England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Clifton Reynes St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Clifton Reynes lies in the extreme north of Buckinghamshire forming a short stretch of the border with neighbouring Bedfordshire and also being close to Northamptonshire. Clifton Reynes is located just a mile east of the market town of Olney and sits a mile east of the A509 road which connects Olney through to Milton Keynes. A small and compact village sitting on the edge of the floodplain of the Great Ouse, Clifton Reynes sits at the end of a dead-end lane with access only to the small village. Taking advantage of the rich pastures within the Great Ouse floodplain Clifton Reynes would have had a varied farming regime, arable was normal on the drier portions of the parish. The Great Ouse drains the parish eastwards, passing through Bedford and eventually reaching the North Sea through The Wash. Clifton Reynes is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in fairly gentle terrain, land rises steadily to the southeast to local heights of close to 100 metres. Clifton Reynes parish was fairly typically sized for this area, covering close to 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Clifton Reynes was shared three ways, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Robert de Tosny & Countess Judith all holding shares. Collectively their holdings could muster 8 ploughs, the usual meadows & pastures and there was a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the northwestern end of the village close to the banks of the Great Ouse. The church has ancient origins having Norman Romanesque styles in the 12th century western tower. The remainder of the church is testament to a substantial rebuild during the late 13thn and 14th centuries. The intersected tracery characteristic of the Decorated style can be found in the northern aisle whilst the tower top and the embattlements found throughout were added in the 14th century and are Perpendicular in style. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive. The church sits at the end of Church Lane where there is room for a car to squeeze in outside the wooden gates that grant entry. The churchyard whilst compact has few obstacles to photography.