Stewkley (St. Mary)

STEWKLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Winslow, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 5 miles (W. N. W.) from Leighton-Buzzard; containing, with the hamlet of Littlecote, 1262 inhabitants. The lace manufacture, formerly carried on, is nearly extinct, and many of the females are now employed in the manufacture of straw-plat. Here is a lime quarry, in which are occasionally found curious antediluvian remains, including some specimens of very large spiral fossil-shells. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 9. 7.; net income, £194; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1811. The church is one of the most enriched and complete specimens of the Norman style now remaining. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A fund of about £25 per annum, arising from bequests, is distributed among the poor.