Fort Towson

Clifton Reynes is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.[2] It is about a mile east of Olney. It shares a joint parish council with Newton Blossomville. It is situated roughly 8 miles (13 km) north of Central Milton Keynes and 9 miles (14 km) west of Bedford.

Extent

It is bounded, on the North, by the River Great Ouse, by which this parish is separated from Lavendon and Cold Brayfield; on the East, by Newton-Blossomville; on the South, by Petsoe and Emberton; and on the West, by the latter and by Olney.[2]

Origin of name

The village name comes in two parts: the former name 'Clifton' is Anglo Saxon in origin and means 'Cliff farm', referring to the village's position on a cliff on a bank of the River Ouse. The latter name 'Reynes' refers to the ancient lords of the manor of the village, whose family name this was.[3] In the Domesday Book on 1086 Clifton Reynes was recorded as Cliftone.

Buildings of note

St Mary's Church, Clifton Reynes

The parish church dedicated to St Mary is (unusually for a Buckinghamshire church) completely castellated: even the gables are embattled. The tower is thought to be Norman;[3] however, the top is later probably 14th century.[3] The majority of the building is of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries and the nave is unusually tall. Features of interest include the 14th-century font and the medieval monuments of the Reynes family. These include two pairs of wooden effigies; one pair is of Ralph and Amabel de Reynes (ca. 1320–30) and the other is unidentified and slightly earlier.[4]

References

  1. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Clifton Reynes (E04001251)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b Clifton Reynes Office for National Statistics
  3. ^ a b c William Page, ed. (1927). "Parishes : Clifton Reynes". A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria History of the Counties of England. Vol. 4. London: Constable & Co. Ltd. pp. 316–323.
  4. ^ Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 126

External links

Media related to Clifton Reynes at Wikimedia Commons