Patrick Comerford
I spent part of today [12 March 2025] at a meeting of clergy in the Milton Keynes area at the Church of the Servant King at Dulverton Drive, in Furzton, in south-west Milton Keynes.
The Church of the Servant King is an ecumenical church in Furzton. The church forms part of the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership, a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) that belongs to the Church of England, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church.
The Watling Valley is a large area on the west side of Milton Keynes. This area is covered by one Anglican parish. The other churches in the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership are: All Saints’ Church, Loughton; Saint Mary’s Church, Shenley; Holy Cross Church, Two Mile Ash; and Saint Giles’ Church, Tattenhoe.
The congregation in Furzton started meeting in a community house in the area, led by a Church Army sister. As numbers grew, they moved first to the Meeting Place in South Furzton, and then to Coldharbour School.
The present church building has been in use since June 1992, and was opened officially in September 1992. The building, on Dulverton Drive, is shared with the Ridgeway Community Centre.
The church is used throughout the week for groups catering to all ages, including the Furzton Tots Preschool, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Brownies, fitness groups, a 50+ Club every Tuesday afternoon, choir practices and a theological reading group.
Furzton is in south-west Milton Keynes, in the civil parish of Shenley Brook End, just north of Bletchley, and roughly 3.2 km (2 miles) south of Central Milton Keynes.
The housing in South Furzton was built in the early to mid-1980s, with the Parkside and Favell Drive housing to the east coming first. Development then moved west along Blackmoor Gate. The shops were built after 1984 – before then, the nearest local shops were at Melrose Avenue, in Bletchley.
Before North Furzton was built, the land on the north side of the brook in the linear park was farmland, and the residents of South Furzton had only a short walk to reach open countryside. When plans were announced for North Furzton, particularly the extension of Dulverton Drive to form the link between the two sides, residents’ meetings were called to protest at what residents expected would be a significant increase in traffic.
Most of the South Furzton housing was complete when the construction of the lake started. North Furzton housing and shops were built between 1990 and 2004.
Because of its clay soils and relatively flat topography, the designers of Milton Keynes had to make provision for flood control. A key element of this strategy is to restrain floodwater from reaching the River Great Ouse lest it create problems for downstream settlements, using balancing lakes and managed flood plains.
Loughton Brook rises in Whaddon, beyond Tattenhoe, and joins the Ouse at New Bradwell. It is usually a very minor tributary, little more than a metre wide at that point. It has quite a large catchment area, added to by the hard surfaces of the surrounding developments.
Furzton Lake was built in the 1980s, and with an area of 28 ha (70 acres), is the first major balancing lake Loughton Brook encounters. The flood plain of the brook forms a linear park about 200 metres wide that runs through the district west to east. The lake and its surroundings provide an important local leisure facility.
Meanwhile, after many years of heavy use, the church and community centre are showing signs of wear and tear and a £130,000 refurbishment project involves improving the facilities.
The work is being carried out as the funding comes in, and the future plans include a community coffee shop.
The Sunday services are relaxed and welcome people of all ages: 10.30 am Morning Service includes Holy Communion on the second and fourth Sundays, and ‘All Ages Together’, an informal service for all ages, on first Sunday.
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