Aston Clinton VillageAston Clinton has a population of 3,542 people (2001 census) and is 3,809 acres (15 km²) in size, nestling in the lee of the Chiltern Hills situated midway between Tring and Aylesbury the county town of Buckinghamshire. It is located at the crossing of a roman road, Akeman Street and the prehistoric drovers route Icknield Way. Akeman Street was the route of a very busy trunk road (A41) running from London to Chester. From almost everywhere in the village there are frequent glimpses of the
The village name first made an appearance in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was called Estone, which in modern English means "eastern estate": possibly a reference to the village being an estate belonging to the manor of Aylesbury. However by 1237 the village had gained its own manor, which was owned by the de Clinton family, hence the name at that time of Aston de Clinton. A modern descendant of this family is Bill Clinton, former Presidentof the United States of America who once visited the village during a business trip to nearby Chequers. Aston Clinton developed along the A41 and as the road has been improved, access to the M25 has meant that the village has changed from being a satellite of Aylesbury, to being a village inhabited by those working in and around Apart from the
Lords of the Manor Lords of the Manor, or Squires, of Aston Clinton include the medieval Minshull family, Lord Lake of Delhi, and Sir Anthony de Rothschild. These three are remembered by hatchments hanging in the parish church. Sir Anthony de Rothschild came to live in Aston Clinton in 1853 and amongst his achievements was the establishment of the Chiltern Hills Spring Water Company. The Anthony Hall, now one of the villages' listed buildings, was given to the village by Lady de Rothschild in memory of her husband. It contains a painting of his two daughters Connie and Annie, who as children discovered that whereas boys were educated in the church school, girls were only allowed to attend a straw plaiting school situated in the main street. Although aged only eleven and nine respectively, the de Rothschild children took it upon themselves to teach the girls. Sir Anthony came to the rescue and built a girls school and subsequently, at her request, gave Connie an infants school for her sixteenth birthday present. The infants school, now part of Aston Clinton County Combined School, was rebuilt in 1887 and is surmounted by the Jubilee Clock, which was erected to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Cars Named After Aston Clinton Early in the 20th century Lionel Martin used to successfully race his cars in the hill climb events up Aston Hill; thus the name of Aston Martin was derived. Whirlwinds in Aston ClintonBy a quirk of nature, the village has suffered three whirlwinds. One in 1950 when extensive damage was done, including the lifting of the school roof, causing the school to be closed, one in the late 1970s and one in 1984. The latter ripped off roofs, moved fences and garden sheds, splintered green houses and bent many a television aerial.
|
|
 Printable Version |