Aston Clinton is a historic village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Vale of Aylesbury The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshir ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England. The village lies at the foot of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

, between the Wendover and Aylesbury arms of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

. Surrounding towns include

Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...

to the south,

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

to the west, and

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...

to the east - across the nearby county border with

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

History

It is believed that the village started at the crossing of two Roman roads, Akeman Street and Icknield Way, both of which are still main roads in the village. After the fall of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, it became a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settlement and remains of a Saxon cemetery were found during the construction of the Aston Clinton Bypass. Before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England in 1066, the settlement was probably held under patronage of King

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

. The village is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, where in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

it was called ''Estone'', which means "eastern estate". The ''manor'', later to be known as Aston Clinton, was for a short period after 1100 under the control of Edward de Salisbury, who was King Henry I's standard-bearer. In 1217 King Henry III gave it to Sir William de Farendon. However, by 1237 the manor was owned by the de Clinton family, hence the name at that time of ''Aston de Clinton''. William de Clinton separated out from Aston Clinton to a new manor called Chivery as a dowry for his daughter Alice. Sometime after 1239,

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

granted the estates to the Montacutes, who were the ancestors of the

Earls of Salisbury Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. Their descendant the Countess of Salisbury was beheaded by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

in 1541. Successive families have owned the manor, passing by marriage from the Hastings to the Barringtons, Gerards, and then to Lord Lake of Aston Clinton later to become

Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief, India, Commander-in-Chief o ...

. On 22 September 1934, a twin-engined biplane named ''Youth of New Zealand'' of Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Displays, crashed into a field near the canal at Aston Clinton. The ''Youth of New Zealand'' had just departed from

Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, ...

after being refuelled when it crashed, killing all four crew. The probable cause was the failure of a bolt through metal fatigue. The car manufacturer

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

took one part of its name from the nearby Aston Hill combining it with that of its co-founder Lionel Martin. The firm had great success in the Aston Clinton Hillclimb competition up nearby Aston Hill. A plaque now marks the site. The modern parish of Aston Clinton was created in 1934. Of the other

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

manors:- Dundridge; Chivery; St Leonards and Vaches, historically all closely associated with Aston Clinton, only Chivery and Vaches have remained distinct parts of Aston Clinton, which now forms part of Aylesbury Vale District. Dundridge manor became part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Leonards which has itself since 1934 become part of the parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards.

The village today

There are many historic buildings with listed status in Aston Clinton including Anthony Hall, a concert hall situated in the centre of the village which was donated to the community by the widow of Anthony Nathan de Rothschild. To the south-east of the village in Green Park was the former Aston Clinton House. The village also contains St. Michael and All Angels parish church, dating from the late medieval period. The village was used as a filming location for the 1962 film ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

''. The TV programme '' Hotel Babylon'' was filmed in Aston Clinton. Aston Clinton Household Recycling Centre opened in 2009 and was built to the north of the village off the A41 Aston Clinton bypass. In 2011 a new industrial park opened in Aston Clinton called Halton Brook Business Park, designed and developed by Horstonbridge Development Management which replaced an old dairy, demolished in 2006, that once stood in the same location. Two companies currently occupy Halton Brook, Zethon & DeSoutter Medical. There are four pubs, three of which are on Green End Street: The Bell, The Partridge and The Oak. The Rothschild Arms is situated on Weston Road.

Notable residents

Composer and lutenist Daniel Bacheler was born in the village in 1572. The BAFTA and Oscar winning special effects make-up artist David Malinowski lives in the village. Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber lists Aston Clinton as his home in England where he lives with his partner Ann Neal. Robert Hendry Morton (25 September 1927 – 6 May 2002) was an English professional footballer, born in Aston Clinton, and who played for Luton Town. Morton holds the record for most appearances for the club, with 495 in the Football League and 550 overall.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census there were 1,518 households in Aston Clinton with a Population of 3,682: 1,784 males and 1,898 females. In accordance with the government plans to boost housing supply, due to the rising population, there has been an increase in new housing developments in Aston Clinton: The Burnhams (19 dwellings), Stratford Close (20 dwellings), 28 flats near the surgery, four detached houses to the south of London Road Pavilion Gardens (14 dwellings) and The Willows (three large detached houses). Between 2016 and 2021, further developments added 93 houses at Aston Brook (fields adjacent to Brook Street & College Road South, built by Bovis Homes) and 143 houses at Estone Grange (fields leading from Chapel Drive, built by Bellway). A further 93 houses are under construction at Little Green (fields adjacent to Aylesbury Road, Michael Shanly Homes) during 2022 and 2023

Geography

Aston Clinton is located at the northern edge of the

, Buckinghamshire, to the east of Aylesbury. Aston Clinton Civil Parish is bordered by other civil parishes to the: *North by:

Bierton with Broughton Bierton is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about half a mile northeast of the town of Aylesbury. It is mainly a farming parish. Together with the hamlets of Broughton, Kingsbrook, Broughton Crossing and Burcott it ...

, Hulcott ( Bucks) & Tring Rural ( Herts) *East by: Buckland ( Bucks) *South by: Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards &

( Bucks) *West by: Halton &

Weston Turville Weston Turville is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, 3 miles (4.9 km) from the market town of Wendover and 3.5 miles (5.7 km) fro ...

( Bucks)

Transport

Historically, the A41 passed through Aston Clinton. A bypass was built around the north of the village, it was opened on the 3 October 2003. The village lies on several bus routes, with direct services to Aylesbury, Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Cheddington, Dunstable and Watford.

Education

Aston Clinton School is a combined primary school located in the village. The head teacher is Carol Macdonald (known to students as Mrs Mac). The school badge bears resemblance to the

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

coat of arms, since the family built the first schools in the village.

References

External links

British History Online – The parishes of Aylesbury hundred: Aston ClintonBritish History Online – Aston Clinton

Domesday Book - Aston ClintonAston Clinton School

St Michael and All Angels Church

Aston Clinton Baptist Church

Aston Park Tennis Club

Aston Clinton Bowls Club

Saxon remains found in 2001 when the bypass was being built.
{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England