Soulbury

Soulbury
Soulbury
	All Saints' Church
	Soulbury Three Locks
	Soulbury Location within Buckinghamshire
Population	736 (2011 census)
OS grid reference	SP885275
Civil parish	Soulbury;
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire;
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire;
Region	South East;
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	Buckingham;
	List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51°56′11″N 0°43′06″W / 51.9363°N 0.7183°W

Soulbury is a village and also a civil parish within the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale, about seven miles south of Central Milton Keynes, and three miles north of Wing. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "stronghold in a gully". In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village was recorded as Soleberie.

The parish

The parish contains the hamlets of:

Hollingdon in the west,
Chelmscote on the Stoke Hammond to Leighton Buzzard road,
Bragenham to the east of the River Ouzel, and
Stockgrove near Stockgrove Country Park on the border with Bedfordshire.

Other places mentioned in historical records include:

Lortun Hill and
a road called London Street, (mentioning William Holynden)
Hongurhell^[2]

The parish extends as far as Rammamere Farm on Watling Street. Rammamere Heath is managed with King's Wood in Heath and Reach as a nature reserve.^[3]

Liscombe Park

A 17th-century mansion, Liscombe Park was originally the seat of the Lovett family, of whom the most famous member was Colonel John Lovett (c. 1660–1710), patron of the Eddystone 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-century pseudo 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 a polo cross field. There is a riding stables, open to the public, adjacent to the complex.

An early mention of the name as Lyscombe appears in 1418, where Roger Stok and his wife, Sara, lived, suing people from Stewkley (appearing as Stucle) and Burcote.^[4]

Soulbury gave its name to Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, which was founded by Quaker settlers from Soulbury.

Glacial erratic rock

Lovett House, Chapel Hill – the stone known as the Soulbury Boot is close to the front of the red car

A glacial erratic lies in a road in the parish.^[5] The stone originated in Derbyshire, and was deposited by the retreat of glaciers at the end of the last ice age. Oliver Cromwell is said to have used the stone as a podium during an attack on the village church during the English Civil War.^[6] 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.^[6]^[7]

There is a public house in Soulbury called the Boot. Its pub sign features a boot of the Duke of Wellington, but the tradition of the Soulbury Boot is said to be much older than that. It is said that the Devil himself once came to the village, but the villagers came together to fight him off. One of them took his sword 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.

Soulbury Millennium Green

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 such Millennium Greens throughout England and the only one in Buckinghamshire.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013
^ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; CP541; year 1396 first entry; line 5. The defendant is William Holynden; (Hollingdon is near Soulbury), the plaintiff is Roger atte Broke of Steuecle (Stewkley)
^ Wildlife Trust, King's Wood and Rammamere Heath
^ "AALT Page". aalt.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
^ Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Soulbury Stone". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b Finnigan, Lexi (29 March 2016). "Council bosses threaten to remove ancient stone rock at heart of village". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
^ Addley, Esther (2 April 2016). "The Soulbury stone never loses – and now the council knows it". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

External links

Media related to Soulbury at Wikimedia Commons
Soulbury, in A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3. (BHO Online)
Soulbury, the parish website

[1] Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013

[2] Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; CP541; year 1396 first entry; line 5. The defendant is William Holynden; (Hollingdon is near Soulbury), the plaintiff is Roger atte Broke of Steuecle (Stewkley)

[3] Wildlife Trust, King's Wood and Rammamere Heath

[4] "AALT Page". aalt.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

[5] Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Soulbury Stone". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2 June 2018.

[tgraph-6] Finnigan, Lexi (29 March 2016). "Council bosses threaten to remove ancient stone rock at heart of village". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2016.

