Aston Clinton

Early history

It is believed that the village started at the crossing of two Roman roads, Akeman Street and Icknield Way, both of which are still main roads in the village. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it became a Saxon settlement and remains of a Saxon cemetery were found during the construction of the Aston Clinton Bypass.

Before the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the settlement was held by Wlwen probably under patronage of King Edward the Confessor. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 where in Old English it was called Estone, which means "eastern estate".

The manor, later to be known as Aston Clinton, was for a short period after 1100 under the control of Edward de Salisbury, who was King Henry I's standard-bearer. In 1217 King Henry III gave it to Sir William de Farendon. However, by 1237 the manor was owned by the de Clinton family, hence the name at that time of Aston de Clinton. William de Clinton separated out from Aston Clinton a new manor called Chivery as a dowry for his daughter Alice. Sometime after 1239, King Edward I granted the estates to the Montacutes, who were the ancestors of the Earls of Salisbury. Their descendant the Countess of Salisbury was beheaded by King Henry VIII in 1541. Successive families owned the manor, passing by marriage from the Hastings to the Barringtons, Gerards, and then to Lord Lake of Aston Clinton later to become Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake.

Composer and lutenist Daniel Bacheler was born in the village in 1572.

Air accident

On 22 September 1934, a twin-engined biplane named Youth of New Zealand of Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Displays, crashed into a field near the canal at Aston Clinton. The Youth of New Zealand had just departed from Heston Aerodrome after being refuelled when it crashed, killing all four crew. The probable cause was the failure of a bolt through metal fatigue.

Today

The modern parish of Aston Clinton was created in 1934. Of the other medieval manors:- Dundridge; Chivery; St Leonards and Vaches, historically all closely associated with Aston Clinton, only Chivery and Vaches have remained distinct parts of Aston Clinton, which now forms part of Aylesbury Vale District. Dundridge manor became part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Leonards which has itself since 1934 become part of the parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards.

Aston Clinton Civil Parish is bordered by other civil parishes (see gallery below) to the:

St. Michael and All Angels parish church dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Aston Clinton A41 Bypass opened on 3 October 2003.

The car manufacturer Aston Martin took one part of its name from the village combining it with that of its co-founder Lionel Martin. It had great success in the Aston Clinton Hillclimb competition up nearby Aston Hill. A plaque now marks the site.

In the centre of the village is the Anthony Hall, a concert hall which was donated to the village by the widow of Anthony Nathan de Rothschild.

Aston Clinton School is a primary school that takes pupils between the ages of 4 and 11. The school has approximately 275 pupils. The school badge includes the five arrows from the Rothschild coat of arms, because the family built the first schools in the village.

The TV programme Hotel Babylon was filmed in Aston Clinton.

Rock band Marillion were originally formed in the village in 1979 as Silmarillion.

Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber lists Aston Clinton as his home in England where he lives with his partner Ann Neal.

There are several motor vehicle garages in Aston Clinton, Triumph which is for motorbikes only and JP Marques who sold second hand cars, however JP Marques main garage shut and has now been demolished to make way for six new homes and the company has now moved locations further east in the village and now specialises in Minis.

In 2009 a new Household waste and recycling centre was built to the north Aston Clinton, north of the A41, The recycling centre is shown, highlighted in green, on the map below, in the next section.

In 2011 a new industrial park opened in Aston Clinton called Halton Brook Business Park, designed and developed by Horstonbridge which replaced an old dairy, demolished in 2006, that once stood in the same location. Two companies currently occupy Halton Brook, Zethon & DeSoutter Medical. Halton Brook is located on the map below.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census there are 1,402 households in Aston Clinton with a Population of 3,542: 1,725 males and 1,817 females.

In accordance with the government plans to boost housing supply, due to the rising population, there has been an increase in new housing developments in Aston Clinton: The Burnhams (19 dwellings), Stratford Close (20 dwellings), 28 flats near the surgery, four detached houses to the south of London Road Pavilion Gardens (14 dwellings) and The Willows (three large detached houses).

Geography

Aston Clinton is located north of the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, to the east of Aylesbury.

Transport

Several bus routes serve Aston Clinton with connections to Aylesbury, Watford, Leighton Buzzard and Luton operated by Arriva, Redline Buses and Red Kite Buses.

Arla Foods UK Dairy

Arla Foods UK intends to build a new £150m, one billion litre liquid milk processing facility to the north of the village of Aston Clinton (still within the CP), on a 70-acre site north of the A41. The dairy should have created almost 700 skilled jobs for the Aylesbury area but largely went to imported foreign workers instead. Arla announced that the dairy would be the first zero carbon milk processing facility in the world. Planning permission to the second of four planning applications was granted by Aylesbury Vale District Council on 23 September 2011. Permission was subject to a decision by the UK Government and negotiations between the parties over road and infrastructure improvements.

The development has been subject to controversy with objections raised through 850 letters and a 1000+ petition by local residents. Additionally, Aston Clinton, Buckland and Bierton with Broughton Parish Councils have also objected to the plans, expressing major concerns about traffic fears and damage to the landscape among their concerns. However, both Aylesbury Town Council and Stoke Mandeville Parish Council voted in favour of the development, citing the benefits to the local economy through both temporary and over 150 additional permanent jobs.