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HOW ONE MAN TRANSFORMED A TOWN:
WINSLOW 1640–1770 AND WILLIAM LOWNDES

Why does Winslow Hall dwarf the rest of the town? Why is there a vast open space in front of it? Why has Winslow got so many houses with a mixture of architectural styles from different centuries? Why are all the farmhouses hidden away in the fields?

This book tries to answer those questions, starting with Winslow in the 1640s when it was a town of small-scale farmers and craftsmen and had two visits from Oliver Cromwell. William Lowndes went off to London in 1667 and soon made enough money to start buying up land in Winslow and knocking down houses. He turned the town into a place where one family owned most of the land, and built a mansion in a style Winslow people had never seen. Meanwhile the Baptists became very influential for a time and built their own meeting house. Lowndes family money helped to create a town full of doctors and lawyers who modernised their houses, and the market and turnpike road provided business for inns and shops. The open fields were enclosed and farmers moved out into newly built farmhouses.

The book’s 386 pages also include ten detailed studies of Winslow families and 28 photos and maps. It is available from the Bucks Archaeological Society (https://bas1.org.uk/) for £11 + £3.50 p&p. If you’re in Winslow you can get it for £11 direct from David Noy (16 McLernon Way, tel.711683, d.noy@btinternet.com).

The Bucks Family History Society has published a transcription of the Winslow parish registers 1560-1901 on CD-ROM: click here to order

A transcription of the Winslow Congregational registers, with lists of members and abstracts of some minutes, is now available from the Eureka Partnership.

Winslow books for sale:

David Noy, Winslow in 1556: The Survey of the Manor (Bucks Archaeological Society, 2013): £5
David Noy, Winslow Manor Court Books 1327-1377 and 1423-1460 (2 vols, Bucks Record Society, 2011): £10 (drastically reduced price)
Alan Wigley, A Window on Winslow (Winslow, 1981): £5 - this contains many historical photos of Winslow

Please contact d.noy@btinternet.com for more information.

