see also: 1460-St Mary’s Church Great Brickhill
Records in St Mary’s church show a list of vicars dating from 1218.
Golfridus de Bello Campo appointed in 1218 and died in 1256. He was followed by Henry de Gray from 1256 to 1276 when he died.
400 AD History
The British History Online web site includes a section about the church and some of its artefacts.
The history of Great Brickhill is thought to date back to the Saxon period when the Romans left Britain from 400 AD. With its hilltop position and clear views of the surrounding area it would have been a typical site for a Saxon settlement. Great Brickhill is mentioned in the domesday Book, drawn up by William the Conqueror in 1086, the village then known as Brichella.
From the The Brickhill Churches web site.
Great Brickhill also featured in the English Civil War in 1643, when a large force of the Earl of Essex’s troups were positioned at the top of the ridge waiting for the King’s forces to arrive. The Earl of Essex stayed in the village at Cromwell Cottages during the war; the cottage is still surving today.
Great Brickhill is the largest of the four parishes with a population of approximately 800. Great Brickhill and its farms retain all the qualities of an old rural community with a blacksmith and a pub, but now a significant number use it as a dormitory village for nearby Milton Keynes or London. There is a good mix of both age and social groups, but no ethnic minorities.
2000 – St Mary’s 2000 Project
“St Mary’s 2000” is the project that was initiated in 1997 to raise funds to provide the facilities needed to enable the Church to fulfil its role in the 21st century. The project was divided into two phases:
- Phase I was to repair the north, south and tower roofs, and then to repair the tower, install a new bell frame & re-pair and re-hang the bells. All of this work has now been completed, the bells having been re-hung in the summer/autumn of 2010.
- Phase II is the building of new facilities with a meeting room, office, store, kitchen and toilets. Planning permission for the new facilities was granted a number of years ago and some funds have already been raised for this part of the Project.
English Heritage have been involved in every aspect of the work and a grant was received from them for the re-roofing of both the south and north aisle roofs. Grants have also been received from a number of bodies including Bucks Historic Churches and the Great Brickhill Parish Council.
From the The Brickhill Churches web site.
Fundraising events take place on a regular basis – for details of those events go to the “Events in GB” page.
2014 Church Photo Books
We have a series of photo books from 2014 to 2021. Originated and compiled by David Marlow, these are available on Blurb. St Mary’s Church has a library copy of each and the current one is on display.
2020 Great Brickhill Ex Servicemen
We celebrate Remembrance Sunday each year with an adapted church parade including the laying of wreaths at the church a war memorial.
There is now a book written by David Marlow available on Amazon, published in 2020, to celebrate the names of some of of our servicemen past and present.