Olney, Buckinghamshire

Olney (/ˈoʊni/, rarely /ˈɒlni/ OW-nee, rarely OLL-nee)^[2][3] is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.^[4] At the 2021 census, it had a population of 6,598.

Lying on the left bank of the River Great Ouse, the town is located around 8 miles (13 km) from Central Milton Keynes, and 10 miles (16 km) from Bedford, Northampton and Wellingborough.

Olney is thought to have been an important Romano-British township,^[3] with remains located north-east of the current town,^[5] where in 2023 archaeologists uncovered a villa mosaic considered "remains of high significance".^[6]

Olney is mentioned as Ollanege (Olla's island) in 932.^[7] 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.^[8][9]

The "L" in Olney came long ago not to be pronounced, at least by local people.^[3]

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.^[10][11]

The town was a centre of the Buckinghamshire lace-making industry,^[12] with Armstrong's Lace Factory prominent in the High Street, ornamented as "the Bucks Lace Industry".^[13]

In the late 18th century, the poet William Cowper and anti-slavery campaigner and cleric John Newton collaborated here on what became known as the Olney Hymns, which include Amazing Grace. The town has the Cowper and Newton Museum dedicated to them, adapted from Cowper's former residence, given to the town in 1905 by the publisher William Hill Collingridge (who had been born in the house). Newton was succeeded as curate in Olney by the biblical commentator Thomas Scott (1747–1821). In July 2022, the museum celebrated the 250th anniversary of Amazing Grace with exhibitions and special events.^[14]

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.^[15] In 1861 it attained civil parish status, but was subsequently incorporated into an enlarged Olney civil parish around 1931.^[15][16]

The 1841 census gave the population as 2,362.^[17]

Since 1445, a pancake race has been run in the town on many Pancake Days, the day before the beginning of Lent.^[18] 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 the beginning 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.^[19][20]

The women of Olney recreate this race 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, in the United States for the fastest time in either town to win the "International Pancake Race". There is also a children's race, run by children from the local schools. The children 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.^[21]

The parish has one Grade I listed building, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul;^[22] four Grade II*,^{[23][24][25][26]} and a further 114 at Grade II.^[27] The church is 14th century, with later additions.^[22] There are two scheduled monuments: a Romano-British settlement, on the northern outskirts of the town,^[5] and the 1830s bridge across the Great Ouse to Embertom.^[28]

Olney has been part of the Borough (now City) of Milton Keynes since 1974, which has been a unitary authority since 1997.^[29] 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.^[30][31]

At the parish level, Olney has a town council based at the Olney Centre on the town's high street.^[32]

The closest passenger rail service is at Wolverton (approximately 8 miles (13 km) distant), with inter-city services from Milton Keynes Central and Bedford railway stations (each approximately 11 miles (18 km) 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.^[36]

The town is bisected by the Central Milton Keynes-Kettering A509 road, which runs south towards the M1 at Junction 14 (roughly 7 miles (11 km) 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.^[37] The city council also operates an on demand bus service known as "MK Connect".^[38]

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,^[39] 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.^[40]

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.^[41] The town is served by the local newspaper Milton Keynes Citizen.^[42]

Olney has a rugby team, Olney Rugby Football Club dating to 1877.^[43][44]

The town's football club, Olney Town, played in the United Counties League but closed in 2018.^[45]

• Thomas Armstrong, organist and college administrator
• Moses Browne, poet and clergyman
• William Cowper, poet and hymn writer
• Clem Curtis, musician, television personality, a member of The Foundations.
• Ben Field, convicted murderer.^[46]
• Henry Gauntlett, organist and composer
• Susannah Martin, a woman executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials
• John Newton, clergyman, slave trader turned abolitionist and writer of "Amazing Grace".^[47]
• Thomas Scott (1747–1821) preacher and biblical commentator.
• John Sutcliff, Baptist minister in town for 39 years, and key figure in the revival of the Baptist mission.^[48]
• Dan Wheldon (1978–2011) (former resident), racing driver, winner of the 2005 IndyCar Series and twice winner of the Indianapolis 500.^[49]
• 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.^[50][51]

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