Water Eaton, Milton Keynes

Water Eaton is an area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the civil parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. It is to the south of Fenny Stratford and contiguous with it. It is one of the ancient Buckinghamshire villages that became incorporated as part of Milton Keynes in 1967.

Water Eaton
Sycamore Hall
Water Eaton Show map of Milton Keynes Water Eaton Location within Buckinghamshire Show map of Buckinghamshire
OS grid reference	SP875325
Civil parish	Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
Unitary authority	Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51°59′20″N 0°43′18″W / 51.9888°N 0.7218°W / 51.9888; -0.7218

History

By the date of designation of Milton Keynes, Water Eaton had already been virtually absorbed by the 1960s Greater London Council-built London overspill district known as the Lakes Estate.^[1] The GLC was very proud of the Lakes Estate, declaring it to be the finest in modern architecture for a working class estate, based on the Radburn design concept pioneered in Radburn, New Jersey.^{[2][page needed]} The Lakes Estate was one of a number of developments around Bletchley and Fenny Stratford in the 1950s and 60s, intended to resettle people from poor-quality housing in war-damaged London.^[3]

Water Eaton was formerly a hamlet in the parish of Bletchley,^[4] in 1866 Water Eaton became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Bletchley.^[5] In 1931 the parish had a population of 180.^[6]

Name

The village name 'Eaton' is Old English language word referring to a farming settlement, and the whole means 'farm by a river'. It is first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book (as simply Eaton); when it was held by Geoffrey de Montbray, and was listed as having a Mill.^[7]

See also

• "Bigger, Better, Brighter" — Bletchley in the 20th Century

References

1. So called because its streets are named after British lakes.
2. Bendixson; Platt (1992). Milton Keynes, Image and Reality. Granta. ISBN 0-906782-72-4.
3. "Bletchley: Early Days of Overspill". Clutch Club. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
4. "History of Water Eaton, in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
5. "Relationships and changes Water Eaton CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
6. "Population statistics Water Eaton CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
7. "Buckinghamshire N-Z". The Domesday Book Online.