Ravenstone, Buckinghamshire
| Ravenstone | |
 All Saints' parish church |
|
  Ravenstone |
|
| Population | 209 (2011 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP850508 |
| – London | 60 miles (97 km) |
| Unitary authority | Milton Keynes |
| Ceremonial county | Buckinghamshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Olney |
| Postcode district | MK46 |
| Dialling code | 01908 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Milton Keynes North |
| Website | Ravenstone Home Page |
|
|
Coordinates: 52°08′57″N 0°45′51″W / 52.1492°N 0.7642°W
Ravenstone is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England.[1] The village is about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Olney, and 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Newport Pagnell and the northern boundary of the City of Milton Keynes. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 209.[2]
History
The toponym is derived from the Old English for "Hrafn's farm".
In 1255 a priory of Augustinian canons was founded in Ravenstone by King Henry III. Cardinal Wolsey took it over in 1525, and then in 1544 the Crown seized all of Wolsey's estates including Ravenstone Priory. After changing hands privately a number of occasions the building was eventually demolished, and today nothing remains.
The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of All Saints are 11th-century. The church includes the tomb of Heanage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham. He had the neighbouring almshouses built, originally six for men and six for women, now combined into six cottages. The original inhabitants had to be single and members of the Church of England, and received a small pension, firewood, and a new cloak every Christmas.[3]
For a brief period the incumbent Thomas Scott, author of popular theological works and one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society.
A post office and The Wheatsheaf pub closed in the early 1990s.
Amenities
The only communal facility in Ravenstone is the village hall.
Notes
- ↑ "Parishes in Milton Keynes". Milton Keynes Council.
- ↑ "Area: Ravenstone (Parish): Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ Knight & Osborn 1992, p. 72.
Sources and further reading
- Knight, E; Osborn, G (1992). Olney and District in Camera. Buckingham: Quotes Ltd. p. 72.
- Page, W.H., ed. (1927). A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria County History 4. London: The St Katherine Press. pp. 439–445.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1960). Buckinghamshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 230–231. ISBN 0-14-071019-1.
External links
Media related to Ravenstone, Buckinghamshire at Wikimedia Commons