Winslow History

Shipton

The hamlet of Shipton is mentioned by that name in the Hundred Rolls of 1279 (although A. Clear, The King's Village in Demesne, p.42, says it already occurs in charters of Henry I and II). As it had its own field system, it must have existed as a separate community by the 10th century, and it probably corresponds to Lygetun in the charter of 792. It was included with Winslow in Domesday Book, and became part of Winslow parish. It was treated as a separate unit in the medieval Court Books, and appears to have had a similar sized population to Little Horwood and Granborough. In the 1522 Certificate of Musters, 21 names of householders were listed under Shipton compared to 21 for Granborough and 28 for Little Horwood. Its three open fields (Licehill, Red or Varnham and Blackgrove) can be seen on the Fortescue map of 1599.

Some Court Book entries:

1336: Geoffrey Scot surrendered into the lord's hands two and a half acres of land with appurtenances in Schiptonfeld, as they lie in five parcels over Farnham. And the lord handed over the aforesaid land with appurtenances to Richard of Cherdesle.

1370: The lord granted to William Bates a cultivation called Longeheuedelondes lying next to the Cross of Shipton [?the crossroads], to hold for himself and his heirs from the Michaelmas after the date of the court to the end of the next 21 years, paying the lord for it annually 4s on the four usual dates in equal instalments, etc.

1428: Ralph Clerk surrendered into the lord's hands 7 acres of land in the field of Shypton in various parcels, of which a half-acre lies at Shiptonbrygge; a half-acre lies at the Lowe; a half-acre lies at Thorne; a half-acre lies in Reton; a half-acre lies at Brodelytuldon; another half-acre lies in the same place; a half-acre lies at Elledlayne; a half-acre lies at Shortbenehulle; a half-acre lies at Fletelonde; a half-acre lies at Farenhamden; a half-acre lies below Hiestre; a half-acre lies over the Slo; another half-acre lies in the Croft; another half-acre lies in the same place with part of a hedge there and between the land of William Boton and the king's highway. And the lord granted all the aforesaid lands with appurtenances to John Evresdon, to hold for himself and his heirs in villeinage, at the lord's will, through services, etc. Fine: 7s.

Map of Shipton Three upright skeletons were found when digging a sandpit on Rands Farm, c.1930, possibly from a burial mound. A ghost known as "Sieve-Guts" was believed to haunt the area, representing an oral tradition that a battle took place there in the Saxon period.

In 1633, Richard Snow entailed 67.5 acres of land to his daughter Katherine, wife of Ralph Phippes, and her heirs. Most of the land was in Shipton, and the court records provide a detailed list of furlongs in each of Shipton's three fields: see the full document.

In 1730 there was a dispute between the inhabitants of Shipton and the Vicar of Winslow about their obligation to pay "tithe milk": see the full document.

Shipton was enclosed by act of Parliament in 1745, and that appears to have led to depopulation. Only Rands Farm retained its function as a farmhouse; its land was most of the former Blackgrove Field. Red Hall Farm was created in the middle of what had previously been open fields: Red Field and Shipton Cowpasture. Other former farmhouses now became labourers' cottages. Two of these survive as Grade 2-listed buildings:

Rosemary Cottage is a 17th-century timber-framed thatched 2-bay house with brick infill on the ground floor and plaster on the first floor.
The Pyghtle is a 16th-century timber-framed thatched 3-bay house with herringbone brick infill. It has a Royal Exchange fire insurance plaque.

Rosemary Cottage and The Pyghtle after the realignment of the main road

About five more house platforms were visible in 1971 on the same alignment, which is where the road to Swanbourne originally ran; they are less easy to identify now. There were at least six more houses on the brow of the hill, one of which had stone mullioned windows (Clear, p.117). Many of the former farmhouses fell into decay (see below), and one was used as a "pest-house". Three surviving ones were demolished in 1932 when the road to Aylesbury was widened.

Shipton Bridge

Shipton Bridge was rebuilt in 1836 (see photo above) as part of an improvement to the turnpike from Whitchurch to Winslow which also involved the demolition of a house and realignment of the road to its present course (see 1822 map below). This bridge now forms a lay-by and the main road runs over a modern (1932) bridge to the east.

In the 1841 census, excluding farmers, there were 14 households in Shipton with a total of 75 occupants, an exceptionally high density in Winslow. In 1851, Shipton had seven cottages in "London Road" and four in "Swanbourne Road" occupied by labourers and lace-makers. There were also two farmers (Thomas Edwin at Rands Farm and John Woodward at Redhall Farm), one proprietor of land (Thomas Clark) and one grazier (Ann Burgess).

In 1891, there were eleven labourers' cottages on the north side of Swanbourne Road, and nine more along the main road - perhaps some of this was due to sub-division of the existing houses. The Cottage, the last house along Swanbourne Road before Red Hall Farm, was occupied by Thomas Woodward, retired farmer. The Pyghtle seems to have been divided in two, occupied by Thomas Foskett (described as a small landowner) with his wife (a laundress), niece and a boarder, and by William Keys, a carpenter, with his wife and 6 children. Edward Collier, school attendance officer, appears to have lived at Rosemary Cottage.

On 24 June 1896, the following properties in Shipton were sold by Wigleys (the sale notice is on display in the Bell Hotel):

A neat brick and slated house, newly erected and substantially built, situate at Shipton, facing the Main Road, late in the occupation of Mrs Wilmore, deceased. Estimated Annual Rental £6 10s. [This does not seem to be listed in the 1891 census]
4 brick-built and slated cottages, severally in the occupation of Mrs Brockless, Mrs Bowler, Samuel Norman, and one vacant, at the following rents, when all let: three at 1s 8d per week & one at 1s 9d. [These were in Swanbourne Road]
4 brick-built and thatched and partly slated and tiled cottages with gardens, severally in the occupation of George Warner, Chas. Budd, Wm. Walker, and one vacant, at the following rents, when all let: two at 1s 8d per week each, one at 2s 0d, and one at 1s 6d.
A close of building or garden land, with capital frontage to the main Road, and let to Jno. Ray at £1 per annum. This Lot contains about 3 roods and 20 poles, and is situate at the junction of the Swanbourne and Aylesbury Roads. It is Copyhold of the Manor of Winslow.

Jubilee Cottages, which were built at the time of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 on the plot of building land sold in 1896 fill (along with the post-enclosure Shipton Farm, called Bridge Farm on the Bryant map of 1824-5) part of the gap which had previously existed between Winslow and Shipton. Shipton Mead on Swanbourne Road (early 20th century) was developed as a hunting box by Sir Richard Cruse. Further development took place in the 1990s when several old cottages on Swanbourne Road were replaced by modern houses (see below).

In this photo (c.1910), looking towards Winslow, the roads from Aylesbury and Swanbourne join. The edge of Jubilee Cottages can be seen on the left, behind the newly installed telegraph poles for the London to Holyhead line.

This plan dating from 1822 shows how the main road was realigned. Buildings are marked in red. Only the three whose modern names have been added still exist.

This cottage is probably one of those demolished in 1932. The photo shows how the timber-framed farmhouses fell into decay when they lost their original function after enclosure.

These cottages next to Swanbourne Road, photographed in 1989, were demolished in the 1990s to be replaced by larger new houses.

This view looking south (c.1910) shows Rosemary Cottage and the Pyghtle on the left and one of the demolished cottages on the right.

Cottages in Shipton, children playing around the road

	These two photos looking down the hill towards Shipton Bridge from roughly the same position show some of the changes made by the road improvements in the 1930s. The lower one was taken in 1966.