Dinton | |
---|---|
Dinton from the south | |
Location within Buckinghamshire | |
Population | 809 (2011 Census)(civil parish) [1] |
OS grid reference | SP7610 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Buckinghamshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
Dinton is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, within the Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority area. It is in the south of the Aylesbury Vale on the ancient turnpike leading from Aylesbury to Thame (although this road has since been diverted away from the village). It is within the civil parish of Dinton with Ford and Upton. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Dunna's estate'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was listed as Danitone.
There was an ancient mansion house in this parish that belonged to the Mayne family for many years (they were lords of the manor in 1086). This has long since disappeared, but the groundworks of the ancient manor house still remain and are a goldmine of archaeological finds. There is also a ruined mock-fortified building, Dinton Castle also known as Dinton Folly, though this was constructed much later (in 1769) by Sir John Vanhattem. This octagonal folly or "sham castle" is a Grade II listed building. [3]
A BBC article stated that the building was beside a Saxon burial ground. Another source indicates that over the past centuries, and into the 20th century, various artifacts and skeletons had been found near the structure. That report also states that there are 14 other listed buildings nearby, including Dinton Hall. [4] A full restoration of the "castle" was completed in 2018. [5]
The 12th-century parish church of Saints Peter and Paul is a grade I listed building. [6] John Harrison was the vicar here and his only child Henrietta Tindal (c.1817-1879) was a noted poet and writer. [7] There is a memorial to the Royal Navy navigation expert Henry Raper in the church.
Next to the church is Dinton Hall; this fine many-gabled mansion altered at various periods during its long history, was until the last quarter of the 20th century the seat of the Currie family and is now owned by the Vanbergen family. Following the Curries' departure it was bought by a Mr. Smith. He carried out a programme of restoration, and placed his own coat of arms above the mansion's portals. Since 2004 the mansion is owned by the Vanbergen family, and they have restored the mansion and brought in new facilities.
A notable resident of Dinton in the seventeenth century was John Biggs, the Dinton Hermit, who lived in a cave in the village. He was involved in the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649 and was reputed to have been the actual executioner. [8] As one of the regicides, Simon Mayne, lived at Dinton, and was after his death in imprisonment buried at Dinton in 1661, it is possible that the executioner would have been given sanctuary and anonymity on one of the regicide's estates.
Within the parish border lay the hamlets of Westlington, Ford, Upton, Waldridge, Gibraltar and Aston Mullins.
There was also anciently a hamlet called Moreton in this parish, though today only the groundworks and ponds remain. This hamlet was wiped out sometime in the sixteenth century. The name mort / ton (death (fr) / town) could suggest that this settlement might have been wiped out and then subsequently abandoned after the inhabitants succumbed to the Black Death, but the usual derivation of the common name 'Moreton' is "town or settlement by a fen". [9]
Cuddington and Dinton Church of England School is a mixed Church of England primary school. It is a voluntary aided school that has been formed from the merger of Cuddington and Dinton schools. It takes children from the age of four through to the age of eleven. The school now has just over one hundred pupils.
Dinton is home to Dinton Cricket club, who have three senior teams playing in the Home Counties Premier Cricket League and Cherwell League, as well as junior age group teams from under 9s to under 17s. Dinton CC [10] also compete in the National Village Cup, reaching the semi-final stage in 2013 and 2014.
Buckingham is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of Central Milton Keynes, 19 miles (31 km) south-east of Banbury, and 24 miles (39 km) north-east of Oxford.
Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along the foot of the Chilterns. The town is 35 miles (56 km) north west of London and 5 miles (8 km) south east of Aylesbury.
Akeley is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is on the A413 road, between Lillingstone Dayrell and Maids Moreton, and around 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Buckingham. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the parish as 514, down from 545 at the 2001 Census.
Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone. Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making enterprises.
Cuddington is a village and civil parish within the Buckinghamshire district in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It is near the Oxfordshire border, about six miles west of Aylesbury.
Ellesborough is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills just to the south of the Vale of Aylesbury, two miles from Wendover and five miles from Aylesbury. It lies between Wendover and the village of Little Kimble.
Ford is a hamlet in the parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the south eastern corner of the parish.
Gibraltar is a hamlet in the parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the modern main road that links Aylesbury with Thame.
Hartwell is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell, in central Buckinghamshire, England. It is to the south of Aylesbury, by the village of Stone. In 1971 the civil parish had a population of 102. On 1 April 1986 the parish was abolished and merged with Stone to form "Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell".
Wing, known in antiquated times as Wyng, is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. The village is on the main A418 road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard. It is about 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Aylesbury, 3 miles (5 km) west of Leighton Buzzard, and 12 miles (19 km) south of Milton Keynes.
Westlington is a hamlet near the village of Dinton in the civil parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton, Buckinghamshire, England.
Upton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located to the north of the main village of Dinton, on the junction between the new road from Aylesbury to Thame, and the old road before it was rerouted.
Stone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located southwest of the town of Aylesbury, on the A418 road that links Aylesbury to Thame. Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell is a civil parish within Buckinghamshire district and also incorporates the nearby settlements of Bishopstone and Hartwell.
Weston Turville is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, 3 miles (4.9 km) from the market town of Wendover and 3.5 miles (5.7 km) from Aylesbury.
Aston Mullins is a hamlet in the parish of Dinton, in Buckinghamshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton
Simon Mayne was a Member of Parliament for Aylesbury and one of the regicides of King Charles I of England.
Waldridge is an ancient village in the civil parish of Dinton-with-Ford and Upton in Buckinghamshire, England. Although little of the original village survives today, the Waldridge Manor in the nearby village of Meadle shows the approximate location of the original settlement of Waldridge Village.
Aylesbury was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Aylesbury, which was a separate municipal borough.
Dinton Castle is located just north of the village of Dinton, in Buckinghamshire and was built as an eyecatcher from the Dinton Hall estate, by Sir John Vanhattern in 1769. He used the castle to exhibit his collection of fossils, ammonites, embedded in the limestone walls. The "sham castle" or folly is a Priority A site with the Heritage at Risk Register and has been a Grade II Listed structure since 1951 when it was in a ruinous state.
John Bigg, also known as The Dinton Hermit, was a 17th-century English hermit.