A walk through Great Linford in 1949

20/9/2026

Great Linford Manor grounds, 1949. A rolling lawn, framed by treesm rising towaard the twin pavilions, with a thatched building to their rear, and to the right, St. Andrew's Church and the Almshouses.

The grounds of Great Linford Manor, photographed 1949. Note the thatched building to the rear of the pavilions, once home to the Bucks Otter Hunt, and since replaced by the Radcliffe Building.

I can never pass a second-hand bookshop without looking for the local history shelf, and though I always convince myself there is nothing more to be found, occasionally I still chance upon a book that contains some fascinating new insight into Great Linford's past. The latest discovery is a lovely little book by John Hugh Brignal Peel (writing as J. H. B. Peel) called Buckinghamshire Footpaths. This short book of just over 150 pages is, as the title implies, the author's reflections as he walks about the county. Written in 1949, it contains the following wonderful account of a visit to Great Linford, along with several photographs, reproduced here.

From Willen take the by-lane to Great Linford, leaving a small covert to your right, and climbing slowly until, at Grange Farm, you stand 300 feet above the sea. Thereafter the way crosses a stream. A mile and a half of pleasant, gentle going awaits you before this lane crosses the canal and bears right into Great Linford. Great Linford is an inland port, not so prosperous now as during last century, when the canal trade was at its zenith, but evidently a place of some importance still, and an attractive village in its own right.

It is worth while to spend a little time on the quay, where you will find a good inn alongside the jetty, and some business-like mooring rings. A land-bound mariner will feel at home here, the more especially because sundry gentlemen in peaked caps and blue sweaters lounge against the quayside and, amid puffs from clay pipes, gaze wistfully across the water - several yards of it - to the green bank opposite. From time to time a barge will draw alongside, and her motley crew will leap ashore – father and son in trim caps, to be about their mariners' business; mother, very bronzed and shawled and crisp-tongued; and some children without shoes but with a very healthy glow upon their faces.

A barge, towing a second, approaches Great Linford on the canal, grassy banks to either side,

If you are fortunate the barge will not be motor-driven, but will have instead a plodding horse for motive power, pleasantly bejangled and brassy about the mane, massively strong and inhumanly patient, gathering depth, as it seems, from the blinkered narrowness of his vision, and manifestly having wise things to utter, had he but the gift of speech.

If you care to ask the captain, you may even enjoy the experience of going on board, and then of examining the snug quarters below decks - marvellously clean, as clean as a Dutch merchantman, glowing with bright brass and speckless glass and dazzling paintwork, everything ship-shape-and-Bristol-fashion, neat enough to delight a Pay-master Commander.

In 1066 there were two manors in Linforde, each held by Hugh de Bolebec, one of the tenant-in-chief, Walter Giffard, the other of the Crown. These two manors passed to Hugh's son, who founded the Abbey of Woburn in 1145, and thence to many families - the Earls of Ormonde In the Saint Legers, Princess Elizabeth, Richard Campion. The ancient family of Andrewes of Lathbury were at one time lords of the manor of Great Linford.

The Church of Saint Andrew has many fine features in the Early Decorated style, but was painfully restored during the last century, when most of the tracery in the windows was spoiled and the ceilings covered by an unlovely plaster.

At the eastern end of the churchyard are some quaint grey-stone buildings, each designed to contain seven tenements, one being three storeys high and the others one storey. These buildings were erected by a former lord of the manor, Sir William Pritchard, as almshouses for six of the village poor, the centre home being reserved for a school and its teacher.

In the past, before charity came to be nationalized, various picturesque charities were bestowed upon Great Linford by its local gentry. One pound sterling was given to the rector, upon condition that he did not allow any beasts to graze in the churchyard; and the same sum was awarded to the parish clerk, for keeping the pews and windows clean. Six times that amount was given at Christmastime, to be spent upon breeches and a gown for six almsmen, and upon a gown and petticoat for six almswomen.

Your sojourn at Great Linford may be prolonged to coincide with the arrival (and subsequently the departure) of the single line railway into Newport Pagnell.

A train stands on the platform at Great Linford railway station.

0 Comments

Great Linford Manor Park Heritage Open Day 2026 report

14/9/2026

0 Comments

A group of people, men and women, stand before a thatched barn.

History walk ready to depart.

The Friends of Great Linford Manor Park enjoyed a great Heritage Open Days event spread over two days, Friday, September 11th, and Saturday 12th. The weather, though occasionally gusty enough to see the team scrambling after scattered paperwork, kept generally bright and pleasant.

