The History of Olney

Sherington Historical Society

Tuesday 8th October 2019 from 8.00 to 10.00 pm
Sherington Village Hall, 1-29 Church Road, Sherington, Newport Pagnell MK16 9PB

Tom Jones from Olney’s Cowper and Newton Museum is coming to talk to the Society about the History of Olney.

Evidence of life in the Olney area goes back to Roman times. One of the first written references to Olney was when it was mentioned in a Charter of 979 AD as ‘Ollanege’. By the 13th century Olney had grown from a large village to a planned borough. In the eighteenth century Olney became a busy coaching town servicing the Kettering to Newport Pagnell Turnpike. The industrialisation of the shoe industry during the second half of the nineteenth century resulted in factories being built. Today Olney still retains the character and active local life of a small English country town.

The Society’s 2019/20 programme