Little Brickhill

History

The village name "Brickhill" is a compound of Brythonic and Old English words that have the same meaning: a common occurrence in this part of the country. The Brythonic word breg means "hill", as does the Old English word hyll. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was referred to as Brichelle. This spelling also occurs in 1422, denoting the place where John Langon was the vicar.

The village has, for a long time, gathered most of its income from the Roman road Watling Street that passes through the parish from north-west to south-east, and anciently from a fair that was established in the village in 1228. At one time the county Assize Courts were held in Little Brickhill, making it adversely larger than nearby Great Brickhill. The last time the assizes were heard here was in 1638. Between 1561 and 1620 the names of a number of executed criminals appear in the burial register of the village. The village, being located on a major route to London, was a staging post for mail and passenger stagecoaches. "The Clockhouse" (now converted for residential use) housed just such a staging post, incorporating a stable, office, coach sheds, a hotel and a cowshed. Upon entering the courtyard, grooves can be seen in the cobble stones under the arch that were made by the wheels of countless coaches coming and going.

Churches

There are two churches in the parish, one in the village itself (St Mary Magdalene, the CoE parish church) and the other (All Saints, also CoE), on the hill above. St Mary Magdalene is a Grade II* listed building;

Amenities

The village had two public houses, The George and The Green Man, the latter is now closed and converted to homes. The George continues as a gastro pub. The post office that was housed in the village shop closed in 2008 which precipitated the closure of the shop itself.

Notable residents

• Mark Frank (16121664), college head and theologian.
• Doreen E Adcock (19362020), who received the BEM for services to swimming having taught over 13,000 children in the Milton Keynes area to swim. She was also the winner of the BBC sports personality of the year unsung hero award, 2009. Doreen has a plaque on a bench in the village and also has a pillar in the Milton Keynes Rose ( https://miltonkeynesrose.org.uk/) dedicated to her achievements.
• John Motson (19452023), the BBC football commentator.

References

References

1. "Little Brickhill".
2. (July 2024). "Constituency Map of Milton Keynes Central".
3. link. (2009-06-08 - Milton Keynes Council.)
4. "Key to English place names". Institute for Name-Studies, [[University of Nottingham]].
5. (1927). "A History of the County of Buckingham". [[Constable & Robinson.
6. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives. CP 40/647; seventh entry, with John Langton as the defendant in a plea of debt brought by the Henry, the Prior of Combewell, Kent.
7. {{NHLE. (17 November 1966)
8. "Frank, Mark".
9. (14 December 2009). "Doreen now the pride of the BBC too". Milton Keynes Citizen.
10. (19 January 2008). "Fame and fortune: John Motson". Daily Telegraph.
11. (23 February 2023). "Legendary commentator Motson dies aged 77". BBC Sport.