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Buckinghamshire

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"Buckinghamshire, or Bucks, an inland county of England, bounded on the North by Northamptonshire, East by Bedfordshire, Herts, and Middlesex, South by Surrey (for the distance of about 1 mile) and Berks, and West by Oxfordshire; greatest length, N. and S., 50 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 24 miles; average breadth, 17 miles; area 477,151 acres, population 176,323. It is intersected by the chalk range of the Chiltern Hills, which extend NE. from Oxfordshire to Bedfordshire, the highest point being Wendover Hill, 905 ft. The country here is beautifully wooded, chiefly with oak and beech. To the South there is much excellent grazing land. The fertile "Vale of Aylesbury" lies in the centre of the county, verdant with rich meadows and pasturage. Further North the heavy arable land is now being brought under steam cultivation, and excellent crops of wheat, beans, &c., are produced. Farms are generally of small size, and are leased on a yearly tenure. Pigs and calves are largely reared on the numerous dairy-farms, and great numbers of ducks are sent yearly to the metropolis from the neighbourhood of Aylesbury. The quantity of butter, besides cream cheese &c., send annually to market, averages between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 lbs. The making of wooden spades, brush-handles, bowls, &c., from beech is a considerable industry. Numbers of the female population are employed in the manufacture of thread-lace and straw plaiting." [Bartholemew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887]

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Archives & Libraries

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Bibliography

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Cemeteries

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Census

In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 107,444 inhabitants recorded in Buckinghamshire of whom 52,094 were males and 55,350 females. Of this total 25,083 were employed in agriculture and 20,138 in trade, manufactures and handicrafts.

Census YearPopulation of Buckinghamshiremalesfemales
1801*107,44452,09455,350
1811*117,65056,20861,442
1821*134,06864,86769,201
1831*146,52971,73474,795
1841155,98376,48279,501
1851163,55480,99082,564
1861167,99383,02384,970
1871175,87986,05989,820
1881176,32386,84089,483
1891185,28491,19594,089
1901197,04696,486100,560
1911**219,551107,326112,225
1921**236,171113,979122,192
1931**271,586132,490139,096
1951**386,291188,457197,834
1961**488,233240,810247,423
1971**587,559291,132296,427
1981**567,979280,465287,514
1991**632,487311,662320,825

* = 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 1901 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. See also on the Parish Pages below

Availability of census transcripts and indexes for the entire County.

  • 1798 - Posse Comitatus (not strictly a census in the meaning of those listed below) it contains a list of men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Buckinghamshire, who would be available to take arms, and who were not already in the army. It also lists those who could provide horse and carts. The survey was conducted due to the fear that Napolean would iminently invade.
  • 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.

See also, individual parish pages for further census details.

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Church History

  • Photographs of churches in Buckinghamshire.
  • The Quaker FHS have a series of pages on locating Quaker Records in various parts of the UK. There are separate pages for most of the pre-1974 English counties, including Buckinghamshire.
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Church Records

Details regarding availability of Parish Registers for a given location can be found listed under the appropriate parish page. These pages include details of the registers either at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, or available as a transcript for purchase, or available for loan as part of a society library (society membership is usually required for the latter).

Both the Buckinghamshire Family History Society and the Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society maintain various databases of Parish Register events - please see their web sites for details of look-up services offered.

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Civil Registration

  • Register Offices

Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrars at the following District Register Offices:

  • Milton Keynes
  • Slough

Buckinghamshire Registration Service have the own web pages.

  • Registration Districts

The composition of the Civil Registration Districts in Buckinghamshire between 1st July 1837 and 31st March 1930

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Directories

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Genealogy

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Historical Geography

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Land & Property

Land:
Abstracts of Buckinghamshire Feet of Fines (land conveyances) covering 1360-1509

Property:
There are a number of historic houses in Buckinghamshire which are open for the public to visit. The following web pages have details of the properties and their opening times etc.

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Language & Languages

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Law & Legislation

Publications:

Websites:

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Manors

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Maps

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Military History

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Names, Personal

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Newspapers

  • Local Newpapers for Buckinghamshire on the Buckinghamshire Record and Local Studies website, lists both alphabetically, and by area, local newspapers, with details of dates and of locations of holdings in Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties.
  • Extracts from Windsor and Eton Express are available from Richard Heaton's web site.
  • Index to the Leighton Buzzard Observer:- Barbara Quick is currently indexing the Leighton Buzzard Observer, starting with the first paper of 1861. The coverage of this paper includes quite a large area around Leighton Buzzard and therefore includes towns and villages in both Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire.
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Officials & Employees

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Peter Higginbotham's "History of the Workhouse" website, contains a wealth of information on workhouses, including; Poor Law Unions, Union Maps, Timelines, Literature, Photos of workhouses and much more.
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Probate Records

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Societies

The following is a list of societies relating to Buckinghamshire local or family history, and which have an interest in the entire county. Socieities and groups which are for a specific location can be found under the relevant parish web pages.

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Taxation

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Voting Registers

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