Shenley Church End is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, district and wider

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 ...

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 ...

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, about south-west of

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in ...

, and the same distance north-west of

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 ...

. Together with its neighbouring districts of Shenley Brook End, Shenley Wood and Shenley Lodge, the districts are collectively known as "The Shenleys".

History

The village name 'Shenley' is an

Old English language 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- ...

word meaning 'bright clearing'. 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 the area was collectively known as ''Senelai'' and controlled by

Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'A ...

. The distinction between the Brook End and the Church End happened in the 12th century when a new

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

was constructed in Shenley Brook End by the Mansell family. However, by 1426 the two manors were owned by the same person and the distinction between the two places was in name only. Shenley Church End is also home to the Shenley Toot, a

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

(of which only the motte remains), which is now a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. Today, the historic village is the core of the new district that bears its name. The district is bounded by V3 Fulmer Street, V4

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

, H5 Portway and H6 Childs Way.

Education and other services

The district contains Denbigh School (a secondary comprehensive), Glastonbury Thorn First School, a nursery in the former village school, and Shenley Church End Pre-School (situated in the Shenley Leisure Centre). The Leisure Centre beside the secondary school includes a sports hall, gym, squash courts and outdoor football/tennis courts, as well as the Sportsman's Rest bar. The local retail centre opposite (south of) the school and Leisure Centre is a shopping area consisting of a

fish and chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...

shop, a pharmacy, a cafe, a gym, a barber shop, a bike shop, a bookmaker, a charity shop, a Chinese restaurant, a medical practice and a dental surgery. In June 2014,

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

opened new supermarket opposite (east of) the Leisure Centre, on the site of the former Dolphin Splashdown swimming pool.

Sport

;Shenley Church End Cricket Club The cricket club has been in existence since 1947. Previously known as Rickley Park CC until 1992, the club was renamed after moving from

to play home matches at Denbigh School, but in 2002 SCECC relocated to the bottom pitch at Manor Fields in

Fenny Stratford Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, a city in Buckinghamshire, England. It is administered by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, a civil parish under the Milton Keynes City Council. It is located around Watling Street, at the ...

(where Bletchley Town CC play) – though choosing to retain their current name. SCECC currently have a Saturday side playing in the Morrant Four Counties Cricket League Division 3 and play friendlies on Sundays.

Civil parish

The parish includes Shenley Hill, Grange Farm, Crownhill, Oakhill/Woodhill, Shenley Wood (including Medbourne), Shenley Church End and Oxley Park. On pre-designation maps, the area now occupied by Oakhill, Woodhill, Oxley Park and Whitney was called Shelley Common: MKDC did not name this grid-square. The parish is bounded to the north-east by V4

, to the north-west by the border with Calverton parish, to the south-west by the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boundary with the

Buckinghamshire Council Buckinghamshire Council is the Local Government in England, local authority for the Buckinghamshire (district), Buckinghamshire district in England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, performing both county and district- ...

unitary authority (at Whaddon) and to the south-east by H6 Childs Way.

Oxley Park

Oxley Park, primarily a residential area, is relatively young district having been formed via a development framework in 2004. The street naming convention is based on the Silver Screen era of Film, with surnames of film stars forming street names. For example, Audrey Hepburn provides the name of Hepburn Crescent. It is also the location of 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 ...

, Oxley Mead, and a nationally notable architecture-led development, Oxley Woods.

Medbourne

Medbourne is another residential district. It forms part of the grid square that includes Shenley Wood.

Grange Farm

Grange Farm is another residential district. It occupies a full grid square and is relatively new. It was originally to be named Grange Hill: this was changed due to it also being the name of a school drama on the BBC.

Crownhill

Crownhill is district of both residential and commercial properties. It is also the location of the city

crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

Oakhill

Oakhill is a small residential area of detached houses to the north of the prison site.

Woodhill

Woodhill is the location of HMP Woodhill and associated developments. At above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, it occupies the land with highest elevation in Milton Keynes.

References

External links

Shenley Church End Parish Council
{{authority control Areas of Milton Keynes Villages in Buckinghamshire