Boveney is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Dorney, in

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is situated near Windsor, between the villages of Eton Wick in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, and Dorney and Dorney Reach in

. Since boundary changes in 1974 and 1995, Boveney is the southernmost village in Buckinghamshire. In 1931 the parish had a population of 630.

Origin of name

The village name is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin and means "above island". This refers to the island in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

next to the village. The

name for the village was ''Bufanege''.

History

Boveney was once a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Burnham, though it has long since been considered a separate village, particularly since the urban growth of nearby

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

. It became a separate

in 1866, having been a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

before, and was part of Eton Rural District from 1894 to 1934. On 1 April 1934 the parish of Boveney was abolished, under a County Review Order, with the more urbanised part being added to Elton in Eton Urban District, and a larger, less populous part being added to the parish of Dorney. The Church of St Mary Magdalene is in a remote part of the village by the River Thames. In 1983 the church was declared redundant and vested in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches, who repair and conserve it for visitors and local people to enjoy. In 2004 a major campaign was undertaken to repair the 14th century timber-framed tower and a further programme of repairs was planned for 2007, so the church was closed to visitors. Dorney Common, which borders the village, is one of several locations to view

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

from outside the town of Windsor itself; the large open space affords panoramic views of the castle as well as parts of Eton.

In literature

The village is twice briefly mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's book ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

'' (1889).

Filming location

Many TV and film companies use the village as a location. The Church of St Mary Magdalene was used as a location for many

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

movies which were made at nearby Bray Studios. The ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' episode ''Silent World of Nicholas Quinn'' and the

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

movie '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' were partly filmed here. The signpost for the village appeared very briefly in the 1976 Sweeney episode "I Want the Man" as a white Mercedes Benz limousine turns left towards the village (06m 48secs standard Freemantle DVD).

Gallery

BoveneyLock01.JPG, Boveney Lock Boveney Lock - Lock Keepers House.jpg, Lock Keeper's House Boveney-16506605799.jpg, Houses in Boveney

References

Parish History of Boveney

External links

Friends of Friendless Churches
* Villages in Buckinghamshire Former civil parishes in Buckinghamshire {{Buckinghamshire-geo-stub