User:Waysider1925/Drafts 2

Hamlets in the parish
Askett

Askett is a hamlet east of the village of Monks Risborough and north of Cadsden.

The name appeared in 13th century documents as Astcote and Ascote, meaning East Cottages. In the 13th centurythere was also a Westcote.

There is a public house (the Three Crowns) in the hamlet but no shops. A former public house (the Black Horse) on the corner with the Aylesbury Road is now an Indian restaurant.

The Bell House, off Crowbrook Road, is an old 16th ? century building.

Cadsden

Cadsden (or Cadsdean) is a hamlet to the east of the village of Monks Risborough, lying to the south of the Aylesbury Road along the road from Great Missenden. It was formerly divided into Upper and Lower Cadsden.

The origin of the name, which also appears (in fairly recent times) as Catsdean, is doubtful and it is not known when it was first used. If it dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when most of the other local place names first appeared, it probably meant 'Valley frequented by wild cats'. It is certainly at the bottom of a steep valley.

The Plough is a well known public house at Lower Cadsden, tucked away under the Chiltern hills and known as 'the Plough at Cadsden'.

The unsourced story about local vagabonds called Cats has reappeared after being deleted because no reliable authority for it had been produced after a year. A reference was then given to an unsourced website which was itself later deleted for the valid reason given by Roleplayer. The original story has been put back, but still waiting for sources, which have still not been produced. I have myself looked at all the books on Buckinghamshire in the Topography section of the London Library (a fair number ranging from the early 19th to the late 20th century, some researched and some popular) and not one of them has any mention of the story. It seems to me to show all the symptoms of a hoax and I have deleted it again. It can be reinstated if any reliable authority for it can be cited. I have added to the article a more probable derivation for the name.

Meadle

Meadle lies to the north of the village of Monks Risborough. It is now in the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer. It is purely residential. There are no shops.

In documents of 1227 it is called Madhulle and Medhulle. The name comes from the Old English maed-hyll or meadow-hill. The hamlet is at the top of the hill up from the village and may probably have been the location of some of the meadows in the Manor of Monks Risborough which were mentioned in Domesday Book as providing pasture for 4 plough teams (usually 8 oxen each).

Owlswick

Owlswick is to the north of Meadle. It forms the northern part of the parish and former manor of Monks Risborough. It is also now part of the civil parish of Longwick-cum-Ilmer.

The name appears in a document of about 1200 as Ulveswike, meaning the dairy farm of Ulf, which was a Danish personal name. This is well to the south of the Danelaw, but a man of Danish origin may have come south and settled here.

Although part of the manor of Monks Risborough in 1086, it was later subinfeudated to a military subtenant and became a sub-manor held by knight service by the 13th century. It continued as a separate sub-manor, paying a quit-rent to the manor of Monks Risborough until copyhold tenure was abolished in 1925.

There was a chapel at Owlswick by the 14th century and by the 15th century a share in the tithes of  St Dunstans church in Monks Risborough was set apart for the priest at Owlswick. This sometimes led to difficulties. The chapel was destroyed during the civil war. A school chapel was built there in 1866.

Whiteleaf

This hamlet lies to the south of the village of Monks Risborough, about halfway up the north scarp of the Chiltern hills. The street passing through the hamlet is the Upper Icknield Way. See Whiteleaf

(The Whiteleaf Cross is marked on T.Jefferys' map of Buckinghamshire (1766) as Whitcliffe Cross) should be under Whiteleaf

Most books on Buckinghamshire contain speculation on or discussion of the history of the cross. See for instance: Francis Wise (1742) (commemorating victory over Danes); Cooke's Topographical Library: The British Travellers Guide (1820) p.130 (various opinions); J J Sheahan: History & Topography of Buckinghamshire (1862) p.184 (memorial of the property of Christ Church, Canterbury, not a victory trophy); P H Ditchfield: Memorials of Old Buckinghamshire (1901) p.5 (victory over Danes); Clement Slater: Highways & Byways in Buckinghamshire (1910) p.140 (Civil war soldiers); Maxwell Fraser: Companion into Buckinghamshire (1950) p.112 (17th century or great antiquity); Alison Utley: Buckinghamshire (1950) p.196 (discussion); Bruce Watkin: Shell Guide to Buckinghamshire (date?) (probably ancient origin); John Camp: Portrait of Buckinghamshire (1972) p.124 (landmark or made by monks from Missenden simply for glory of God). But see now Hey, Gill et al. in the 2007 article in Records of Buckinghamshire, vol 47 part 2, cited above.

Hamlets

There are separate articles on each of the named hamlets, but (apart from Whiteleaf) they are only one paragraph stubs which say very little and nobody has been sufficiently interested to expand them.

I think that these should all be re-written and included in the main article with a Re-direct from the former title. Whiteleaf is a possible exception, though I would myself prefer to incorporate the account of the hamlet in the main article (with a re-direction) but have a separate article for Whiteleaf Cross, which is the one subject which persons from outside the area might want to look up.