| Calverton | |
|---|---|
 All Saints Church, Calverton | |
  Calverton | |
| Population | 197 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP788387 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MILTON KEYNES |
| Postcode district | MK19 |
| Dialling code | 01908 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
52°02′29″N0°51′00″W / 52.0414°N 0.8500°W /52.0414; -0.8500  | |
Calverton is acivil parish in theunitary authority area of theCity of Milton Keynes,Buckinghamshire,England and just outside theMilton Keynes urban area, situated roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) south ofStony Stratford, and 4 miles (6.4 km) west ofCentral Milton Keynes.[2] The parish consists of onevillage,Lower Weald, and twohamlets,Upper Weald andMiddle Weald. Lower Weald is the largest of the three settlements, and Manor Farm, the parish church and the former parochial school are within its boundaries.[3][4]
The settlement name isOld English, and means 'farm where calves are reared'.[5] In theDomesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded asCalvretone.[6]
The west side of nearby Stony Stratford was once included with theecclesiastic parish of Calverton (the east side being inWolverton). "The manorial rights over the west side were held with those of Calverton, [which] led to the manor of Calverton being often called 'the manor of Calverton with Stony Stratford', and the fair and market of Stony Stratford were included among itsappurtenances,[6] until anAct of Parliament in the 18th century separated them.[7]
The parish of Calverton was part ofStratford and Wolverton Rural District from 1894 to 1919, when the rural district became an urban district, subsequently renamedWolverton urban district in 1920.[8] The area was re-established as a separate parish in 2001.
The parish church is dedicated toAll Saints. "It was rebuilt in stone in the 12th- and 14th-century styles between 1818 and 1824, when some of the old details were re-used".[6]
Lower Weald is the location of the parish church and Calverton Manor; the hamlets are located to the south east of the village centre, on the road toWhaddon.
On 2 August 2011, Calverton Manor house featured inBBC2'sRestoration Home television series.[9] The manor was acquired in 1616 bySir Thomas Bennett,[6] who had beenLord Mayor of London in 1603. The house was extended in 1659 by his grandson Sir Simon Bennett. The manor house is reputedly haunted by the ghost of Simon's wife, Lady Grace Bennett, who was murdered there in 1694.[10] The Bennett family also owned the neighbouring manor ofBeachampton.[10] The titles of the Lord de Calverton and Lord de Beachampton, but not the formerly-associated lands, of these two manors remain in the Bennett family to the present day.[11][12][13]
Middle Weald is a hamlet of about ten dwellings, about half a mile (1 km) from the parish church.
Upper Weald is a hamlet of about twenty dwellings, a little over a mile (about 2 km) from the parish church. The hamlet includes the farmhouse of Fairfield Farm, which gives its name to the modern neighbourhood and civil parish,Fairfields, being developed on part of its former lands adjacent toWatling Street.
The parish has two grade II*listed buildings (Calverton Manor farm house and the parish church),[14][15] and a further 24 buildings and structures with grade II listings.[16]
Media related toCalverton, Buckinghamshire at Wikimedia Commons
