Lavendon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lavendon
Lavendon shown within Buckinghamshire
OS grid reference	SP915535
Unitary authority	Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OLNEY
Postcode district	MK46
Dialling code	01234
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	North East Milton Keynes
List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire

Coordinates: 52°10′19″N 0°39′47″W / 52.172, -0.663

Lavendon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost village in the Borough, near Olney, eight miles WNW of Bedford, eight miles NNE of Newport Pagnell.

Nearby places are Warrington, and Cold Brayfield in Milton Keynes Borough, and Harrold and Carlton over the border in Bedfordshire.

[edit] History

The village name is an Old English language word, and means 'Lafa's valley'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as Lavendene.

The manor house in the village was an ancient castle that at the time of the Domesday survey belonged to the de Bedun family. Although the castle is no longer there (it was last recorded in 1232), the moat and groundworks remain in the grounds of the house known as Castle Manor.

The village was once the location of a Premonstratensian abbey, founded in the reign of King Henry II by the de Bedun family. The abbey was disbanded in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1547, and shortly thereafter the building was dismantled. The abbey was at what is now Grange Farm.

[edit] Modern Lavendon

The parish church is dedicated to St Michael, and there is a small but active Baptist Chapel.

The village has a primary school for children from reception through to year 6. It also has a village store and Post Office, an independent garage, village hall and two public houses, the Green Man and The Horseshoe.