Additions to website

16 Jan 2026	The Three Tuns: this has now been identified as 24 High Street, and the early history of 26 High Street (King's Head) has been revised accordingly
15 Jan	Will of John Grace, blacksmith, 1905 (proved 1910)
13 Jan	Fire insurance: large number of policies added 1719-31 and 1774-91
11 Jan	Will of Elizabeth Mary Caroline Lambton, 1906 (proved 1917): of Redfield and Eaton Place, London Will of Herbert Bullock of Padbury and Winslow, solicitor, 1904 (proved 1907)
8 Jan	Sun Fire Insurance: list of policies 1714-31
7 Jan	Board of Guardians: appointment of medical officers, 1856
5 Jan	New pages: 16 High Street: a lawyer's and doctor's residence 18-20 High Street: at times a doctor's surgery and a greengrocer's 22 High Street (Three Pigeons until 1775): E.J. French's stationer's shop with a printing works behind
2-3 Jan	Vicarage Road: sale brochure for nos 7-15, 1946 Will of Edwin John French, printer and stationer, 1912 (proved 1915): lived at 22 High Street
31 Dec 2025	Will of Mary Blunsom, widow, 1897 (proved 1912): lived at 28 Buckingham Road Outdoor relief 1855-56
29-30 Dec	Sale of The Nag's Head and The Plough in 1874 to the brewers Wroughton & Threlfall Sale of 2-4 Vicarage Road in 1875 More about the property interests of Mary Brown née Budd (d.1875)
26 Dec	Will of Martha Ann Read, widow, 1894 (proved 1910): née Rawlins
21 Dec	Will of Frances Black, widow, 1910 (proved 1912): née Turnham, most of her beneficiaries were Ingrams
19 Dec	Will of Caroline Clarke Clear, 1905 (proved 1915): widow of the Winslow historian Arthur Clear Will of Eliza Egleton, 1899 (proved 1903): wife of George Egleton, grocer
12-13 Dec	1789-92 fire insurance policies for Francis Budd, John Gibbs, John Maydon, Paul Parkins, Thomas Read
10 Dec	Wills of Richard Betham of North Marston, yeoman, 1731 and Sarah Betham of North Marston, widow, 1732/3: ancestors of several Winslow and Granborough families
8 Dec	Crooked Billet: valuation, 1878, showing the stock kept by a Victorian pub Will of Edwin Gibbs, builder, 1887 (proved 1915) Will of Ellen Verey of Station Road, widow, 1904 (proved 1906) Kings Head: Will of Edward Arthur Lines, licensed victualler, 1905 (proved 1911)
1 Dec	New page: Accounts of Lancelot Wyatt and John Poulett, 1818-32. These accounts record payments to a large number of Winslow tradesmen and organisations made by his lawyer/agent on behalf of John Poulett of Addington House.
29-30 Nov	General elections, 1910 Additions for 1911 to Shipton; 27 Market Square; Church Room (formation of a Boy Scouts brigade); Don Slate Club
27-28 Nov	Additions for 1911 to Lee family; Redfield; Market Square; Congregational Church; Coronation Liberal celebration of Dec 1910 election Will of Herbert Bullock (d.1907) Information about Juliet Grace (1865-1948)
23 Nov	Additions for 1911 to Market Square; 5 Horn Street
21 Nov	Will of Robert Seaton of Gawcott, maltster, 1746 (proved 1748): a member of a Winslow family Additions for 1911 to George V's Coronation; Brook Hall; Church Houses
20 Nov	Additions for 1911 to Lace; Bell Hotel; Oddfellows Hall; Winslow Road Station; Flower Show; Church Room (Cricket Club AGM)
17-18 Nov	Church: design and installation of new organ, 1911 Additions for 1911 to Keach's Meeting House; Football; Workhouse; Bathing Place; Nag's Head;
14 Nov	Wills and administrations: summaries added 1903-1932
12 Nov	Will of Henry West of Gawcott, baker, 1722 (proved 1741): father-in-law of two members of the Seaton family of Winslow
7 Nov	Inventory of Richard Coxill, 1879: shows the range of goods made by a cooper
30-31 Oct	Lawsuit against Thomas Norcott, innholder, 1674 Lawsuit against Thomas Spooner for debt, 1677 and another for trespass, 1678 Lawsuit against William Norman, 1678 Extracts from Board of Guardians minutes, 1845 and Board of Guardians minutes, 1849
27 Oct	Lawsuit of Elizabeth Bampton & Elizabeth Styles of Little Horwood, 1674-82; one against William Illing Lawsuit against Thomas Johnson, butcher of Winslow, 1674
26 Oct	Catalogue of William Lowndes' library at Chesham, c.1718, including legal documents about his property at Winslow and elsewhere Will of Susannah Brack of Buckingham, widow, 1735 (proved 1736): one of her trustees was Joseph Bigg of Winslow 12 High Street: envelope sent to Henry Simmons, Inland Revenue officer boarding there in 1852
7 Oct	8 High Street: new information about Frederick Kennings
3 Oct	Manor court 1699: the full record of this court has now come to light in the Bodleian Library
30 Sep	69 Verney Road: photo of Thomas Roads-Merry added Gyles Family: new information from 1637
7 Sep	Will and obituary of Henry John Russell, mechanical engineer, 1893 (proved 1901): blacksmith and bicycle dealer at 3 High Street Will of Sarah Grace, widow, 1896 (proved 1901): widow of John Grace the schoolmaster, and a member of the Neal family of The Bell Will of Elizabeth Anne King, 1899 (proved 1900): lived at 10 High Street, widow of James King the auctioneer
5 Sep	Board of Guardians: outdoor relief and refractory Workhouse inmates, 1847-49
31 Aug	The Bell: article from the Sunday Express, 1966
10 Aug	Register of electors, 1884: over 140 names under the Third Reform Act, nearly trebling the number of voters in Winslow
2 Aug	Wills & administrations added for 1900-01 Will of Eli Goodger, brewer, 1898 (proved 1899): lived at 110 High Street Will of Joseph Turney, labourer, 1899: lived in Tinkers End Will of Saley Lamburn, widow, 1883 (proved 1899): lived at 33 Station Road Will of William Jones, innkeeper, 1865 (proved 1899): landlord of The Bull for 34 years Will of Thomas Hogg late of Nash, farmer, 1891 (proved 1897)