Pre-HOD preparation

On the Wednesday before the HOD, the practical volunteering team set about cleaning the front of the almshouses and schoolhouse of dirt, dust and cobwebs, as well as putting up the HOD bunting and signage around the park.

Friends of Great Linford Manor Park work to clean windows and doors of the almshouses and schoolhouse.

Practical volunteering team work to clean the Almshouses and Schoolhouse.

Friday BSL walk

The Friday walk, billed as a British Sign Language-assisted walk, was a little disappointing, with only six people attending, none of whom required signing assistance. Given that there were 40 attendees at the last BSL walk. and it received rave reviews, a better turnout was anticipated. However, the attendees were very happy with the walk

Setup on Saturday

On Saturday morning, team members were in the park bright and early to meet with Parks Trust rangers, who kindly delivered the loan of a marquee, tables, and chairs. With their help, the marquee was soon set up and the team ready to greet visitors.

Fiends of Great Linford Manor Park in uniform stand around the marquee.

The Friends ready to greet visitors.

Talks and cake

St. Andrew’s Church once again kindly hosted our talks in the afternoon, both of which were well attended. I delivered two talks, one on the history of the Almshouses, and the other on a wider history of the village.

There was a steady stream of customers buying drinks and delicious cake from the Church team, who, as always, put on a wonderful spread.

Audience in St. Andrew's Church watch talk.

Audience watches talk on the history of the Almshouses.

Meet the lacemaker

The Friends were also delighted to once again welcome Wendy Carey, who provided her in-depth knowledge of Lace making in the village.

Wendy Carey in the attire of a Lace maker.

Children's activities

Though there wasn't an enormous take-up, the Friends did offer a colouring activity in the park, with four fantastic designs created by volunteer Steve. These were designed to complement the suggested theme for this year's HOD: ordinary people. Hence, there were colouring sheets for a butcher, baker, lacemaker and photographer. These were accompanied by brief bios of real people who once lived and worked in the village.

Above, some completed colouring.

Continuing our outreach with a new leaflet

As part of the Friends' continuing outreach to the community, they distributed a new leaflet, which celebrates the recent excellent news about the Almshouses, but also raised concerns felt about the future of the Courtyard Buildings.

Leaflet produced for the HOD.

Conclusion and plaudits

In conclusion, the heritage Open Days were very well received, as illustrated by the following comments made on Facebook.

“My friends and I joined the 11am History Walk today, enjoyed Tea and Cakes in the church and listened to the talk about Great Linford Alms Houses at 1pm. I have to say we had a wonderful time and found the walk and talk to be very interesting and informative. Well done to everyone involved.”

“We also joined and found it very interesting and well organised. Well done and thank you.”

“A lovely walk learning about the history of Great Linford. Thank you.”

0 Comments

Great Linford Manor Park Heritage Open Day for 2026

2/9/2026

0 Comments

The Friends of Great Linford Manor Park, in partnership with The Parks Trust and St. Andrew's Church, will be holding Heritage Open Day events on Friday, September 11th and Saturday, September 12th.

On Friday, a history walk, accompanied by a British Sign Language interpreter, will take place, departing at 10.30 am from Parklands car park.

On Saturday, there will be two further history walks and two illustrated talks in St. Andrew's Church: one on the history of the Almshouses and one on the wider history of the village.

Visitors will be able to meet a lace maker, and those with children can take part in colouring activities.

Tea and cake will be served throughout the afternoon in St. Andrew's Church.

Poster from Great Linford Manor Park 2026 Heritage Open Days.

0 Comments

Friends of Great Linford Manor Park secure extension to Courtyard Buildings sale moratorium.

2/9/2026

0 Comments

At a meeting of Milton Keynes City Council's delegated decisions committee, held on Tuesday, August 25th, the Friends of Great Linford Manor Park raised concerns about the process that led to the proposed sale of the Courtyard Buildings and, along with other public speakers, called for the delegated decisions committee to defer their approval of the plan to add the buildings to the Council's asset disposal list.

While the Council ultimately took the decision to place the buildings on the disposal list, the Friends also asked that the moratorium on the sale (intended to give time for the Friends, or another community-led initiative, to step in) be extended from six months to twelve. This request was agreed to, so the heritage and cultural community in Milton Keynes now has more time to develop a plan for the buildings.

The Friends are continuing to explore options and invite anyone with ideas or relevant expertise to get in touch.

0 Comments

A walk through Great Linford in 1949

Great Linford Manor Park Heritage Open Day 2026 report

Great Linford Manor Park Heritage Open Day for 2026

Friends of Great Linford Manor Park secure extension to Courtyard Buildings sale moratorium.

About this blog

Archives

Categories