Edlesborough
St Mary the Virgin parish church
Edlesborough Location withinBuckinghamshire
Population	2,952 [1]
Civil parish	Edlesborough
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Dunstable
Postcode district	LU6
Dialling code	01525
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Aylesbury[2]
Website	Edlesborough Parish Council
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51°51′55″N0°35′14″W / 51.8653°N 0.5872°W /51.8653; -0.5872

Edlesborough is a village andcivil parish in theAylesbury Vale area ofBuckinghamshire, England. Edlesborough is about 3 miles (5 km) west-south-west ofDunstable and immediately south of the village ofEaton Bray, just over the county boundary inBedfordshire.^[3]

The parish dates back to Saxon times. Prior to the Norman conquest of 1066, it was held by thetheign Ulf. After the conquest, it was held byGilbert of Ghent as recorded in the 1086Domesday Book.^[4] The LowerIcknield Way, a prehistoric track that runs below the Chiltern Escarpment, runs through the village and aligns with the church mound.

As well as the village of Edlesborough itself, the civil parish also includes thehamlets ofDagnall,Northall and part ofRingshall. Hudnall was transferred in 1885 to the parish ofLittle Gaddesden inHertfordshire.^[5][4]

The villagetoponym is derived from theOld English for "Eadwulf's barrow".^[6] TheDomesday Book of 1086 records it as "Eddinberge";^[7] and records from 1413 list it as "Edlisburgh".^[8]

The village's name can be shortened to Edlesboro' for efficiency.

At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) there were two mills in Edlesborough.^[4]The local economy was traditionally agricultural, raising crops of barley, wheat and beans.^[4]

The village was once a centre for thestraw plait industry.^{[citation needed]}

RAF Edlesborough was a radio station near Dagnall, acting as a transmitter site forRAF Stanbridge.

The nearby Edlesborough Hill is a low wooded hill beside theRiver Ouzel just south of the village. For decades it was the site of aClassic trials motor sport event known as the March Hare in which a variety of vehicles tried to climb the hill's steep ascent as a test of their capabilities.^[9][10]

TheChurch of England parish church ofSt Mary the Virgin is built on top of abarrow and its high 14th-centurybell tower is a local landmark.^[11] The church has beenredundant since 1975, when theecclesiastical parish merged with that ofEaton Bray. Today the church is in the care of theChurches Conservation Trust, and it is normally open to visitors.^[12]

The earliest parts of the church date from the 13th century. Achantry was added in 1338 and the tower in 1340. The closeness of these construction dates indicates how rich Edlesborough parish was at the time. Much of the church was altered in the 15th century, including the chantry, which has given the church a very 15th-century character.^[13][14]

Thomas Cobhambury appears as vicar of Edlisburgh in 1413.^[8]

On 28 March 1824, the tower was struck by lightning, setting it on fire. The roof's lead melted, and the molten lead set fire to everything it struck. Villagers fought the fire, which burned for 12 hours until it was extinguished.^[13]

The 15th-centuryrood screen,pulpit withtester and timber roofs are all notable. In the 15th century sixmisericords were added to the choir stalls. These include carvings of a bat, a dragon and a mermaid. The misericord of the dragon also has some frog carvings for its supporters. There are some notablemonumental brasses.^[13][15] The church underwent two major restorations overseen by the architectRobert Jewell Withers in 1867 and 1875.In the first restoration,box pews were replaced with pine benches, a gallery was removed from the west, therood screen was painted, and a largewall painting was added to thenave wall by theArts and Crafts artist Daniel Bell, depictingChrist enthroned in Majesty. The 1875 restoration of thechancel was funded by a donation fromAdelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow ofAshridge.^[13][16]

A more modern addition is a two-light stained glass window on the theme of the Nativity byM. E. Aldrich Rope, also in an Arts and Crafts style.^[17]

The Church contains six tuned bells, and one calling bell.^[18] It previously had only 5 tuned bells and one calling bell, however, another tuned bell was added after the fire in 1824. Since the Church was decommissioned, the bells no longer ring often; however, they are occasionally used for special events.

EdleFest, an annual live music festival, is hosted within the Church every summer^[19]. Alongside the music, drinks and cakes are also on offer to guests. All proceeds from the event go towards the continued upkeep of the building.

