Owlswick
Encyclopedia
Owlswick is a hamlet
in Buckinghamshire
, England
, about 3 miles E of Thame
and 4 miles SSE of Aylesbury
. It is part of the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer and is in the ecclesiastical parish of Monks Risborough
.
The name appears in a document of about 1200 as Ulveswike, meaning the dairy farm of Ulf, which was a Danish personal name. The district is well to the south of the Danelaw
, but a man of Danish origin may have come south and settled here.
The hamlet was not mentioned in Domesday Book
in 1086 because it formed part of the manor of Monks Risborough
. It was later subinfeudated (i.e. granted as a feudal sub-manor) to a military subtenant and was held by knight-service
by the 13th century. It continued as a separate sub-manor, paying a quit-rent
to the manor of Monks Risborough until copyhold
tenure was abolished in 1925.
Today the hamlet is small but picturesque, and affords magnificent views of the nearby Chiltern Hills
.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in 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....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 3 miles E of Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
and 4 miles SSE of Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. It is part of the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer and is in the ecclesiastical parish of Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Buckinghamshire, England, lying between Princes Risborough and Great Kimble. The village lies at the foot of the northern scarp of the Chiltern Hills...
.
The name appears in a document of about 1200 as Ulveswike, meaning the dairy farm of Ulf, which was a Danish personal name. The district is well to the south of the Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
, but a man of Danish origin may have come south and settled here.
The hamlet was not mentioned in Domesday Book
Domesday 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...
in 1086 because it formed part of the manor of Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough
Monks Risborough is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Buckinghamshire, England, lying between Princes Risborough and Great Kimble. The village lies at the foot of the northern scarp of the Chiltern Hills...
. It was later subinfeudated (i.e. granted as a feudal sub-manor) to a military subtenant and was held by knight-service
Knight-service
Knight-service was a form of Feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord....
by the 13th century. It continued as a separate sub-manor, paying a quit-rent
Quit-rent
Quit rent , Quit-rent, or quitrent, in practically all cases, is now effectively but not formally a tax or land tax imposed on freehold or leased land by a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns....
to the manor of Monks Risborough until copyhold
Copyhold
At its origin in medieval England, copyhold tenure was tenure of land according to the custom of the manor, the "title deeds" being a copy of the record of the manorial court....
tenure was abolished in 1925.
Today the hamlet is small but picturesque, and affords magnificent views of the nearby Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
.