Quainton

Quainton Windmill is a historic windmill in the village of Quainton, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom.The 70 ft (20m) six-storey brick tower mill, built 1830–32, is one of the most visible buildings in the village. Derelict for most of the 20th century, it has now been restored and can grind wheat into flour. The windmill was built by James Anstiss and it is still owned by his direct descendants. It is the tallest windmill in Buckinghamshire.The mill had a steam engine installed early in its working life. Until 1881, it was wind-driven, but milling came to an end in 1900. The building remained unused as a mill, without a cap or sails, until 1974, when the owner formed the Quainton Windmill Society, with the aim of restoring the windmill. The Society spent 23 years undertaking restoration work. In 1997, milling was re-established. In 2013 English Heritage and The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have upgraded the listing status of the mill from Grade II to Grade II* for the following principal reasons: Architectural interest: the windmill reflects in its design and machinery the specific function it was intended to fulfil and how it was adapted to meet changes in technology and in the economy; Intactness: the original mill machinery and fittings are intact and in working order; Rarity: it is an example of a tall six-storey windmill and is the third tallest windmill in England. It was altered to be operated by an auxiliary steam engine which unusually was placed within the structure of the mill.An external survey was carried out on 2 October by Oxley Conservation and Bonwick Milling Heritage Consultancy. Using a giant “cherry- picker” enabling them to closely examine the structure of the mill and to provide a detailed report of its condition. The report states: ‘The extent of decay suffered is such that the head frame timbers have been significantly weakened and will be particularly vulnerable to failure in adverse weather conditions [high winds]; this risk is heightened by the sails and fantail which will exert tremendous forces on the timbers.’ With have agreement of English Heritage and the A.V.D.C. Historic Building Risk Officer the Sails and the Fantail were removed in December 2013 to reduce the stress on the timbers. The mill is open Sundays between 10am and 12.30pm between March and October.

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of which provides wheelchair access. Each side has a demonstration line with various workshop buildings as well as museum buildings.

Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in under-developed countryside near Quainton, in the English county of Buckinghamshire, 44 miles (71 km) from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd Duke of Buckingham to route the railway near his home at Wotton House and to open a railway station at the nearest point to it. Serving a relatively underpopulated area, Quainton Road was a crude railway station, described as "extremely primitive". The Duke of Buckingham built a short horse-drawn tramway to transport goods between his estates at Wotton and a terminus adjacent to the station. He extended it soon afterwards to provide a passenger service to the town of Brill, and the tramway was converted to locomotive operation, known as the Brill Tramway. All goods to and from the Brill Tramway passed through Quainton Road, making it relatively heavily used despite its geographical isolation, and traffic increased further when construction began on Ferdinand de Rothschild's mansion of Waddesdon Manor. The plan of extending the Brill Tramway to Oxford, which would have made Quainton Road a major junction station, was abandoned. Instead, the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway and the Brill Tramway were absorbed by London's Metropolitan Railway (MR), which already operated the line from Aylesbury to London. The MR rebuilt Quainton Road and re-sited it to a more convenient location, allowing through running between the Brill Tramway and the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway. When the Great Central Railway (GCR) from the north of England opened, Quainton Road became a significant junction at which trains from four directions met, and by far the busiest of the MR's rural stations. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public ownership to become the Metropolitan line of the London Passenger Transport Board's London Underground, including Quainton Road. The LPTB aimed to move away from freight operations, and saw no way in which the rural parts of the MR could be made into viable passenger routes. In 1935 the Brill Tramway was closed. From 1936 Underground trains were withdrawn north of Aylesbury, leaving the London and North Eastern Railway (successor to the GCR) as the only operator using the station, although Underground services were restored for a short period in the 1940s. In 1963 stopping passenger services were withdrawn but fast passenger trains continued to pass through. In 1966 the line was closed to passenger traffic and local goods trains ceased using the station. The line through the station was singled and used by occasional freight trains only. In 1969 the Quainton Road Society was formed with the aim of preserving the station. In 1971, it absorbed the London Railway Preservation Society, taking over its collection of historic railway equipment including many locomotives, and passenger and non-passenger rolling stock. The station was fully restored and reopened as a museum, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. In addition to the locomotives, stock, and original station buildings, the museum has also acquired the former Oxford Rewley Road railway station and a London Transport building from Wembley Park, both of which have been reassembled on the site. Although no scheduled trains pass through Quainton Road, the station remains connected to the railway network. Freight trains still use this line, and passenger trains still call at the station for special events at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshire) to the east, the Chiltern Hills to the south and South Oxfordshire to the west. It is named after Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire. Winslow and Buckingham are among the larger towns in the vale. The bed of the vale is largely made up of clay that was formed at the end of the ice age. In the 2011 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 174,900. In the 2001 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 165,748, representing an increase since 1991 of 18,600 people. About half of those live in the county town Aylesbury.

