordshire;
being comprised in a long narrow slip of land, on the verge of the Hundred and
County, more than six miles in length, but not more than two furlongs in
breadth; and computed to contain about two thousand acres, of which two hundred
are woodland, and about one hundred common.
A small stream,
rising near the Church, on the south, runs with so much rapidity, that it turns
a paper-mill, and discharges itself into the Thames."
[ The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb,
1847 ]
.
I have checked with the Records Office and the
producers of the maps and other images I have used, and they have given
permission for me to reproduce them here. Obviously general copyright rules
apply, and if you find an image that I have used without permission please let
me know immediately.
Deborah Dobson
email here
The Census
|
|
I have
transcribed all the census returns from 1841 - 1901
The census
enumerators were not always very accurate or helpful, and I have made
educated guesses about some of the houses and places.
Click the links
below and the sheets will launch all the census data in a new window. |
Other information
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 Saunderton showed the following numbers:
|
Church |
Attendance |
|
Saunderton, |
34 - Morning General Congregation |
|
Saunderton, Lower Saunderton Mill |
25 - Morning Sunday Scholars 40 - Afternoon
General Congregation |
I think the
Chapel is still visible by the mill (which was Austin's Mill Bledlow) - there
is a corrugated building there ,very similar to the chapel removed from Henton
and now at the Chiltern Open Air Museum.
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This is an extract from an article on Grange Farm and Richard
Briginshaw click HERE for the complete article
Recorded on the
first page of the Parish
Register Book for 1739 in the handwriting of Dr Christopher
Willoughby, Rector of Saunderton from 13th September 1734 until his death in
July 1745 at the age of 47, it reads:
'The frost began
on Christmas Day, the Sat Sun and Mon following, three the sharpest daies were
ever known. Wind N.E. The frost continued without any intermission till Sat the
16 of Feb when it began to thaw, but frose again all the next week till the Sunday
following, when it thawed again and frose for some daie after. No rain from the
end of harvest till the 12 of April which lasted 3 daies. Apl 20 it began to
snow and continued 3 daies. Frost lasted at nights till the middle of May . On the 4 of the same month
a good deal of rain and on July 30 a thunder-shower after that no rain till
sometime in harvest'
Also in the
Parish Registers are recorded the population figures for Saunderton St Mary
in1800:
'The return made
to the Population Act 4 1 Geo 3d AD 1800 St Mary Saunderton.
Houses 25 Families 25 Males 105
Females 88 Employed in
Agriculture 98 In Trade etc 32 Others
63
Total 193'
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