Deanshanger () is a 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 ...

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, west-northwest of

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

. In 2007 it was joined with the

of Wicken to form Deanshanger ward, returning two councillors. The population of the civil parish (including Puxley) at the 2011 census was 3,817. Deanshanger is northwest of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, northwest of

and southeast of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

History

Deanshanger used to be called Daneshanger, "hanger" being an old English word, meaning a clearing in the woods – hence Daneshanger was a clearing in the woods where the Danes lived. The original population centre of the parish was the hamlet of Passenham. However, from the late 18th century the coming 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 ...

to the east made Deanshanger an agricultural industrial centre causing it to grow quickly. This growth accelerated with the building of the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

in the first half of the 19th century which passed through the nearby villages of

Wolverton Wolverton ( ) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, in the south-west of the city, split between the civil parishes in England, civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley, which In 2011 had a com ...

and Roade. After a fall out with

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

in 1170 AD,

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

is said to have sought refuge in the Gilbertine Monastery in Deanshanger (or ''Dinneshangra'' as it was then known). Although disguised as a peasant, he was nevertheless recognised by a farm labourer. At the time the only water supply in the village was foul and brackish, and having heard of the miracle that Becket was said to have performed at nearby Northampton, the farm labourer pleaded with Becket to repeat the performance. Becket is said to have looked towards Heaven, struck the ground with his staff, and immediately a fresh spring appeared. This is one of 703 miracles that is said to have led to his

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

. The first public school in Deanshanger was opened in 1833 in a converted Baptist chapel. In 1858, a new village school (dubbed 'The Big School' by locals) was opened for students up to the age of thirteen. This school would later go on to be named Deanshanger Primary School. In 1958, a century after the founding of the primary school, a secondary school was established in the village. Originally called Deanshanger School, it was later renamed Kingsbrook School, after the local river, Kings Brook (a tributary of the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

). The school, a sports college, merged with former Roade school in September 2011, and was renamed The Elizabeth Woodville School.

Demography

At the time of the 2001 census, Deanshanger parish had a population of 2,900 citizens and in 2010 was estimated to be 3,877, falling to 3,817 at the 2011 census.

Industry

From the 1820s, the main industry in the village was an iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and later an

iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...

works (making

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

for

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

). This gave some of the surrounding area a red colouration from the oxide dust. However, in 1999, the works closed and was demolished. By 2008, most of the works land has been replaced by the construction of several new housing estates. Extensive remedial work was needed to reverse the harmful effects of the previous industrial use of the site there are still signs of the red stained oxide all around the village. Some land has designated for light industrial use.

Local Amenities

The village has a village hall and community centre (extended in 2008) to provide a venue for events and facilities for community groups, a doctor's surgery, a library, and a cafe. Other amenities include two pre-schools, a primary school, and a secondary school, the aforementioned Elizabeth Woodville School, which is split over two sites across the town. The schools' grounds include the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

. There is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

(Holy Trinity,

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

) and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel, a post office, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and two members' clubs (sports and social,

Conservative club The Conservative Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1840. In 1950 it merged with the Bath Club, and was disbanded in 1981. From 1845 until 1959, the club occupied a building at 74 St James's Street where ...

), a pharmacy, a hairdresser, a pizza and

kebab Kebab ( , ), kebap, kabob (alternative North American spelling), kebob, or kabab (Kashmiri spelling) is a variety of roasted meat dishes that originated in the Middle East. Kebabs consist of cut up ground meat, sometimes with vegetables an ...

takeaway, a Chinese and

fish and chips Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...

takeaway, a mobile takeaway, and other village stores and

newsagent's shop A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of loca ...

s including a

greengrocers A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily produce, fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the ...

. In December 2015, The Co-operative Food opened a store on the High Street, where The Fox & Hounds Public House was situated, previously planned to be a

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

. On the edge of the village on the A422, is a golf and country club, a hotel, an Indian restaurant and a petrol and service station. The town has a parish council office, which is a former school and Baptist Church, which was renovated in 2008. Football The village is home to Deanshanger Athletic Football Club, founded in 1946. The club consists of two men's teams (First and Reserves) who play in the North Bucks & District Football League, an under 18's team, competing in the Milton Keynes Youth Football League, and as of June 2017, a Ladies team, the first time the club has offered ladies football at a senior level. For children, there is a pre-school playgroup, youth club, and the junior football club, Deanshanger Colts. Annual Celebrations The village's annual event is a revival of the historic Feast held on a Saturday afternoon and evening in October each year. This includes a fun fair, stalls and firework show. There is an active village heritage society that organises the Feast, the planting of spring flowers on the roads into the village in autumn, cleaning of the

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

(the King's Brook) in spring and carol singing in December.

Transport

There are two regular bus services between Deanshanger and Milton Keynes - the 89/X89, operated by Stagecoach and running hourly between 6:00-19:00 Monday to Friday, and 8:00-18:00 Saturday only - and the 90/90A, which are operated by UNO on weekdays and Saturdays and run between 8:00-15:30 every two hours. There are also bus services between MK and Deanshanger and Buckingham on Friday and Saturday nights, running from 19:00-1:00AM. These are also operated by Stagecoach. Finally, there is the 83, a school service open to the public which runs from Deanshanger to Buckingham once a day (8:00AM), and Buckingham to Deanshanger (5:30PM). This bus also stops at Silverstone UTC, and is operated by a Stagecoach double decker. On a Sunday Country Lion operate a menagerie of the 89 and the 90, numbered 90, which operates at a far reduced frequency but stops at a combination of the stops on both routes. School bus services operate additionally between Deanshanger and Buckingham, stopping at Buckingham School and The Royal Latin School. This is the 943, operated by Bucks County Council, contracted out to Marshall's Coaches. It leave Deanshanger in convoy at 8:10, and generally leave Buckingham (Via RLS) at about 15:45, arriving back at 16:00. The nearest railway station is

for services to London

Euston railway station Euston railway station ( ; or London Euston) is a major London station group, central London railway terminus and Euston tube station, connected London Underground station managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sout ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and north.

railway station (on the same line) is the nearest station to give access to fast trains to London (40 minutes), intercity and cross-country services. There are several private hire taxi services. The A422 road used to pass through Deanshanger, curving sharply at the Beehive pub. As Milton Keynes expanded through the 1970s and 80s, traffic counts increased sharply through the village and calls for a bypass grew. In November 1991, local newspapers reported permission had been granted for a new bypass to be built. The new road opened in March 1993. The A422 now takes a more direct route past Deanshanger from Old Stratford towards Buckingham.

References

External links

Short history of Deanshanger

Deanshanger Village Heritage Society

Village web site

Deanshanger Parish Council web site

Holy Trinity Church Deanshanger web site

Deanshanger Conservative Club web site
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire History of Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire