Here is a selection of local books and booklets I have found during my research. Most are about the area, some are by authors who happened to live locally. Some you may be able to find through your library, or order over the internet, but some are quite hard to come by…
- An Historical and Topographical Account of Woburn and its Abbey – Stephen Dodd, 1818. Dodd, Woburn. A complete history of Woburn Abbey, with a section on the town. Reprinted in 1845, and a much edited version was produced in 1890.
- Aonian Hours – J. Wiffen, 1819. Longman, Hurst, Rees, London. A poetry book, by a Woburn resident, in which the principle 109-verse poem is “Aspley Wood”.
- Selby of Wavendon. Selbyana – Francis Jollie, 1825. Describes the inheritance of the Selby family and how they came to Wavendon.
- Woburn Park: A Fragment in Rural Rhyme – George Castleden, 1839. Thomas Ward and Co. Poetry on the Abbey and Woburn, including Woburn Cricket team.
- House of Russell – J. Wiffen, 1833. Longman Hurst Rees, London. Detailed family history of Russell of Woburn, Duke of Bedford, the early part of which is now generally accepted as being based on incorrect data.
- Woburn and its Abbey – J. D. Parry, 1831. Longman, London. Complete history of Woburn Abbey and a section on the town. Wavendon and Hogstye End are also mentioned.
- Hortus Woburnensis – James Forbes, 1833. Ridgeway. A descriptive catalogue of upwards of 6000 ornamental plants cultivated at Woburn Abbey with numerous illustrative plans, including Aspley Cottage (Henry VIIth Lodge).
- Lays of Home – G. Castleden, 1850. Woburn. Three small books on the inns and coach trade of Woburn, the market and the church.
- Woburn Exhibition – G. Castleden, 1854. Woburn. Report on the Woburn scientific exhibition of 1853.
- The Topography and Climate of Aspley Guise and their influence on Health and Disease – Dr. James Williams, 1858. Richards, London. The book which lead to the health resort and spa reputation of the district. Now available in full on this website.
- The Brothers Wiffen, Memoirs and Miscellanies – S R Pattison, 1880. Hodder and Stoughton. The biographies and writings of Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen and Benjamin Barron Wiffen, noted poets and Quakers, who lived and worked in the area and are buried behind the Woburn Sands Library.
- Gregory’s Guide and View Book of Woburn Sands and District – Herbert Gregory, 1904? Gregory, Woburn Sands. An in-depth guide book to Woburn Sands and district, illustrated with postcard views. Most copies found of this book come from when it was reprinted and sold in aid of St Michaels in 1952. Now available in full on this website.
- Wavendon Parish Register – William Bradbrook, 1906. Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society. Analysis of the early parish registers and notable persons and events. Now available in full on this website.
- The Popular Album of Views of Woburn and Neighbourhood – Fisher, c.1905. Fisher and Sons, Woburn. Reproductions of some of their popular postcard views.
- Excavations at Danesborough Camp – James Berry, 1926. De Fraine, Aylesbury. Results of the archaeological dig at the Anglo-Saxon hill fort on Aspley Heath. Some parts now available on this website.
- A History of Our District – Aspley Heath School Historical Society (W. F. Cooper) 1931. Powage Press. A school project lead to the publication of this indispensable book on the history of Aspley Guise, Aspley Heath, Husborne Crawley, Holcote, Ridgmont, Salford, Woburn and Woburn Sands, which also discusses Bow Brickhill and Wavendon.
- Bow Brickhill, Buckinghamshire – Rev. R. Conyers Morrell, 1934. Privately published. A history of the village and church, with a copy of the 1926 O.S. map.
- Quakerism at Hogstye End, Buckinghamshire – Tyeth A. T. Spencer, 1939. Privately published. The history of the Society of Friends Meeting House at Woburn Sands, on the site of our present-day library. Originally published as a series of articles in the Leighton Buzzard Observer, just 31 copies were later printed up into books. Now available in full on this website.
- A History of Our District – Aspley Heath School Historical Society (W. F. Cooper) Revised and enlarged by Fulbrook Secondary School, 1962. Powage Press. An update and enlargement of the book above on the history of Aspley Guise, Aspley Heath, Husborne Crawley, Holcote, Ridgmont, Salford, Woburn and Woburn Sands, which also discusses Bow Brickhill and Wavendon.
- The Centenary of Woburn Sands and its Parish Church – Michael Meakin, Vicar of Woburn Sands, 1968. A history of St. Michaels Church, Aspley Heath. Now available in full on this website.
- Ferme en Foy, 1926 to 1976, A history of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Mary, Woburn Sands – Rev. Edmund J. Golston, 1976. G. P & M. Broughton. A history of the Catholic religion and church in Woburn Sands. Now available in full on this website.
- The Methodist Church, Woburn Sands. 1879 to 1979 – Trevor Dale, 1979. Privately published. A history of the Methodist religion and chapel in Woburn Sands. Now available in full on this website.
- The Story of Aspley Guise – Local History Group, 1980. Woburn Sands and District Society. A study of the whole village, which includes a transcript of the 1851 Census. Republished in 1990 without census details.
- Reminiscences of Woburn by a Ninety Year Old – Mrs H. J. Rooke, 1982. Drakeloe Press. Memories and stories of Woburn and the Abbey.
- The Book of Woburn – Kenneth G. Spavin and Anne Applin, 1983. Barracuda Books. The history of Woburn town and immediate area including the Abbey. A second edition was printed in 2000.
- Wavendon as it Was – Richard and Rita Marks, 1986. White Crescent Press. Photo book of scenes in Wavendon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
