History of Milton Keynes - Early Modern Britain and The Industrial Revolution

Early Modern Britain and The Industrial Revolution

Enclosures

Most of the eighteen medieval villages in Milton Keynes are still extant and are at the heart of their respective districts. But some, such as Old Wolverton, remain only as field patterns marking a deserted village. The desertion of Old Wolverton was due to enclosure of the large strip cultivation fields into small "closes" by the local landlords, the Longville family, who turned arable land over to pasture. By 1654, the family had completely enclosed the parish. With the end of the feudal system, the peasants had lost their land and tillage/grazing rights and were forced to find other work or starve. Thus Old Wolverton was reduced from about thirty peasant families in the mid 16th century to almost none, within the space of a century. There are also deserted village sites in Tattenhoe and Westbury (Shenley Wood).

Turnpike roads

Some important roads cross the site of the new city. Most important of these is Watling Street from London to Chester. Originally, the Northampton to London road joined the Watling Street at Fenny Stratford, via Broughton and Simpson. The Oxford to Cambridge route came through Stony Stratford, Wolverton and Newport Pagnell. Unfortunately, the heavy clay soils, poor drainage and many streams made these routes frequently impassable in winter. The Hockliffe to Dunchurch stretch of Watling Street became a (paved) Turnpike in 1706 (the first turnpike to be approved by parliament). Simpson remained a quagmire and in 1870 the new Northampton/London turnpike diverted away at Broughton to take the higher route through Wavendon and Woburn Sands to join Watling Street near Hockliffe. On the east/west route, the Stony Stratford to Newport Pagnell turnpike of 1814 extended the Woodstock, Oxfordshire/Bicester/Stony Stratford turnpike of 1768. Turnpikes provided a major boost to the economy of Fenny Stratford and particularly Stony Stratford. In the stage coach era, Stony Stratford was a major resting place and exchange point with the east/west route. In the early 19th century, over 30 coaches a day stopped here. That traffic came to an abrupt end in 1838 when the London–Birmingham Railway (now the West Coast Main Line) opened at nearby Wolverton.

Grand Junction Canal

The Grand Junction Canal came through the area between 1793 and 1800, with canal-side wharfs in Fenny Stratford, Great Linford, Bradwell and Wolverton. The route bypassed Newport Pagnell but, in 1817, an arm was dug to it from Great Linford. Trade along the canal stimulated the local economy. A large brickworks was established near the canal in Great Linford: two bottle kilns and the clay pits can still be seen on the site. Pottery from the Midlands begins to appear in excavations of dwellings from that period.

London and Birmingham Railway, Wolverton and New Bradwell new towns

The London and Birmingham Railway brought even more profound changes to the area. The coach trade on the turnpike through Stony Stratford collapsed, taking many businesses with it. Fortunately, Wolverton was the half way point on the rail route, where engines were changed and passengers alighted for refreshments. Wolverton railway works was established here, creating work for thousands of people in the surrounding area. In the period 1840 to 1880, new towns were built in New Bradwell and Wolverton (about 2 km or 1.2 mi east of the original deserted village) to house them. A narrow gauge railway, the Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line, was built to Newport Pagnell in 1866, much of it by closing and reusing the Newport Arm of the canal. The Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway ran to Stony Stratford from 1888 (to 1926) and, in 1889, was extended to Deanshanger in Northamptonshire.

Bletchley, on the 1846 junction of the London and Birmingham railway with the Bedford branch, was to become an important railway town too. In 1850, another branch from Bletchley to Oxford was built, later to become the (Cambridge/Oxford) Varsity Line. Bletchley, originally a small village in the parish of Fenny Stratford, grew to reach and absorb its parent. In Stony Stratford, expertise learned in the works was applied to the construction of traction engines for agricultural use and the site of the present Cofferidge Close was engaged in their manufacture.