Waddesdon is a closed station that served the village of Waddesdon and its manor, to the north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The station is not to be confused with Waddesdon Road railway station at the other end of the Waddesdon Manor estate on the Brill Tramway.

Hogshaw is a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It comprises the two ancient villages of Hogshaw and Fulbrook, although they no longer have an individual identity. It is in the Aylesbury Vale, between East Claydon and Quainton. The village name 'Hogshaw' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Hogg's brook' (where 'Hogg' is someone's personal name). In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Hoggsceaga. The village name 'Fulbrook' is also Anglo Saxon, and means 'foul brook'. In the Domesday Book it was recorded as Fulebroc. Anciently the parish was in the possession of the Knights Templar and, when that order was abolished, the Knights Hospitaller. It began as the Hogshaw Nunnery and then became the Hogshaw Commandery in the 15th century. However, in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1547, the parish was seized by the Crown. It was after this time that the villages become depopulated. It was in 1720 that the church was officially depopulated for financial reasons, and the remaining villagers forced to worship at East Claydon. The church was demolished shortly after. All that remains of the two villages today is seven houses.

Shipton Lee is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Quainton, in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. In 1881 the parish had a population of 61. From 1866 to 1886 Shipton Lee was a civil parish in its own right. On 25 March 1886 the parish was abolished and merged with Quainton.

Hogshaw Nunnery was a nunnery in Hogshaw, Buckinghamshire, England. In the 15th century it became the Hogshaw Commandery, associated with the Knights Templar.

Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone. Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making enterprises.

St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Waddesdon is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire.

Waddesdon Church of England School is a mixed secondary school in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire. In September 2011 the school became an Academy. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately 1000 pupils, including a sixth form of approximately 200 students. It is a Church of England school and is the only CofE secondary school in Buckinghamshire. It is administered by the Oxford Diocese. The school was opened in July 1962 with about 200 students. It was built on land from the Waddesdon Manor estate, which was donated by Dorothy de Rothschild. The school maintains a close relationship with the Rothschild family and the school badge combines the five arrows from the Rothschild coat of arms with the Christian symbol of the cross. Ofsted has judged the school to be "outstanding" on three successive inspections, and the school is included in Ofsted's outstanding providers list.Waddesdon School was awarded Beacon school status in September 1998 and this was renewed in March 2001. The Beacon Schools programme was phased out in 2005 and was replaced with the Leading Edge Partnership programme. In September 2004, Waddesdon became the lead school in the Aylesbury Vale Leading Edge Partnership, which also included The Grange School and Quarrendon School. In September 2003 the school was awarded specialist school status as a Visual Arts College, by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In December 2007 the school was awarded a second specialism in Mathematics and Computing. Since September 2006, Waddesdon has been part of the Buckingham School Sports Partnership. The partnership is led by the Buckingham School, which has specialist Sports College status, and also includes the Cottesloe and Royal Latin secondary schools, as well as about forty local primary schools. Waddesdon School also has Sportsmark status from Sport England, recognising its PE and games provision.

Wormstone (also Warmstone) is a hamlet in the parish of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located just south-south east of the main village. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the hamlet was one fifth of the fiefdom of Wallingford.