About This Website

The Dorney History website exists to record, preserve and share the history of Dorney Parish in Buckinghamshire for present and future generations.

Dorney is a small parish with an unusually rich and continuous past. From medieval manorial records to Tudor architecture, from riverside development to twentieth-century change, the story of Dorney reflects the wider history of England in microcosm.

This website brings together research, digitised archival material and published studies into a single structured resource.

Purpose

The aims of the website are:

1.To preserve original historical material in accessible digital form

2.To provide reliable, properly sourced information

3.To support research into buildings, land ownership and families

4.To assist conservation and planning understanding

5.To ensure that important parish records are not lost

This is a non-commercial, community heritage project.

Archives and Documents

The website distinguishes between Archives and Documents.

Archives

The Archives section contains primary source material, including:

• Dorney Manor Court Rolls (1514–1949)

The Natural History of Dorney P…

• Church records and architectural surveys

DORNEY COURT MANORIAL ROLLS Art…

• Archaeological reports

History of Burnham Abbey - arch…

• Historic parish research and manuscripts
• Digitised historic publications

These materials are presented as close as possible to their original form, often accompanied by transcription or contextual notes.

Documents

The Documents section contains interpretative and thematic material, including:

• Building histories
• Environmental studies
• Educational history

The Story of a School by Len Ea…

• The history of Dorney Reach

HISTORY OF DORNEY REACH

• Research articles and compiled studies

These pages draw upon archival sources but present them in narrative form.

Scope

The site covers:

• The development of Dorney Village, Dorney Reach, Boveney and Lake End
• Listed buildings and architectural history
• The River Thames and parish waterways
• Agriculture and land tenure
• The parish church of Church of St James the Less
• The manor and its owners, including Dorney Court

Dorney Lords of the Manor 1615 …

• Education and village institutions
• Natural history and environmental change

The Natural History of Dorney P…

Accuracy and Sources

Every effort has been made to ensure historical accuracy. Primary sources are identified wherever possible. Where interpretation is offered, it is made clear.

Corrections and additions are welcomed.

Continuity

The history of Dorney did not end in 1900 — or in 1950. It continues.

This website is intended as a long-term digital record of the parish’s heritage and will continue to expand as further material becomes available.