Gayhurst

Gayhurst is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.[2] It is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) NNW of Newport Pagnell, and 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Central Milton Keynes.

For other uses, see Gayhurst (disambiguation).

Gayhurst
Gayhurst is located in Buckinghamshire
Gayhurst
Gayhurst
Location within Buckinghamshire
Population128 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP849466
Civil parish
  • Gayhurst
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWPORT PAGNELL
Postcode districtMK16
Dialling code01908
PoliceThames Valley
FireBuckinghamshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

The village name is an Old English language word meaning 'wooded hill where goats are kept'.[3] In the Domesday Book in 1086 it was recorded as Gateherst; later names include Goathurst.[4] At that time the manor was owned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.[4]

History

In 1582, Queen Elizabeth I made a grant of Gayhurst Manor "in the event of its reversion to the Crown" to Sir Francis Drake,[4] but there is no record that he ever received it. The house once belonged to Sir Everard Digby (1578–1606),[5] one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.[4] His son, Sir Kenelm Digby (1603–1665), was an English courtier, diplomat, natural philosopher and astrologer.[6] He was born at Gayhurst.

Gayhurst had an outstation from the Bletchley Park codebreaking establishment, where one of the Bombes used to decode German Enigma messages in World War Two were housed.[7]

Listed buildings and structures

The parish has two buildings listed at Grade I,[8] five at Grade II* and 20 at grade II.[9] The (Grade I listed) Church of St Peter was built in the classical style in 1728 to replace a medieval church; the designer is unknown.[10]

References
  1. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Gayhurst (E04001254)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. "Contact your Parish, Town or Community Council". Milton Keynes Council. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  3. "Key to English place names". Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  4. William Paige, ed. (1927). "Parishes : Gayhurst". A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria History of the Counties of England. Vol. 4. Constable & Co. Ltd. pp. 343–347.
  5. Yorke, Philip Chesney (1911). "Digby, Sir Everard" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). pp. 260–261.
  6. Yorke, Philip Chesney (1911). "Digby, Sir Kenelm" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). pp. 261–262.
  7. "Historic England Research Records | Gayhurst House". Historic Gateway. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  8. Historic England. "Flat numbers 13 to 26, Gayhurst Court (1115951)". National Heritage List for England.;
    Historic England. "Church of St Peter, Gayhurst Court (1211931)". National Heritage List for England.
  9. "Search Results for 'Gayhurst'". Historic England. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  10. Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 127
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