Oakley

History

Some of the earliest evidence of a settlement was found within the current village boundaries in the form of flint axes and arrow heads labelled OAK(ley)and EAM(cdonald), which were dated to c. 7000–6000 BC. Iron Age (c. 50 BC.) evidence was found when excavations were undertaken for the Almshouses. Oakley featured in the Domesday Book, and before the Norman Conquest, where the land was held by an Oswulf, a thane (companion) of King Edward the Confessor. In 1166 AD, the lord of the manor was recorded as one Simon de Bosard, and his brother was known to have had connections with the town now known as Leighton Buzzard. In 1200 it was recorded that the present parish church was built, replacing an earlier church built of wood in Saxon times. Nothing of this earlier church remains. In 1230 the first vicar was recorded, a Stephen de Castell. In 1278, a Richard de Bosard had no male heir, but his daughter married Thomas Reynes who took over Oakley thanks to his wife. The village was known as Oakley Reynes at least until the drafting of the 1795 pre-enclosure map. The name still appears today in "Reynes Drive". The family also owned Clifton Reynes, just over the border into Buckinghamshire. In 1331, there was another Thomas Reynes recorded. In 1349 the Black Death struck the village, and three vicars died that year; D. Walter, John Marshall and Robert Fox. The disease had a fatality rate of some 50%, and was caused by disease-carrying fleas living on the Black Rat. The medieval cottages provided full accommodation for rats in walls, thatch and under the earth floors. When rats died of the disease, the fleas attacked the human occupants. In 1451, John Reynes died and left no male heirs, so the village passed to the Taylard family. Again, in 1548 there were no male heirs to…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  17,350
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,944
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,580
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,359
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,739
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,889
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,687
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,342

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2015-09-22
  2 km W of Cottesmore, United Kingdom
• M 3.8 — 2015-01-28
  2 km WSW of Market Overton, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2014-04-18
  3 km WSW of Market Overton, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2013-01-18
  0 km NE of Hathern, United Kingdom