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Little Hampden

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"HAMPDEN PARVA. This small parish is among, and almost surrounded by, woods, and is bounded on the north by Little Kimble; on the east, by Wendover, and Great Hampden; on the south, by Great Missenden; and, on the west, by Ellesborough: about one hundred acres being woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture. The soil is chiefly chalk, with sub-strata of flints, the surface being greatly and irregularly varied by hill and dale. It is a remarkably healthy situation, insomuch, that the Yeomanry family of Ginger constantly resident here, during more than two hundred years; as the principal tenants and occupiers of the land, have obtained some celebrity, on account of the great age to which some of them attained, it having been commonly reported, that the head of each of four generations, had arrived at the age of upwards of ninety years. The population is computed at eighty persons, with little increase or dimunition during the last forty years." [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
"War Memorials and War Graves: Aylesbury Hundred part three - Risboroughs, Missendens and their environs, Volume 9", Peter Quick.

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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 28 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £1.18.9 of which sum Mr Bragge and Michael Horton & his son contributed £0.10.0 each (these figures are for Hartwell with Little Hampden).

In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed 14 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Little Hampden.

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 79 inhabitants in 16 families living in 16 houses recorded in Little Hampden.

Census Year Population of Little Hampden
1801* 79
1811* 69
1821* 88
1831* 105
1841 83
1851 73
1861 68
1871 61
1881 46
1891 76
1901 48

* = 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 History

Details of the stained glass in the church can be found on the following web sites (the site includes many photos):

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Church Records

The original copies of the parish registers for Little Hampden have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:

Event Dates covered
Christenings 1672 - 1812
Marriages 1701 - 1844
Burials 1672 - 1812

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

Event
Society Library*
Dates covered
Society
Christenings
1575 - 1840
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Marriages
1603 - 1837
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society
Burials
1605 - 1840
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 Little Hampden showed the following numbers:

Church Attendance
Little Hampden, Parish Church 20 - Morning General Congregation
20 - Morning Total

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Little Hampden which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

Little Hampden was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:

LITTLE-HAMPDEN, in the hundred of Aylesbury, lies about four miles south of Wendover, among the woods. It is a separate parish, but its chapel is annexed to the church of Hartwell, which is about seven miles distant. The manor had the same possessors as that of Hartwell, till it was sold about the year 1710, by Sir Thomas Lee, to the Dods of Swallowfield, in Berkshire: it is now the property of the Right Hon. John Trevor, whose father, the late Lord Hampden, purchased it of the representatives of the Dods.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP859037 (Lat/Lon: 51.72545, -0.757743), Little Hampden which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

The name Hampden is believed to possibly derive from the words ham-denu, meaning 'homestead-valley'. The name Little being used as a distinguishing affix.