Buckden - a Huntingdonshire Village

iv Preface The germ of the idea for this book lies with Buckden Parish Council back in the 1970s. In 1976, the year I arrived in the village, the council announced an essay competition with a cash prize for the winner, the theme being the history of the village. Since I was young, naive and unemployed that summer, and I had a fairly recent degree in history, I thought that at the least the research would help me to get to know the village and its history. I never did find out how many entrants there were, but I rather think there were only three, so coming first was not too great an achievement; nevertheless, I duly pocketed the prize, and then I found out that it came with strings attached: the Parish Council wanted a village history in booklet form. Producing this modest publication (about 9,000 words) took another four years and ended thus: Finally: this is not a definitive work, but intended only as an interim guide to Buckden’s history. The Buckden Local History Society is working on a much more detailed study, and it is hoped that if you would like to contribute to it you will contact the group. The Buckden Local History Society (BLHS) had been set up as part of the same initiative, and continues to flourish. An updated version of the original booklet will be found as the second of the chapters later in this book. Now, nearly thirty years later (and much aided by the invention of the internet, the world wide web, and the personal computer in the meantime) BLHS is making good its promise of 1980. Some of the founding members, including three former chairmen, have been part of the committee that has produced this book, we have also benefited from the financial advice of our founder treasurer, Eric Nash, who still holds the post, and special mention should be made of Les Button, who has been honorary secretary since the very first meeting of BLHS. As we foresaw, a more comprehensive village study has only been possible thanks to the contributions of very many other people. Except in the case of people who have written entire chapters, we find it impossible to acknowledge by name all the individuals and organizations who have assisted in so many ways, from sharing single memories and photographs to providing access to major archives. We thank you and hope you approve the finished product. Mike Storey conceived the idea of the A-Z section, and compiled most of the entries, as well as producing the whole typescript. Robin Gibson has been the driving force behind the project, chairing meetings of the committee, pursuing finance, finding and negotiating with printers, finding storage space, corresponding with overseas contributors ... and has also edited the illustrations throughout. Robin’s indefatigable efforts gained us generous grants from Buckden Parish Council and from the Goodliff Fund administered by the Huntingdonshire Local History Society, for which we are pleased to record our gratitude. Nevertheless, publication would not have been possible without generous loans from five individuals, whom we hope to repay from sales of the book. I have the pleasure of seeing that germ of an idea from 1976 coming to splendid fruition, and the honour of writing this preface. Susan B. Edgington February 2010