Winslow History | News / events

Heritage Open Days
Friday 11 Sep 2026	Winslow History Walk: Shopkeepers, Innkeepers, Craftspeople Click here for full details	*Keach's Meeting House, 11:00*
Saturday 12 Sep	"Buckinghamshire’s First Feminist Poet: Fyge Egerton (1668–1723) and her Life at Shenley" - talk by David Noy. Full details available soon	*Shenley Heritage Day, 11:00*
Thursday 17 Sep	"Buckinghamshire’s First Feminist Poet: The Life of Sarah Fyge Egerton (1668–1723) and her Death at Winslow" - talk by David Noy. Click here for full details	St Laurence Church, 19:30
Friday 18 Sep	Winslow History Walk: Lawyers, Doctors, Teachers Click here for full details	*28 High Street, 14:00*
Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society
Sunday 2 Aug 2026	BAS will have the Community Stall at Winslow Farmers' Market: books for sale, guided walks around Winslow, and a chance to find out about the Hidden Bucks project	Farmers' Market, 10:00-13:00; guided walks start at 11:00 and 12:00 (no need to book)
Sat 26 Sep	Buckinghamshire Local History Network: Full details available soon	Beaconsfield Film School

News

NEW BOOK: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE'S FIRST FEMINIST POET - THE LIFE OF SARAH FYGE EGERTON 1668-1723

Sarah Fyge Egerton came from a Winslow family and was second cousin of William Lowndes who built Winslow Hall. She was buried in St Laurence Church which still has her silver salver. She published her first feminist poem at the age of 17 and lived an eventful life which involved being ‘exiled’ to Shenley by her father, two unfortunate marriages, a brief period in the London literary scene, an attempt to divorce her second husband (the rector of Adstock), unsuccessful pursuit of a married man, and a very public quarrel with another woman writer. David Noy has written the first full biography of her, using newly discovered sources to put her in her local and national context.

The book’s 275 pages also include sections on the Fyges of Winslow and Egertons of Adstock, maps and family trees, and the texts of some of the poems. It is available from the Bucks Archaeological Society (https://bas1.org.uk/) for £16 + p&p. If you’re in Winslow you can get it for £16 direct from David Noy (16 McLernon Way, tel. 0771 3641238, d.noy@btinternet.com). Click here for more information (PDF).

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, How One Man Transformed a Town: Winslow 1640–1770 and William Lowndes (Bucks Archaeological Society, 2020): £12
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

5 June 2026	William Ovitts (?1743-1830): page revised with new information
23-24 May	Photos of gravestones added to Sear family and Sear's (High Street) Photos of gravestones of Silvanus Jones, Saley Lamburn Newly discovered engraving of Winslow Hall (early 19th century?)
29 April	Valuation of furniture of Richard Gibbs, 1878 (87 High Street)
26-27 April	Will of George George, corn dealer, 1905 (proved 1916): lived at 10 Church Street Executors' accounts for the estate of Thomas Wilson of Shipton Farm (1805-32)
24-25 April	Will of Ann Barbara Jones, widow, 1901 (proved 1902): she lived at Blake House Will of Bendigo Walker, retired fruiterer, 1913: his shop was at 20 High Street Will of Edmund Bentley, retired huntsman, 1900 (proved 1904): lived at 14 Buckingham Road
20 April	Will of John Ardens of Addington, 1560
14 April	Board of Guardians: outdoor relief, 1857-58
12 April	James Burnham jr was coroner in 1819 when a murder took place at Little Horwood
10 April	Will of George Davys Edward Wigley, auctioneer, 1903 (proved 1907) Obituary of George Gibbs, 1944: the end of the surname in Winslow
20 March	Will of Hannah Gibbs, widow, 1918 (proved 1930)
11-12 March	Will of Henry Smith, valet, 1926: Captain Lambton's valet Will of Martha Anne King, spinster, 1916 (proved 1922): secretary of the Winslow Lace Industry Will of Arthur Grace, blacksmith, 1929 (proved 1932): 3rd generation of the blacksmiths in Horn Street
8-9 March	Will of James Caleb Hawley, 1929 (proved 1932): 3rd generation of the grocers at 6 High Street Will of William Hall Stevens, tailor, 1892 (proved 1930) Will of Florence Mary Stevens, spinster, 1920 (proved 1932)
5 March	Will of Mabel Nora Dodge, spinster, 1912 (proved 1914) Travelling theatre, 1911: a very popular company performed in a temporary building in Swan Field
3 March	Will of Harriett Colgrove, Winslow, 1915 (proved 1916): the first reference to a sewing machine in Winslow
2 March	Chancery case about the estate of T.P. Willis: announcement of the final dividend to creditors (18%) Will of Henry Ingram: dispute in 1912 Obituary of Ezra Braggins (1844-1912) Death of William John Jones, brother of Henry Arthur and son of Silvanus Additions from 1912 to: Winslow United FC, Oddfellows (opening of a female lodge), Baptist Tabernacle, Board of Guardians, Oak Lodge, King's Head, Don Slate Club
26 Feb	Will of Hannah Bull, widow, 1915 (proved 1920): probably the most irregularly written Winslow will which was ever allowed to stand New Post Office, 1912 Congregational Sunday School: performance of "Queen of the Seasons", with photo Additions from 1912 to: Verney Road, Miniature Rifle Club, Market Square, Oddfellows, Frances Black (sale of furniture), Flower Show, Workhouse, Grace Brothers, Redfield, Tennis,
23 Feb	Will of William Wise, stone mason, 1929, and obituary: builder of the Post Office and 61-71 High Street
20 Feb	Will of George Stevens, carpenter, 1920 (proved 1928)
17-18 Feb	Will of Ann Odell, spinster, 1911 (proved 1919): owner of two houses in Park Road Will of Clara King, spinster, 1908 (proved 1923): last of her branch of the family in Winslow
11 Feb	Will of Emma Holt, 1920: retired farmer living at 162 High Street Will of Elizabeth Holt, widow, 1920 (proved 1921): another retired farmer
5 Feb	Will of Mary Fall of Addington, widow, 1723/4 (proved 1724/5) Will of Mary Fall of Addington, spinster, 1726/7 (proved 1729/30): mother and sister of Philippa Markham of Winslow and Sarah Mayne of Hoggeston Will of Mary Ann Benbow, High Street, Winslow, 1908 (proved 1924) Will of Alice Mynott, High Street, Winslow, 1917 (proved 1928) Will of Edward Denton, hawker, of the Boot Inn, 1920 (proved 1922)
4 Feb	Will of Frances Meakes of Addington, widow, 1699 (proved 1702) Will of John Meaks of Addington, 1701 (proved 1703) Will of Joseph Meaks of Addington, widower, 1724 (proved 1725)
3 Feb	Winslow Gas Company: Letter to George Cowley, 1845 Register of Electors, 1868: 52 voters
2 Feb	Will of George Whichello, retired postman, 1914 (proved 1916): most of his money was to be used for charitable purposes Will of William Major, retired Dissenting minister, 1893 (proved 1904): Congregational minister of Great Horwood Will of Ellis Bartlett Hayman of Ashmead, Shipton, 1920 (proved 1923): a retired stockbroker who built Ashmead Will of William French, bill poster, 1904
19 Jan	The Angel: newly discovered advertising board for "Thomas Foster's best Virginia tobacco" added Will of Charlotte King, spinster, 1892 (proved 1906): lived at 7 Station Road Will of Frederick Richard Matthews, builder, 1926 (proved 1931): last of the four generations of the Matthews family building firm
16 Jan	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.

Heritage Open Days