Featured image – Swanbourne ladies in the 1880s. Below left:- Digitally enhanced photograph of the old Vicarage in 1858, just before it was demolished.  Previously, there only seemed to be a painting of the old Vicarage, and this photograph never seems to have been found by Ken Reading.  The newly discovered photograph has been digitally enhanced […]

Swanbourne and the Crimean War By Ken Harris The Crimean War was fought between Russia and Turkey between 1853 and 1856, with Britain and France joining with Turkey in 1854.  Its most famous battle was the Battle of Balaclava, largely on account of the celebrated, although disastrous, ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. Whilst we have no reason […]

Lace-making (Bucks Lace) By Frankie Fisher Lace-making was a cottage industry carried out by women, mainly as a supplement to the family income, although for some women it was their sole source of income. As it required more skill than straw-plaiting, it was generally carried out by older women. The centre for the local industry […]

The Four Admirals of Swanbourne. By Ken Harris Despite being an inland village, Swanbourne can boast of having had 4 admirals, all with the surname Fremantle, living in the village, all bar the first having been born here. The first of these admirals was Thomas Francis Fremantle (1765 – 1819), a close friend and colleague […]

Historic Private Houses Interpretation by Clive Rodgers The oldest private house in Swanbourne is likely to be Brook Farm Cottage (see below) which could date back to about 1400. Photographs RIGHT:- Brises farmhouse, lived in by William Deverell, Chief Constable of Cottesloe Hundred (1700). Owned by Newman Williat in 1762 who had a large wedge […]

(1) Interviews, Video clips and Autobiography of Jack Campbell (age 94) JACK CAMPBELL – Long time resident of Swanbourne, interviewed by Frankie Fisher and Clive Rodgers on 12.12.2012, aged 94 and three months before he died.  Written transcription by Vanda Bennett. For the full PDF copy of the first interview transcription, click HERE:-  Interview 1 Jack Campbell. Photographs of Jack […]

Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Woburn Abbey ownerships and the transfer of power at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. By Clive Rodgers 1066 Harold Godwinson owned part of Swanbourne as one of four manors, but may have held its overlordship. CLICK HERE to link to Anglo-Saxon Swanbourne, AD600-1066 1066 After the conquest, William initially took over the Overlordship of […]

Buxlow Farm Lyn Jones kindly provided the photographs of the Buxlow Farm buildings It seems reasonable to speculate that the name Buxlow was most likely  linked to the Anglo-Saxon chieftain Bucca, who also gave his name to Buckingham. Buxlow was awarded to William Deverell at Enclosure, but the Pre-enclosure map of 1762 shows no  farm  or  buildings  on […]

Emma Bolton – a Domestic Servant at Swanbourne House By Ken Harris and Linda Rodgers It started with a photograph of an elderly woman sitting in a greenhouse (see below), and an inscription on the back saying simply ‘Miss Bolton, Swanbourne House’. But who was she and what could we find out about her? A […]

The Enclosure Act of 1762 View a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation on Swanbourne Enclosure (by Ken Harris) taken from the presentation evening in Swanbourne Village Hall in November, 2012:- Enclosure Presentation by Ken Harris Enclosures (or Inclosures) were encouraged by 18th Century governments in an attempt to improve agricultural efficiency.  The Swanbourne Enclosure Act […]