| Gawcott | |
|---|---|
 Tower of Holy Trinity parish church | |
  Gawcott Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Population | 778 (2011 Census,parish)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP6831 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Buckingham |
| Postcode district | MK18 |
| Dialling code | 01280 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Gawcott is a village about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest ofBuckingham in theBuckinghamshire district in the ceremonial county ofBuckinghamshire, England. The village is in thecivil parish ofGawcott with Lenborough.
Thetoponym is derived from theOld English for "cottage for which rent is payable". TheDomesday Book of 1086 records the village asChauescote. An alternative description for the name of Gawcott, however, comes from the old Norse word for thecuckoo, 'Gaukr', pronounced Gawk and 'cott' for house/ home/ cottage.
This explanation has some merit as in the west of the village the cuckoo was the prevalent bird up until the early 1940s when much of its habitat was destroyed to make space for servicemen in theSecond World War. One of the local historic public houses of the village was also named the Cuckoo's Nest.
Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of theMidland Grand Hotel atSt Pancras railway station in London (and numerous other buildings), was born in Gawcott[3][4] where his father, the Reverend Thomas Scott (1780–1835), wasperpetual curate.
To the east of the village isSignal Hill, which was a formerFCO/MI6signals intelligence station.[5][6]
Media related toGawcott at Wikimedia Commons
