A soup kitchen in late nineteenth-century Swanbourne by Phil Carstairs PhD For many of the residents of late nineteenth-century Swanbourne, times were hard. The parish was largely a farming community; its three cottage industries, lace-making, straw-plaiting, and boot and shoe making were in terminal decline; the latter which had employed people from eight households in […]
The Fremantle Family By Ken Harris Family tree charts updated by Clive and Linda Rodgers (2025) The Fremantle Family Tree- Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle (1765-1819) Fremantles have lived in Swanbourne since 1798. In the Summer of that year, Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle purchased The Old House, and a few small fields, as a home for […]
Lords Cottesloe – The Lords in the family tree. Family tree charts are by Linda Rodgers Five generations of the Swanbourne Fremantle family have a Lord Cottesloe. They are indicated within the family tree below, and starting with Thomas Francis Fremantle, the son of the Napoleonic War hero of the same name. He was born […]
Where did they go? By Linda Rodgers (c) Copyright 2025 Movement of individuals and families are traced by combining Parish Records with Census data. These are all the names of persons who were born in Swanbourne but have subsequently moved away. The data also provide a check as to whether persons being researched were born […]
FREE ACCESS to complete CENSUS RECORDS of Swanbourne in searchable Excel format to download. Transcribed by Linda Rodgers (c) Copyright 2025 The data is provided in searchable EXCEL format (security coded as they are copyright). To search a surname, click on the box above the surname column. Only leave the name sought ticked in the box. […]
Key dates in the History of Swanbourne A summary agreed by The Swanbourne History Group, containing links to relevant articles within the Website 792 First mention of ‘Suanaburna’ in a document relating to King Offa’s grant of land to St Albans. 1066 Norman Conquest – Saxon lands taken over by Norman warlords. 1086 The […]
Betsey Wynne 1778 – 1857 By Ken Harris Betsey Wynne was the second of five sisters, born 19th April 1778 to Richard Wynne and his French wife Agnethe Camille de Royer. Richard Wynne, who was born in Venice, and lived much of his early life on the continent, had inherited a large estate at Falkingham […]
Battle of Britain (1940) and Anthony Bartley. By Clive Rodgers Squadron Leader Anthony Charles Bartley DFC (28 March 1919 — 18 April 2001) was an RAF Hurricane and Spitfire fighter ace who was awarded the DFC after scoring eight victories against enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain. He was born in Dacca (British India) the son of […]
The GURNETT Family of Swanbourne (Updated to include the story of Edward Gurnett, December 2023) by Neil Rees The Gurnett Surname Gurnett is an uncommon surname whose origin is not known. There is also a fish called the gurnet, and there is a place called Gurnet Point near Cape Cod in Massachusetts. In England there is a place […]
Copies of PowerPoints used at Swanbourne History Evening Events Author:- Clive Rodgers 1. PDF copy of:- From Swanbourne’s Pre-History to AD 1600 evening lecture summary from 8th November, 2013. 2. PDF copy of Geology & Archaeology of Swanbourne & North Bucks from October, 2012:- The Earth History of Swanbourne & Aylesbury Vale 3. […]