| Soulbury | |
|---|---|
 All Saints' Church | |
 Soulbury Three Locks | |
  Soulbury Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Population | 736 (2011 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP885275 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEIGHTON BUZZARD |
| Postcode district | LU7 |
| Dialling code | 01525 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
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Soulbury is a village and also acivil parish within theunitary authority area ofBuckinghamshire,England. It is located in theAylesbury Vale, about seven miles south ofCentral Milton Keynes, and three miles north ofWing. The village name isAnglo Saxon in origin, and means "stronghold in a gully". In theDomesday Book of 1086, the village was recorded asSoleberie.
The parish contains thehamlets of:
Other places mentioned in historical records include:
The parish extends as far as Rammamere Farm onWatling Street. Rammamere Heath is managed withKing's Wood inHeath and Reach as a nature reserve.[4]
A 17th-century mansion, Liscombe Park was originally the seat of theLovett family, of whom the most famous member was Colonel John Lovett (c. 1660–1710), patron of theEddystone Lighthouse. The house was rebuilt in the 1920s by the Bonsor family who live there today. The house is built of brick with small turrets and crenelations, in the style of an 18th-centurypseudo gothic castle. The interiors are a mixture of panelling and some 18th-century styles. Near to the house is the former much older chapel, this today has been converted to a billiards room. The house is not open to the public, but the gardens are sometimes used for fairs and fetes.
The stable block has been converted to a leisure and health complex, with apolo cross field. There is a riding stables, open to the public, adjacent to the complex.
An early mention of the name asLyscombe appears in 1418, where Roger Stok and his wife, Sara, lived, suing people from Stewkley (appearing asStucle) and Burcote.[5]
Soulbury gave its name toSolebury Township, Pennsylvania, which was founded byQuaker settlers from Soulbury.
Aglacial erratic lies in a road in the parish.[6] The stone originated in Derbyshire, and was deposited by the retreat of glaciers at the end of the lastice age.Oliver Cromwell is said to have used the stone as a podium during an attack on the village church during theEnglish Civil War.[7] Local tradition holds that the stone is the petrified foot of the devil.
In March 2016, the stone was hit by a motorist who made complaints of it being a hazard, prompting the county council to investigate its removal. The parish council and villagers strongly opposed its removal and the stone still remains in its ancient position.[7][8]
There is apublic house in Soulbury called the Boot. Its pub sign features a boot of theDuke of Wellington, but the tradition of the Soulbury Boot is said to be much older than that. It is said thatthe Devil himself once came to the village, but the villagers came together to fight him off. One of them took hissword and cut off the Devil's foot and as it fell to the ground it turned to stone. The stone came to be known as the Soulbury Boot. This story is said by some to have been made up by a previous pub landlord in order to attract visitors.
This public greenspace is owned and run by a local charitable trust and was created as part of the celebrations for the turn of the Millennium in the year 2000. It is one of 245 suchMillennium Greens throughout England and the only one in Buckinghamshire.[citation needed]
Media related toSoulbury at Wikimedia CommonsAuthority control databases: Geographic |
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