"Mentmore is a parish consisting of 1575 acres, of which 396 acres are arable land and 65 woods and plantations. The soil is stiff clay and the sub-soil clay. The land, which is lowest in the north, rises near the village to a height of 421 ft. above the ordnance datum, sinking again towards the south. West of the village is Mentmore Park, the seat of the Earl of Rosebery; the house was built about 1851. The church and vicarage stand just outside the park, the main portion of the village lying to the east. Mentmore Manor House lies to the north-east of the village. It is built of brick, the upper part having timber framework with brick filling, and was probably erected by Thomas Wigge a little before the middle of the 17th century. Ledburn is a scattered hamlet in the north of the parish containing several buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Ledburn Manor House, which, although originally built probably by one of the Enderby family in the latter half of the 15th century, is now substantially a brick house with a tiled roof of the 17th century, with a wing of the 18th century. There is a Baptist chapel which was built in 1840." |
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| Bibliography | Church History | Names, Geographical |
| Cemeteries | Church Records | Photographs |
| Census | History & Descriptions |
The following reference sources have been used in the construction of this page, and may be referred to for further detail. Most if not all of these volumes are available in the Reference section of the County Library in Aylesbury.
"Buckinghamshire Contributions for Ireland 1642", Wilson J., 1983.
"Buckinghamshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship 1851", Legg E. ed., 1991, ISBN 0 901198 27 7.
"Magna Britannia: Buckinghamshire", Lysons S. and Lysons D., 1806.
"The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham", Lipscomb G., 1847
"The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire", Mawer A. and Stenton F.M., 1925.
"The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Buckinghamshire", Page W. ed., 1905-1928
"War Memorials and War Graves: Cottesloe Hundred, Bucks, Volume 2", Peter Quick.
The following Monumental Inscriptions are available as publications or as part of a Society library:
* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting
In 1642 there were 64 people named in the tax returns for contributions for Ireland. Between them they were assessed at £9.15.10 of which sum Christopher Theed contributed £1.10.0
In 1798 the Posse Comitatus listed the following numbers of men between the ages of 16 and 60: Mentmore - 34, Ledburn - 28.
In the earliest government census of 1801, there were the following figures:
| Census Year | Population of Mentmore |
| 1801* | 279 |
| 1811* | 298 |
| 1821* | 302 |
| 1831* | 329 |
| 1841 | 348 |
| 1851 | 356 |
| 1861 | 399 |
| 1871 | 408 |
| 1881 | 314 |
| 1891 | 307 |
| 1901 | 289 |
* = No names were recorded in census documents from 1801 to 1831.
** = Census documents from 1911 to 2001 are only available in summary form. Names are witheld under the 100 year rule.
Microfilm copies of all census enumerators' notebooks for 1841 to 1891 are held at the Local Studies Libraries at Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as well as centrally at the PRO. A table of 19th century census headcount by parish is printed in the VCH of Bucks, Vol.2, pp 96-101.
Availability of census transcripts and indexes.
Details of the stained glass in the church can be found on the following web sites (the site includes many photos):
The original copies of the parish registers for St Mary the Virgin, Mentmore have been deposited in the Buckinghamshire Record Office in Aylesbury, and they hold the following years:
| Event | Dates covered |
| Christenings | 1685 - 1880 |
| Marriages | 1687 - 1990 |
| Burials | 1690 - 1969 |
Copies or indexes to the parish registers are available from societies as follows:
|
Event
|
Society Library* Dates covered |
Society
|
| Christenings |
1685 - 1829
|
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society |
| Marriages |
1575 - 1837
|
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society |
| Burials |
1685 - 1829
|
Buckinghamshire Genealogical Society |
* = material held in a Society library is generally available for loan to all members either via post, or by collection at a meeting
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 Mentmore showed the following numbers:
| Church | Attendance |
| Mentmore, St Mary the Virgin |
37 - Morning General Congregation 37 - Morning Total 59 - Evening General Congregation |
| Mentmore, Ledburn Baptist Chapel |
21 - Morning General Congregation 28 - Morning Sunday Scholars 32 - Afternoon Sunday Congregation 70 - Evening |
| Mentmore, Wesleyan Methodist Chapel |
38 - Afternoon General Congregation 21 - Afternoon Sunday Scholars 60 - Evening General Congregation |
Mentmore was described in 1806 in "Magna Britannia" as follows:
MENTMORE, in the hundred of Cotslow and deanery of Muresley, lies about eight miles to the north-east of Aylesbury. The manor was anciently in the families of Bussel and Zouche: in 1490 it was granted to Sir Reginald Bray, from whom it descended, by a female heir, to the family of Sandys: in 1729, it was purchased with the manor of Leadbourne, by Lord Viscount Limerick, of a Mr. Legoe, who inherited them from the family of Wigg. They are now the property of Richard Bard Harcourt esq. who purchased them of Lord Limerick's son, James Earl of Clanbrassil. In the church are some memorials of the families of Theed and Wigg.
The impropriate rectory, which was given by the Bussells to the priory of St. Bartholomew, in Smithfield, is now the property of Mr. Harcourt, who is patron of the vicarage.
[Correction/Addition at the end of Magna Britannia states "The manor of Berrysted, in Mentmore, with a manor-house near the church, being the property of J. Tirel-Morin esq. were sold in 1804; the manor-house, with the greater part of the estate, was purchased by Mr. Harper."]
The name of Mentmore derives from the old english persons name of Mænta + mor and means 'the moor of a man called Mænta'.
[Last updated: 12th January 2003 - Kevin Quick]