Edlesborough Primary Academy (Formerly Edlesborough School) is acommunityprimary school.^[20] It serves the 4–11 age range and has about 250 pupils. The school was founded in 1849.^[21] The nearestsecondary school isThe Cottesloe School inWing, though students that pass theEleven-Plus exams can enrol in one of the threeGrammar Schools in the relatively nearby town ofAylesbury; these beingAylesbury Grammar School,Aylesbury High School, andSir Henry Floyd Grammar School.

The village green has two football pitches, one enclosed tennis court and a cricket square. There is a small playing area for children in the green, as well as another in The Grange, which is a residential development further out in the village. There is also a sports pavilion next to the tennis court, which was upgraded in 2021 to include a gym and a café. Nearby, the more central area of the village contains the Edlesborough Post Office and Stores, a corner shop offering general food supplies and birthday cards, as well as functioning as the local post office. 2025 saw the additional opening of aTesco Express within the village.

The Traveller's Rest, which sits between Edlesborough and Dagnall, serves as the village's local pub.

Annually, on the first Saturday in July,^[22] Edlesborough and the surrounding communities host a carnival on the Village Green. It features several attractions, starting with a float parade in which several parties compete for a rosette. These parties include the local Scout group, Edlesborough Primary Academy, as well as scout groups and schools from the surrounding villages. Other attractions include fairground rides, various shops, a classic vehicle display,^[23] barbeques and other food stalls, various performances by local performance groups, a dog show,^[24] and an owl display.

The carnival began as a traditional Church fete, hosted in the Vicarage garden, before being moved to Park Farm inEaton Bray in 1965. In 1988, it was moved once again to Eaton Bray Recreational Ground, however, the next year, it was moved to the Edlesborough Village Green. It was originally set to alternate between Eaton Bray Recreational Ground and Edlesborough Village Green, however, the former soon became too small to accommodate the growing event, and it now remains in Edlesborough.^[24]

Each year, the carnival chooses a different theme, and that theme is often reflected in the float parade.^[25]

• Pam Rhodes opened the 1998 Carnival.^[24]
• In 2020, during theCOVID-19 lockdown, a scarecrow competition was held instead of a carnival, where people made scarecrows and put them on display around the village.^[26]
• In 2021, the carnival, while not cancelled, was delayed, instead taking place on 28 August.^[27]

• A legend says that a tunnel leads from the Church into a former pub, then known as The Bell when it was running. The pub has since been transformed into a private residence.
• While the aforementioned pub "The Bell" was still running, some witnesses claim that after hours, the ghost of a girl with abesom broom could be seen sweeping leaves from the floor by the fireplace. The first report of this sighting claimed that the apparition asked for a better broom.^[28]
• Pine Road in the village is said to be the most haunted in the local area, with a ghost known as "The Mulk" making regular appearances on nights with a full moon. Residents have reported seeing a tall, ghostly figure accompanied by a brown and white dog running up and down the road.
• It is said that, on dark nights, riding on horseback down the road leading from the Church towards Tring Road, is the ghost of Dick Turpin. He was said to hide in the attic of Butler's Manor in Northall, looking out for coaches to come past for him to hold up.^[29]

The English bandTalk Talk filmed a music video for their song "Dum Dum Girl" on their 1984 albumIt's My Life. The video was filmed on Sparrow Hill Farm; the parish church can be seen in the background. The video was released on the band's 1990 video compilation "Natural History: The Very Best Of Talk Talk".^[30][31][32]

• Gróf, László (1988).Children of Straw -– The story of a Vanished Craft and Industry in Bucks, Herts, Beds and Essex. Southampton: Barracuda Books.ISBN 0-86023-290-5.^{[page needed]}
• Page, W.H., ed. (1925).A History of the County of Buckingham, Volume 3.Victoria County History. pp. 350–361.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1960).Buckinghamshire.The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth:Penguin Books. pp. 114–115.ISBN 0-14-071019-1.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toEdlesborough.

• Archives of the Incorporated Church Building Society."Edlesborough, St. Mary the Virgin". churchplansonline.org. Archived fromthe original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved20 May 2009.

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• Villages in Buckinghamshire

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