From The History of Buckinghamshire, 1861 – Pages 676-9
- Edlesborough means ‘Eadwulf’s beorg’ i.e. ‘hill or barrow of a man called Eadwulf’.
- Dagnall derives from the old english Dagganheale, meaning ‘nook of land belonging to a man called Dagga’.
- Horton means ‘Muddy farm’. (note: this hamlet is mainly in the parish of Ivinghoe)
- Hudnall derives from the old english Hudanhealemeaning ‘nook of land belonging to a man called Huda’.
- Northall similarly means ‘nook of land in the north’.
In the earliest government census of 1801, there were the following numbers:
* Edlesborough – 318 inhabitants in 75 families living in 64 houses.
* Dagnall – 348 inhabitants in 71 families living in 66 houses.
* Horton (note: this hamlet is mainly in the parish of Ivinghoe) – 44 inhabitants in 13 families living in 9 houses.
* Northall – 331 inhabitants in 77 families living in 66 houses.
A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.
Northall is about half-a-mile in length, and is situated 1.25 miles from the parish church, and 4 miles S.E. from Leighton Buzzard. Some of the cottages are in the Elizabethan style, and very neat: these were built by Earl Brownlow, the owner of the place. Here is a National School, a commodious building of white brick with mullioned windows, erected in 1853. It is endowed with £10 per annum from the Countess of Bridgewater’s charities; and the average daily attendance of children is about 50. The house built for the schoolmaster is occupied by the Curate of the parish, who performs Divine Service in. the School-room once every Sunday. The Baptist Chapel was built about sixty years ago.
The Manor (called Botelers or Butlers) passed by the marriage of the daughter and heir of Thomas Boteler in 1350 to the Ruffords; through whom it came to the Langfords. John Langford died possessed of it in 1624; and his heir in 1650 sold it to John Kidgell, Esq, who held it in 1680. About 1700, he sold it to Mr. Brewster, with whose daughter it passed in marriage to John Moyer, of London, who had it in 1752. In the beginning of the present century it passed from the Moyers family and was purchased by the noble family of Egerton. It descended with the family estates to Earl Brownlow.
The Manor House (now the farm residence of “Butler’s Farm”) is situated about half-a-mile from the hamlet of Northall; and a stone its south gable bears the initials “B. E. F.” (the B above the other letters) and the date of 1721. Until the present year (1861) this house and an area of about an acre, was enclosed by a double moat, which has just been filled up.
At the northern end of the common, on the Leighton Buzzard.road, is a large ancient house, of which nothing is recorded in history. It has lately become the property (by purchase) of Earl Brownlow, and having been thoroughly repaired is now the residence of Mr. William Procter.
Lysons’ mention the following reputed manors in Eddlesborough parish. The manor of Pinks, which belonged to the Dormers, and was purchased of the Whitfields, in 1807, by the sixth Earl of Bridgewater. The manor of Cawdwells, which came into the possession of Sir William Paget, in 1544, and was afterwards successively in the families of Skipworth, Sankye, Pigott, and Bruges. In 1701 it was sold, together with the manors of Fitz-Hugh (so called from a family of that name, who possessed it in the 14th century) and Bowells (from a family of that name) to Mr. William Chew, of Dunstable, who bequeathed them to Trustees for the support of a free school in that town, and other charitable purposes. The manor of Bates in Eddlesborough, has Iong been attached to the neighbouring parish of Eaton Bray, in Bedfordshire. Another reputed manor in Eddlesborough was part of the estate of Thomas Chaucer, Esq., son of the poet, who married the heiress of the Berghersts. Alice Chaucer brought it in marriage to William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk; and his son, John, Duke of Suffolk, give it to the Dean and Canons of Windsor, in 1480.
Church Records
An ecclesiastical census was carried out throughout England on 30 March 1851 to record the attendance at all places of worship. These returns are in the Buckinghamshire Record Office and have been published by the Buckinghamshire Record Society (vol 27). The returns for Edlesborough showed the following numbers:
Church Attendance
Edlesborough, St Mary the Virgin
50 – Morning General Congregation
170 – Morning Sunday Scholars
200 – Afternoon General Congregation
170 – Afternoon Sunday Scholars
Edlesborough, Northall Particular Baptist Chapel
54 – Morning General Congregation
74 – Morning Sunday Scholars
128 – Morning Total
135 – Afternoon General Congregation
77 – Afternoon Sunday Scholars
212 – Afternoon Total
85 – Evening General Congregation
85 – Evening Total
Edlesborough, Latter Day Saints Meeting Place
90 – Afternoon General Congregation
100 – Evening General Congregation
Edlesborough, Wesleyan Methodist No data given for the 30th March 1851
Edlesborough, Wesleyan Chapel, Dagnall
30 – Morning General Congregation
85 – Morning Sunday Scholars
190 – Afternoon General Congregation
100 – Afternoon Sunday Scholars
185 – Evening General Congregation
100 – Evening Sunday Scholars
Charities
In the year 1597, a person by the name of Randell gave by deed five quarters of wheat and money to the poor of this parish. From 700 to 900 four-pound loaves are given away every Easter Monday in respect of this charity. In 1723, the Rev. George Burgkope (then Vicar of Eddlesborough, and Vicar of Burton-Agnes, Yorkshire) gave certain lands in this parish (at present consisting of an allotment of ten acres,) for the use of the Vicar for the time being, on condition Divine Service be performed in the parish church on certain days in Lent and on the anniversary of the death of the donor; and that the sum 6s. 8d yearly be distributed amongst the poor who attend the services and receive the sacrament; 20s. a-year to the poor widows who attend the anniversary service and sermon; and 3s. 4d to the clerk for tolling the bell on St. John’s Day. The Rev. William Coleman, in 1740, left an annuity of lOs. for the purchase of four prayer books to be given to the four children that “gave the best account of their catechism”. Thomas Ginger, by will in 1819, charged his estate in Northall with £20 per annum, to be distributed to the poor of Eddlesborough and NorthaIl. This bequest is void under the Mortmain Act, but a portion of the rent charge is received. The estate charged with the annuity was divided into nine parts; and two only of the devisees (Mr. Thomas Ginger, of Linslade, and Mr. Thomas Procter, of Ivinghoe) pay their quota.
From about 1880 to 1950, phosphate nodules were quarried in Northall and the surrounding villages. These were known as coprolite, or fossilised dinosaur dung. They were found in the top layer of soil. Channels were dug and the nodules were raked out and washed in pits of water before being sent for processing for use as fertiliser.