Patrick Comerford
After our visit to Milton Keynes University Hospital last week to mark the second anniversary of my stroke (18 March), Charlotte and I went to the nearby village of Woughton-on-the-Green, to the east of the hospital, to walk around the mediaeval village, to see Saint Mary’s Church beside the Village Green and neighbouring Woughton House, and to enjoy a late lunch in Ye Olde Swan, where we heard some of the local lore about Dick Turpin.
Woughton on the Green was listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. It is a traditional Buckinghamshire village that is now part of Milton Keynes. The civil parish of Old Woughton in south central Milton Keynes was established in 2012 by the division into two parts of Woughton parish. The original, undivided, civil parish was itself originally called ‘Woughton on the Green.’
By the time Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne, Woughton on the Green was a large village, thanks largely to the nearby Grand Union Canal and later to the nearby Wolverton Works that served the West Coast Main Line. Its population peaked at 350 in 1850, but has declining to 150 by 1960.
A new civil parish was formed in 2012 following a campaign by residents of Woughton. The new parish was given the temporary name of ‘Ouzel Valley’ until the new council adopted the name of Old Woughton Parish. Today, it has a population of 28,000, and is a suburb of Milton Keynes, although it maintains its autonomy.
The name Woughton is Anglo-Saxon in origin, meaning ‘Weoca’s farm.’ The suffix ‘on-the-Green refers to the large grassy area in the centre of the village, the traditional village green. About 60% of the parish is green space.
Until the end of the 18th century, the River Ouzel was crossed by a bridge, known as Monxton’s Bridge, connecting Walton and Woughton parishes. This name is supposed to commemorate William de Mokelestone, at one time lord of a manor in Woughton. The 18th century Buckinghamshire antiquarian by Browne Willis wrongly identified him with the priest’s effigy in Saint Mary’s Church.
There were two manors in Woughton at Domesday. The more important manor belonged to Martin who had succeeded Azor son of Toti, a thegn of King Edward. The manor later belonged to the Earls of Arundel, until Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, was executed in 1397 as a political traitor.
The descent of the manor is difficult to trace. Part of it passed through the de Botetourt, Harcourt, Burnell, Green, Fox and Vavasour families, until it was sold in 1553 to Edmund Mordaunt, ancestor of the Earls of Peterborough. Woughton Manor was later acquired by the Nicholls and Troutbeck families and then by the Dreyer, Rose, Farrell, and Carrington Bowles families.
Part of Woughton Manor passed from the de Cheriton family to John Longville, whose family, whose seat was at Wolverton. They retained their estate in Woughton for up to 400 years before selling it to the Troutbeck family.
Domesday also records a second estate known as Woughton Manor. It later belonged to the Earls of Cornwall as part of their estates at Berkhamsted. Woughton continued to be attached to Berkhamsted as late as 1649. Part of this manor was owned by John Grey, Lord de Grey, and his descendants, the Greys, afterwards Earls of Kent, who owned the Manor of Bletchley.
In addition, the Abbots of Woburn owned property in Woughton until the Dissolution of the monastic houses at the Tudor reformation in the 16th century.
Woughton House, which has been an hotel for many year, stands on over 40 acres of parkland beside Saint Mary’s Church. The house was built in 1813 and remodelled in 1845 by Colonel William Levi and his wife Fanny from an earlier manor house. A talented musician, Colonel Levi ran Bletchley Musical Society for 21 years and he installed an organ in Saint Mary’s Church in 1892. For all intents and purposes, Colonel Levi and the rector of Saint Mary’s governed the village.
Woughton House was bought in 1925 by Captain and Mrs Barton, who made many improvements and added a tennis court and a cricket pitch. Woughton House was bought by General Oswald Blount and his brother Harold in 1937. General Blount was a local councillor and chairman of Woughton-on-the-gGeen Parish Council. When World War II broke out, he commanded the Home Guard unit in the village, transforming the house into Woughton’s military organisation centre.
Woughton House is expected to reopen in April as a boutique hotel.
We enjoyed a late lunch in Ye Olde Swan Inn, a 17th century inn with later additions, and once said to have tunnels that led to Saint Mary’s Church.
This is a period building with low ceilings and exposed beams, extended over the centuries and with seating on different levels. The pub restaurant dates from Tudor times and has retained many original features.
Most of the pub is given to dining, but there is a small but comfortable bar area to one side. The large garden overlooks the Green and is very popular in the summer.
According to local lore, Woughton-on-the-Green was one of the haunts of the 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin when he changed the scene of his activities from the great North Road to Watling Street.
Turpin was said to travel to and from his exploits by an unfrequented route running over ancient tracks. The route led down the track known as Bury Lane in Woughton past the Olde Swan and down what was known as the Roman Road, across the patch of scrub covered waste known as No Man’s Land, and so on to Watling Street.
The Old Swan was a convenient stopping place for Turpin, and the landlord may have supplied him with information on travellers’ movements. A gloomy and unlit room in the centre of the inn was once known as the prison room, and prisoners travelling in custody were held there for the night. Tradition also says many wanted men were hidden there by the landlord.
Legend says Dick Turpin reversed his horseshoes at Ye Olde Swan to escape pursuit, and that he used a large stone outside, known as Turpin’s Rock, to mount his horse quickly when he was riding off from the tavern.
Dick Turpin was captured in York and charged with horse theft in 1737, then punishable by death. He was tried in York and was hanged on 7 April 1739 by a fellow highwayman who was pardoned for his crimes for being the executioner.
Local lore in Woughton claims Dick Turpin’s ghost can still be seen on occasional dark nights riding his legendary horse Black Bess along Bury Lane. Folklore also suggests that if Turpin’s Rock is moved bad things will happen to the person who tries to move it.
