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Finmere and Mixbury are located on the borders of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire
and Northamptonshire, rich in history and spectacular scenery of outstanding
beauty.
According to old documents the name Finmere means ‘pool frequented by
woodpeckers’. At the present time several woodpeckers are reported to have been
seen in the vicinity.
There has been a church on the hill at Finmere since 1287. The present St
Michael’s, built in the 14th century, is well worth a visit. The carvings on the
pulpit, pew ends and reredos were done by Rev Seymour Ashwell (1866—1902) who
also farmed the Glebe himself; he must have been a very busy man!
In the lane just below the church gates is the old village school built by the
Duke of Buckingham in 1824, closed in 1948 but recently tastefully restored to
serve as a storeroom.
The old rectory, built in 1867, replaced the original which was destroyed partly
by a violent storm, then three years later by fire. The beautiful gardens were
laid out, or rather improved by ‘Capability’ Brown when he was working on the
grounds of Stowe, just a few miles over the Buckinghamshire border.
Finmere House was granted by Henry VIII to four of his Queens in turn. Guess
which one with ‘her head tucked underneath her arm is reputed to have been seen
in the past drifting through the gardens at night. Some villagers can remember
the late King George VI and Edward, Prince of Wales using the Finmere House
stables for the hunting season in the 1920s.
The former manor house or court house, now called Bacons House, was owned by the
Duke of Buckingham, lord of the manor. Standing on the bank of the Ouse it had a
watermill but the Duke destroyed this, pulling down part of the house at the
same time and reducing it to its present size. In 1858 all of the land north of
the parish church was sold to Merton College, Oxford.
In the mid 19th century there were two blacksmiths, several butchers, a baker,
carpenters, shoemakers, a cattle dealer, cooper, a brickmaker employing three
labourers, an innkeeper-brewer, and 98 women and 48 girls above the age of ten
made lace. How different now when there is just one shop at the Yew Tree Garage
and the King’s Head public house, with hardly anyone working on the land.
During the Second World War there was an aerodrome at Finmere, now this has
become the site for what is said to be the largest Sunday market in the country.
There is a recently built village hall on the northern outskirts of the village,
abutting on the playing field.
Mixbury is a small quiet village now, but you can walk through to the old
jousting ground and visualize the Knights of Old fighting for the honour of
their chosen damsels. Many ancient relics have been excavated on the site of the
old castle.
There is an ancient 11th century church and an old school building (now the
village hall). It has been said that at dusk on summer nights children can be
heard singing, though it has not been used as a school since the 1950s.
Monk’s House Farm is also reputed to be haunted. This contains a bricked-up room
and at one time a tunnel led to the church.
Like Finmere, this village has changed considerably. In the 19th century there
were five farms (these remain), two carpenters, a mason, a baker, a tailor, a
blacksmith and a shopkeeper. Now a number of new houses and bungalows have been
built, inhabitants working further afield.
Horse riding is popular in both of these villages and the disused railway
provides an interesting nature reserve.
A tributary of the river Ouse runs through the adjoining hamlet of Fulwell which
links the two villages.
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