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Horsenden

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"Horsendon, or (more correctly) Horsenden, is a small parish, bounded on the North and East by Princes-Risborough, and on the South and West by Saunderton, having the Icknild way crossing it from East to West; and a small stream from Saunderton, which is divided into several channels, and in the pleasure grounds attached to the mansion-house, forming a small lake. The soil of the lower or Northern side of the parish, is a very rich loam, extremely fertile and productive; on the South it is poor, meagre, and chalky, intermixed with and based upon a cold sour clay." [The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847]
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Bibliography

The following reference sources have been used in the construction of this page, and may be referred to for further detail. Most if not all of these volumes are available in the Reference section of the County Library in Aylesbury.

"Buckinghamshire Contributions for Ireland 1642", Wilson J., 1983.
"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham", Lipscomb G., 1847
"The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire", Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., 1925.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire", Page W. ed., 1905-1928

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Cemeteries

The following Monumental Inscriptions are available as publications or as part of a Society library:

* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting

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Census

In 1642 there were 4 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £0.16.10. The contributions were as follows: Rob. Morris rector £0.10.0, Chas. Brandon £0.3.4, Edw. Lacye £0.2.6 and Wm. Mortimer £0.1.0

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 8 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Horsenden.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 52 inhabitants in 9 families living in 9 houses recorded in Horsenden.

Census Year Population of Horsenden
1801* 52
1811* 34
1821* 50
1831* 37
1841 27
1851 51
1861 45
1871 46
1881 46
1891 39
1901 35

* = No names were recorded in census documents from 1801 to 1831.
** = Census documents from 1911 to 2001 are only available in summary form. Names are witheld under the 100 year rule.

Microfilm copies of all census enumerators' notebooks for 1841 to 1891 are held at the Local Studies Libraries at Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as well as centrally at the PRO. A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.

Availability of census transcripts and indexes.

  • 1851 - Full transcripts and indexes for Buckinghamshire are available on CD-ROM, hard copy and microfiche from the Buckinghamshire Family History Society.
  • 1861 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.
  • 1881
    • Available on CD-ROM from the Church of the Latter Day Saints, as part of the National 1881 Census Index.
    • Available on CD-ROM for Buckinghamshire, with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from Drake Software.
  • 1891 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society.

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for St Michael & All Angels, Horsenden have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

Event Dates covered
Christenings 1668 - 1809
Marriages 1707 - 1841
Burials 1637 - 1849

Copies or indexes to the parish registers are available from societies as follows:

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1701 - 1842
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1701 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1701 - 1849
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society

* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting

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 Horsenden showed the following numbers:

Church Attendance
Horsenden,
St Michael & All Angels
9 - Morning Sunday Scholars

9 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars

27 - Evening General Congregation
27 - Evening Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Horsenden which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

Horsenden was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

HORSENDON, in the hundred of Aylesbury and deanery of Wendover, lies about seven miles south-west of Wendover, and about the same distance south-east of Thame, in Oxfordshire. The manor was anciently the property of a family who took their name from the village. About the year 1210, it was purchased by the Braybrokes, and was afterwards successively in the families of Leynham and Moreton: Cardinal Moreton's nephew sold it to the family of Donne, from whom it passed by female heirs to the Cottons and Denhams. In the civil war of the 17th century, being then the property of Sir John Denham, the manor-house was garrisoned for the king; Sir John's son sold it to the ancestor of the present proprietor, John Grubb esq. for whose family there are several memorials in the parish church. Mr. Grubb is patron of the benefice, which in Bacon's Liber Regis is called a rectory, but it is there observed, that institution has been given to it only as a vicarage.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP794029 (Lat/Lon: 51.719215, -0.852011), Horsenden which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

The name Horsenden derives from the old english Horsan-dun or denu, and means 'Horsa's hill or valley'.