Olney (, rarely , , rarely ; the "L" is not pronounced by local people) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 6,598.

History

Late Jurassic dinosaur bones were unearthed at a quarry near Clifton Reynes. Evidence of Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age activity has been found in and around Olney, much of it close to the River Ouse.

Olney is considered to have been an important Romano-British township, with remains located north-east of the current town, A bronze ritual bowl of Roman-era Italian origin was discovered among Roman civic remains in 1977 at Hyde Farm.

The Town is mentioned as Ollanege (Olla's island) in 932, and in 979 ten hides at Olney were granted by King Ethelred to his kinsman Elfere. According to the Domesday Book, the place later called Olnei had been held in 1066 by Burgred, a descendent of the King of Mercia, but by 1086 its overlord was Geoffrey de Montbray, Bishop of Coutances.

In 1643, during the English Civil War, the Battle of Olney Bridge saw Prince Rupert's force attack Col. Harvey's Parliamentarians, with 60 killed.

The ownership of Olney had passed frequently between many aristocratic families and The Crown since 1066, but in 1755 Olney came to the second Earl of Dartmouth; the Lordship of the Town remained with the title among his descendents until 1998. The current Lord of Olney is Dr Nicholas P George.

Olney was a centre of the Buckinghamshire lace-making industry, noted in 1769 for 'considerable Manufacture of Bone-lace'.thumb|Armstrong's Lace Factory, Olney High Street

thumb|Cowper Works, Hinde & Mann's former shoe factory on corner of Midland Rd, now Kensington Place apartments

A tannery by the river in Olney dates from the eighteenth into the twentieth century. During the later nineteenth century shoe-making "became the staple industry of Olney", as a cottage industry gave way to small factories. In 1891 Hinde & Mann established the Cowper Works, which became the Town's largest employer, producing 6000 pairs a week, before making military boots during World War 1, The building was subsequently used to make Lodge sparkplugs for World War II aircraft.

Olney Park Farm

The hamlet of Olney Park Farm to the north of the Town derives its name from a park established in 1374 by Ralph, Lord Basset. In 1861 it attained civil parish status, but was subsequently incorporated into an enlarged Olney civil parish around 1931.

The 1841 census gave the population as 2,362.

Olney Pancake Race

thumb|left|Signpost advertising 2009 Pancake Race (Artist David O'Leary)

Since 1445, a pancake race has been run in the Town on many Pancake Days, the day before the beginning of Lent. Tradition records that in 1445 on Shrove Tuesday, the "Shriving Bell" rang out to signal the start of the Shriving church service. On hearing the bell a local housewife, who had been busy cooking pancakes in anticipation of Lent, ran to the church, frying pan still in hand, tossing the pancake to prevent it from burning, and dressed in her kitchen apron and headscarf.

The women of Olney recreate this event every Shrove Tuesday by running from the market place to the Church of St Peter and St Paul, a distance of over 400 yards. The traditional prize is a kiss from the verger. In modern times, Olney competes with the town of Liberal, Kansas, USA, for the fastest time in either town to win the "International Pancake Race". There is also race for children from local schools, who have to run a distance of about 20 yards. The competition was revived postwar, in 1948, and has been run every year without interruption since 1950.

Listed buildings, structures, historic landmarks and attractions

thumb|Church of Saints Peter and Paul, view from the South

The parish has one Grade I listed building, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul; four Grade II*, and a further 114 listed at Grade II. The church is 14th century, with later additions. and the 1830s bridge across the Great Ouse to Emberton.

As a former coaching town on the old Kettering to Newport Pagnell Turnpike, with a brewery and growing workforce, the Town has been known for its many historic inns. Several old pubs remain on the historic Marketplace and High Street. Together with regular outdoor markets, dating from 1205, the traditional retail and hospitality sectors around the High Street have evolved to attract numerous visitors for shopping and dining.

Governance

thumb|upright=0.55|Olney [[town sign, depicting a women's pancake race]]

Olney has been part of the Borough (now City) of Milton Keynes since 1974, which has been a unitary authority since 1997. This gives Milton Keynes City Council the responsibility for the provision of most local government services. Voters registered in the town are represented on MK City Council, which has (since 2014) been divided into 19 wards each carrying 3 councillors with Olney being part of the larger ward of the same name.

At the parish level, Olney has a town council based at the Olney Centre on the Town's high street.

Demographics

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Census population of Olney, Buckinghamshire parish

|-

! scope=col width=18%| Census

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Population

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Female

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Male

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Households

! scope=col width=10% class="unsortable"| Source

|-

!scope=row| 2001

|| 6,032

|| 3,067

|| 2,965

|| 2,454

||

|-

!scope=row| 2011

|| 6,477

|| 3,352

|| 3,125

|| 2,715

||

|-

!scope=row| 2021

|| 6,598

|| 3,409

|| 3,189

|| 2,865

||

|}

Transport

The closest passenger rail service is at (approximately distant), with inter-city services from and railway stations (each approximately distant). Olney formerly had its own railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway and the Bedford-Northampton line, but passenger services were withdrawn in 1962.

The Town is bisected by the Milton Keynes-Kettering A509 road, which runs south towards the M1 at Junction 14 (roughly distant), and north towards the A428 (which runs west towards Northampton and east towards Bedford and Cambridge).

Bus 21 (Red Rose) connects the Town with Lavendon to the north-east, and Newport Pagnell and Central Milton Keynes to the south. Bus 41 (Stagecoach) connects the Town with Lavendon, Bedford and Northampton. The City Council also operates an on demand bus service known as "MK Connect".

Developments

Olney is identified by MK City Council (in local planning documents) as one of the three "key settlements" in the Milton Keynes UA outside of the 1967 "designated area" of the New Town, with the Town's complementary Neighbourhood Plan, adopted in May 2017, allocating a total of 300 homes for the town between then and 2031, with 30% of dwellings planned to be affordable.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio, Heart East and MKFM. The Town is served by the local newspaper Milton Keynes Citizen, and Olney's Phonebox Magazine.

Sport

Olney has a Rugby Union team, Olney Rugby Football Club dating to 1877.

The town's football club, Olney Town, played in the United Counties League but closed in 2018.

== Notable natives and residents == <!-- Please do not someone to this list unless there is already an article about them.-->

  • Thomas Armstrong (1898-1994) organist and college administrator
  • Moses Browne (1703-87) poet and clergyman
  • William Cowper (1731-1800) poet and hymn writer
  • Clem Curtis (1940–2017) musician, television personality, a member of The Foundations.
  • Ben Field (b.1990), convicted murderer.
  • Henry Gauntlett (1805-76) organist and composer
  • Susannah Martin (1621-92) a woman executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials
  • John Newton (1725–1807) clergyman, slave-trader-turned-abolitionist, and writer of "Amazing Grace".
  • Thomas Scott (1747–1821) preacher and biblical commentator.
  • John Sutcliff (1752- 1814). Baptist minister in the Town for 39 years, and key figure in the revival of the Baptist mission.
  • Dan Wheldon (1978–2011) (former resident), racing driver, winner of the 2005 IndyCar Series and twice winner of the Indianapolis 500.
  • Albert William Wise (1886-1964) known as Micky Wise, was born in Olney, and played football as goalkeeper for Chelsea FC, Bedford Town and other clubs.

<!-- Please do not someone to this list unless there is already an article about them. -->

References

  • 'Parishes : Olney with Warrington', Victoria History of the Counties of England, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp.&nbsp;429–439.