[7] Addley, Esther (2 April 2016). "The Soulbury stone never loses – and now the council knows it". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

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v t e Aylesbury Vale (former district)
Buckinghamshire Unitary Council elections County Council elections District Council elections Aylesbury Constituency Buckingham Constituency
Towns (component areas and hamlets)	Aylesbury Bedgrove Broughton California Elm Farm Elmhurst Haydon Hill New Zealand Prebendal Farm Quarrendon Queens Park Southcourt Turnfurlong Walton Walton Court Buckingham Bourton Buffler's Holt Castle Fields Mount Pleasant Page Hill Wendover Cobblers Hill Dean Kings Ash Little London Lower Bacombe Smalldean The Hale Upper Bacombe Wendover Dean World's End Winslow Shipton Shipton Brook
Other civil parishes (component villages and hamlets)	Addington Adstock Akeley Akeley Stockholt Ashendon Ashendon Lower Pollicott Upper Pollicott Aston Clinton Aston Clinton Chivery Vaches Aston Abbotts Burston Aston Sandford Barton Hartshorn Beachampton Berryfields Biddlesden Bierton Burcott Boarstall Boarstall Honeyburge Brill Brill Little London Broughton Hamlet Buckingham Park Buckland Buckland Buckland Wharf Calvert Green Calvert Charndon Chearsley Cheddington Cheddington Cooks Wharf Chetwode Chilton Chilton Easington Coldharbour Fairford Leys Creslow Cublington Cuddington Dinton-with-Ford and Upton Aston Mullins Dinton Ford Gibraltar Upton Waldridge Westlington Dorton Drayton Beauchamp Drayton Parslow Dunton East Claydon Botolph Claydon East Claydon Edgcott Edlesborough Dagnall Northall Ringshall Fleet Marston Foscott Gawcott with Lenborough Gawcott Lenborough Granborough Granborough Green End Great Brickhill Great Horwood Great Horwood Singleborough Grendon Underwood Haddenham Haddenham Halton Hardwick Hillesden Hoggeston Hogshaw Fulbrook Hulcott Ickford Ivinghoe Greatgap Horton Ivinghoe Ivinghoe Aston Ringshall Kingsbrook Kingsey Kingswood Kingswood Tetchwick Leckhampstead Lillingstone Dayrell with Luffield Abbey Lillingstone Dayrell Luffield Abbey Lillingstone Lovell Little Horwood Long Crendon Ludgershall Maids Moreton Marsh Gibbon Marsh Gibbon Little Marsh Summerstown Marsworth Marsworth Startop's End Mentmore Crafton Ledburn Mentmore Middle Claydon Middle Claydon Verney Junction Mursley Nash Nether Winchendon Newton Longville North Marston Oakley Addingrove Little London Oakley Oving Padbury Pitchcott Pitstone Barley End Pitstone Pitstone Green Pitstone Hill Poundon Preston Bissett Quainton Quainton Shipton Lee Quarrendon Radclive-cum-Chackmore Radclive Chackmore Shabbington Shalstone Slapton Grove Horton Wharf Slapton Soulbury Bragenham Chelmscote Hollingdon Soulbury Stockgrove Steeple Claydon Stewkley North End Stewkley South End Stewkley Dean Stoke Hammond Stoke Mandeville Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell Bishopstone Hartwell Lower Hartwell Sedrup Stone Stowe Boycott Dadford Lamport Stowe Swanbourne Nearton End Swanbourne Thornborough Thornton Tingewick Turweston Twyford Upper Winchendon Waddesdon Eythrope Waddesdon Wormstone Water Stratford Watermead Weedon East End Weedon Weedon Hill Westbury Westcott Weston Turville Bye Green Weston Turville Whaddon Whitchurch Wing Ascott Burcott Littleworth Wing Wingrave Nup End Rowsham Wingrave Woodham Worminghall Wotton Underwood
Former districts and boroughs	Municipal Borough of Aylesbury Municipal Borough of Buckingham Buckingham Rural District Long Crendon Rural District Wing Rural District
Former constituencies	Buckinghamshire County Constituency Wendover Constituency
List of parliamentary constituencies in Buckinghamshire List of places in Buckinghamshire List of civil parishes in Buckinghamshire