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Dorney 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 ...
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. It borders 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 ...
to the west and south, and is bisected by the Jubilee River. In
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
it had a population of 752. It is west of neighbouring Eton, which is a slightly larger parish. It includes a grade I listed manor house, Dorney Court, as well as the largest rowing lake in the south of England, Dorney Lake. Water accounts for 13% of the area of Dorney, the highest proportion in Buckinghamshire.


History

Dorney Manor was mentioned 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 ...
, and was famed for honey; it is named after the Saxon for "Island of Bees".


Dorney Court

Dorney Court adjoins the centre of the village and has comparable grounds to other village centre properties. It was, however, the manor house, so owned much of the land of the village until the late 18th century. It dates to the early
Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...
and is made from a timber frame with red brick. Its roof has original tiles. It has bold star-shaped timbers and a large fireplace with panels from Faversham Abbey, Kent. One account of its early history reveals that the then adjoining Boveney manor, at the southern end of the village of Burnham, had an oak tree cut down by an employee. He defended his conduct by declaring that at a court in Buckinghamshire previously found Dorney to be a royal manor and that the green was therefore common land, so it was legal to cut the tree down. A notable owner was William Garrard, who bought Dorney Court in 1542; he was later
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
from 1555 to 1556). Major C. H. D. Palmer owned it in 1925, having been passed down by earlier Palmers since 1624. Until after 1925, the manor's family owned the
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
and maintained the church, a state of affairs which ended with the ending of all
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
s in England and Wales.


Other history

The first pineapple in the UK was grown in Dorney Court, leading to a pub in the village being named The Pineapple. It is Grade II listed for its age, dating half to the 17th century and half to the 18th century. In 1961, a cornfield in Dorney was the scene of a nationally reported abduction. A lone gunman, James Hanratty, abducted Valerie Storie and Michael Gregsten and forced them at gunpoint to drive to a lay-by at Maulden in Bedfordshire, where he shot and murdered Gregsten, raped Storie and shot her. She survived, paralysed.


Topography

The village is on the north bank of 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 ...
, on very gently sloping land towards the river and inchoate streams which were mostly joined into the Jubilee River, mainly on gravel-underlain soil. Eton is to the east. Slough, which is linked by two roads forming a rectangle with Dorney, is east-northeast. Major rowing events take place at Dorney Lake, including the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and annual events such as the Wallingford, Marlow and Metropolitan Regattas. The Olympics also hosted
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...
events there, which continue to take place occasionally. In the south-east, Dorney Common is a large traditional grassed
common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...
, roughly triangular, which is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
. Owing to the continued use of the land for grazing, the common has panoramic views of
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 ...
two and a half miles to the east.


Local administration

Dorney's civil parish council covers minor upkeep, community events and recreational matters. Dorney is surrounded to the south, east and west by the non-metropolitan county of
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 ...
, with a narrow border along its north (with Taplow and Burnham) further towards the heart of
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 ...
. This anomaly makes Dorney a salient, which dates to the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, which came into force on 1 April 1974; the village had been originally included in Berkshire in the related Bill, but an amendment to keep it in Buckinghamshire was proposed by local MP Ronald Bell and accepted by the government.


Features

There are 15 listed buildings in Dorney.OS Map with Listed Buildings and Parks marked
The village church's
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
and
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
date from the 12th century, the tower was built about 1540, and the north chapel and porch were added in the 17th century. Restoration work in the 19th century somewhat obscured its medieval decoration. Dorneywood country house takes its name from the parish, although is just over its northeastern border. It is used as a home (and entertainment or state reception venue) for a senior member of the UK government, usually a Secretary of State or other minister.


Transport

The village has no railway station. A regular bus timetable operates to Windsor and Slough. The village is partly bounded by the north by the
M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...
, where there is a junction just after the road north from the village meets the A4 Bath Road for Slough 'West'. This provides access to Heathrow Airport and London, and has meant that since the road's construction, Dorney has been accessible to commuters from both London and the Thames Valley..


Religion

A majority of the inhabitants in 2011 (62.8%) described themselves as Christian. The sole parish church is
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
and is dedicated to Saint James. More than 2% of the population are
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
,
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
,
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
or
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.


Localities

In the parish of Dorney are the
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
of Dorney Reach and Lake End; none centred more than apart.


Dorney Reach

Dorney Reach is a community on a riverside road, almost half of the homes of which are by 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 ...
, overlooking Monkey Island. This side of the river is also the location of Bray Lock; its name is somewhat of a misnomer, as the village of Bray sits on the opposite side of the river from the lock.


Lake End

Lake End includes the Pineapple pub and is the only settled part north of the Jubilee River on the main northward road from the village. It has a public car park by the Jubilee River which enables access to its towpath and the buildings of Dorney and Lake End.


Demography


Nearest places

* Burnham — 2 miles * Taplow — 2 miles * Eton — 2 miles *
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
— 4 miles


References


External links

* {{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire Populated places on the River Thames