Beachampton, Buckinghamshire
Historical Description
Beachampton, a village and a parish in Buckinghamshire, on the river Ouse, 2½ miles SW of Stony-Stratford, and 4½ SW by W of Wolverton station on the L. & N.W.R. Post town, Stony-Stratford, which is the money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 1528; population, 181. The manor belonged to the Bennets, one of whom was made a baronet in 1627, and figured as a great friend to University College, Oxford. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford; gross yearly value, £269 with residence. Patron, Caius College, Cambridge. The church, a plain structure dating from the 14th century, was restored in 1874, and contains a monument of Sir Simon Bennet.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Buckinghamshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Beachampton St. Mary | |
Hundred | Buckingham | |
Poor Law union | Buckingham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1628
Churches
Church of England
The Assumption of the Virgin Mary (parish church)
The parish church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, erected at the beginning of the 14th century, is a small edifice of stone mostly in the Decorated style, and consists of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, south porch and a tower containing 5 bells: the east window is Perpendicular: in the church is a monument, with bust, to Sir Simon Bennet bart. sometime lord of this manor, who died in 1631; it was erected 128 years after his death by University College, Oxford, to which foundation he had been a great benefactor; there is also a handsome marble monument to Simon Bennet esq. Lord Mayor of London, nephew to Sir Simon Bennet above mentioned, whose daughter and heiress Frances married James (Cecil), 4th Earl of Salisbury: the stained east window was erected to the memory of Bishop Wilberforce (d. 19th July, 1873), whose kneeling effigy apears in the lower portion: there are brasses to William. Baldwyn, 1600, and to Alice, wife of George Baldwyn, d. 21. Feb. 1611: and memorial windows to Lady Mary Russell and the Rev. Richard Norris Russell, a former rector: there is an oak memorial in the chancel to the two men of this parish who lost their lives, and others who served overseas, in the Great War, 1914-18: the reredos, an elaborate work in alabaster, contains in the centre a representation of The Crucifixion: the organ was presented by Lady Mary Russell: the choir stalls and sittings are of carved oak: the church was completely restored in 1873-4: there are 200 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Beachampton was in Buckingham Registration District from 1837 to 1935
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Beachampton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Beachampton, or Beauchampton (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Buckinghamshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Beachampton are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Buckinghamshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
A full transcript of the Visitation of Buckinghamshire, 1634 is online