Akeley, Buckinghamshire
Encyclopedia
Akeley is a village and civil parish about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Buckingham
in the Aylesbury Vale
district of Buckinghamshire
. The village is on the Towcester
road (A413) between the villages of Lillingstone Dayrell
and Maids Moreton
. The 2001 Census
recorded a parish population of 545.
of 1086 recorded it as Achelei.
oct1996.jpg)
The village was controlled by the Cluniac
priory
of nearby Newton Longville
on behalf of the priory of Saint Faith in Longueville in northern France. The parish church
of St. James the Apostle
was built in Akeley in 1154. It was rebuilt to designs by the Gothic Revival architect
John Tarring
in 1854 and restored in 1901. By the mid 20th century St. James' had fallen into disrepair and in 1979 it was demolished. Akeley presently does not have its own parish church; it is part of the North Buckingham ecclesiastical parish.
Akeley once had a medieval deer park
, and a school where poor children were taught to make lace
.
Today Akeley hosts an annual horticultural show, which has been run since 1976.
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
in the Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale
The Aylesbury Vale is a large area of flat land mostly in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester and Brackley to the west.The vale is named after Aylesbury, the...
district of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The village is on the Towcester
Towcester
Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...
road (A413) between the villages of Lillingstone Dayrell
Lillingstone Dayrell
See also: - Lillingstone LovellLillingstone Dayrell is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in Aylesbury Vale, about three and a half miles north of Buckingham, eight miles west of Milton Keynes and five miles south of Towcester...
and Maids Moreton
Maids Moreton
Maids Moreton is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of northern Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about north of Buckingham. The village is contiguous with the Buckingham urban area and is thus often considered as a suburb....
. The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded a parish population of 545.
Village background
The village name is derived from the Old English for "Oak Field". The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 recorded it as Achelei.
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of nearby Newton Longville
Newton Longville
Newton Longville is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about south-west of Bletchley.-History:...
on behalf of the priory of Saint Faith in Longueville in northern France. The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St. James the Apostle
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
was built in Akeley in 1154. It was rebuilt to designs by the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
John Tarring
John Tarring
John Tarring, F.R.I.B.A., was an English Victorian ecclesiastical architect active in the mid-nineteenth century in London, Middlesex, Kent, and Devon, England...
in 1854 and restored in 1901. By the mid 20th century St. James' had fallen into disrepair and in 1979 it was demolished. Akeley presently does not have its own parish church; it is part of the North Buckingham ecclesiastical parish.
Akeley once had a medieval deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
, and a school where poor children were taught to make lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
.
Today Akeley hosts an annual horticultural show, which has been run since 1976.