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Denham
"DENHAM (Stat., G.W. Ry. and L. & N.E. Ry., 1 m.) is
remarkable for its many examples, in and near, of medieval domestic
architecture. It is a delightful old-world village with a single street
of pituresque houses; large elm trees, pleasant meadows, and little
streams, among which it lies - characteristic of the valley of the Colne
- add to the charm of the place. The church, of flint, is agreeably
placed among overhanging trees at the SE. end of the village."
[Buckinghamshire, by E.S. Roscoe]
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Bibliography
The following reference sources have been used in the construction of this
page, and may be referred to for further detail. Most if not all of these
volumes are available in the Reference section of the County Library in
Aylesbury.
"Buckinghamshire", E.S. Roscoe, London Methuen & Co Ltd, 1935.
"Buckinghamshire Contributions for Ireland 1642", Wilson J., 1983.
"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851",
Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire", Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., 1925.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire",
Page W. ed., 1905-1928
"War Memorials and War Graves: Burnham and area, Volume 13", Peter
Quick.
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Cemeteries
War Memorials
War memorials in Denham have been transcribed by Peter Quick, and published
in a booklet entitled "War Memorials and War Graves: Burnham and area,
Volume 13", available from the Buckinghamshire
Genealogical Society.
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Census
In 1798 the Posse
Comitatus listed 204 men between the ages of 16 and 60 in Denham.
In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 796 inhabitants in 164
families living in 150 houses recorded in Denham.
| Census Year |
Population of Denham |
| 1801* |
796 |
| 1811* |
1000 |
| 1821* |
1189 |
| 1831* |
1169 |
| 1841 |
1264 |
| 1851 |
1062 |
| 1861 |
1068 |
| 1871 |
1234 |
| 1881 |
1254 |
| 1891 |
1242 |
| 1901** |
1146 |
* = No names were recorded in census documents from 1801 to 1831.
** = Census documents from 1901 to 1991 are only available in summary form.
Names are witheld under the 100 year rule.
Microfilm copies of all census enumerators' notebooks for 1841 to 1891 are
held at the Local Studies Libraries at Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as well as
centrally at the PRO. A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is
printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.
Availability of census transcripts and indexes.
- 1851 - Full transcripts and indexes in both hard copy and on
microfiche are avialable for all Buckinghamshire parishes from the Buckinghamshire
Family History Society.
- 1881
- Available on CD-ROM from the Church of the Latter Day Saints, as part
of the National 1881 Census Index.
- Available on CD-ROM for Buckinghamshire, with advanced search and
mapping capabilities etc. from Drake
Software.
- 1891 - Available on CD-ROM with advanced search and mapping
capabilities etc. from the Buckinghamshire
Genealogical Society.
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Church History
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Church Records
The original copies of the parish registers for St Mary, Denham have been
deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the
following years:
| Event |
Dates covered |
| Christenings |
1564 - 1943 |
| Marriages |
1569 - 1971 |
| Banns |
1754 - 1980 |
| Burials |
1569 - 1880 |
There are extracts from the Denham registers in the IGI from 1569 to 1812.
Copies or indexes to the parish registers are in the libraries of the
following societies who may be contacted for details of searches, copies and
their associated costs:
An ecclesiastical census was carried out throughout England on 30 March 1851
to record the attendance at all places of worship. These returns are in the
Buckinghamshire Record Office and have been published by the Buckinghamshire
Record Society (vol 27). The returns for Denham showed the following numbers:
| Church |
Attendance |
| Denham, St Mary |
180 - Morning General Congregation
100 - Morning Sunday Scholars
280 - Morning Total
140 - Afternoon General Congregation
100 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
240 - Afternoon Total
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| Denham, Wesleyan |
30 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars
30 - Afternoon Total
14 - Evening General Congregation
14 - Evening Total
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History & Descriptions
Denham was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:
DENHAM, in the hundred of Stoke and deanery of Burnham, lies two miles from
Uxbridge in Middlesex, near the road to High Wycombe. The manor was given to
the abbot and convent of Westminster in 1299. After the reformation it was
granted to the family of Peckham, who continued in possession of it till after
the death of Sir George Peckham, in 1586, when it was seized for a debt to the
crown. In 1596, the manor, Denham-Court, Denham-Place, and the advowson of the
rectory, were all demised to William Bowyer esq. to whom they were afterwards
granted in fee. Sir Roger Hill, who was sheriff of the county in 1673,
purchased the manor, Denham-Place, and the advowson, of the Bowyers; they are
now by female descent the property of Benjamin Way esq.
Denham Place, the seat of Mr. Way, is a large brick mansion, built by Sir
Roger Hill, on the site of an old house belonging to the Peckhams. The chapel
is fitted up with mantled wainscot and carving, in the style which prevailed
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The windows are ornamented with coats of arms
in stained glass. In the library is a very curious picture of the house of
commons, with portraits of the members. The dresses are of the age of Charles
II. and it is probable that it represents the parliament of 1679, in which Sir
Roger Hill was one of the members for Amersham: William Williams was then
speaker.
Denham-Court continues in the Bowyer family; William Bowyer the grantee,
afterwards Sir William Bowyer knt. Was one of the tellers of the Exchequer;
his grandson, of the same name, was created a baronet in 1660. The present
proprietor of Denham-Court is Sir George Bowyer, in whom two titles are
united, for his father, the late gallant Admiral, who possessed Radley in
Berkshire by inheritance from the Stonhouses, was created a baronet in 1794,
in the life-time of his elder brother, the late Sir William Bowyer. The manor
of Denham-Durdants, formerly the property of an ancient family of that name,
who were settled at Denham from the year 1259, till 1414, or perhaps later,
and afterwards belonging to the Savoy hospital, was given by King Edward VI.
to the citizens of London, towards the endowment of St. Thomas's Hospital.
In the parish church are several monuments, both ancient and modern, among
the former are some brass plates of the Durdant family above-mentioned; that
of Agnes Jordan, the last abbess of Syon; an altar tomb, in memory of Sir
Edmund Peckham, who died in 1570 with the effigies of himself and his lady,
and that of his son Sir Robert Peckham, privy counsellor to Queen Mary, who
married one of the coheiresses of the last Lord Bray, and died in 1569, being
then on his travels, and was buried in the church of St. Gregory at Rome: his
heart was deposited at Denham, pursuant to his own request. Among the more
modern monuments is a series of plain mural tablets, in memory of the Bowyer
family, including the late baronet, who died in 1799. The earliest is that of
Sir William Bowyer knt. Grantee of the manor, who dies in 1616. There are
monuments also for the families of Hill, Lockey, and Way, connected by
marriage.
Names, Geographical
The name Denham derives from the words denu
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