Hanslope
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Infobox England place UA Hanslope is a village in the home counties of England. It is located to the north of the traditional county of Buckinghamshire, lying within the Borough of Milton Keynes. It is about 4 miles (6 km) WNW of Newport Pagnell and 4 miles (6 km) north of Stony Stratford.
Previously called Hanslape from the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 right through to the Victorian era, it refers in Old English to a muddy place or slope belonging to a man called Hama.
There was once a castle in the parish (that later became Castlethorpe), that was the seat of Lord Mauduit. In 1215 Mauduit had started a rebellion against King John of England and was defeated in battle by the king's men. Following King John's death however, Mauduit reclaimed his seat and founded a grand park in the parish, remnants of which can still be found in Hanslope today. The castle building has long since disappeared, though the grassy mounds of the motte-and-bailey groundworks can still be clearly seen.
In the medieval period it was a market town, granted in 1293.
In the Victorian period, most of the inhabitants of the village were employed in the manufacture of lace. This was a common trade in Buckinghamshire, and Hanslope lace was renowned for being a particularly fine example.
A prominent feature of the village is the parish church, St James the Great. The church spire is exceptionally high (180 feet, almost 55m) and, because the village is already on a ridge, it can be seen from a very wide radius. The claim that "before air pollution, it could be seen from London" seems fanciful. The church has an open day in the summer when the tower is open to the public.
Approximately half a mile south-east of the village lies Hanslope Park. Once the manorial estate of the village, it is now owned by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and is home to Her Majesty's Government Communications Centre; which researches, designs, develops and produces communications systems and equipment and related hardware and software. It is rumoured also to be home to the Technical Security Department of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).