In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Brill like this:
BRILL, a village, a parish, and a subdistrict, in the district of Thame and county of Bucks. The village stands on an eminence, within the ancient Bernwood forest, 3½ miles S of the Julian way, and 7 NNW of Thame r. station. It has a post office‡ under Thame, and fairs on the first Wednesday of May and the Wednesday after old Michaelmas day; and was formerly a markettown. ...
Its ancient name was Brechullar Brinhely. Edward the Confessor had a hunting-lodge adjacent to it; Henry II. kept his court here in 1160, attended by Becket, and again in 1162; King John spent his Christmas here in 1205; Henry III. held his court here in 1224; and Sir G. Gerard, under Charles I., placed a force here in 1642, and repelled an attack by Hampden. The parish comprises 2,600 acres. Real property, £5,873. Pop., 1,432. Houses, 324. The property is much subdivided. The manor was given by the Conqueror to Nigel the huntsman, and has descended from him to Sir T. D. Aubrey, Bart. Stone is quarried; yellow ochre is found; and clay has been worked into pottery here since the time of the Romans, but ceases to be in request. A chalybeate spring in the immediate neighbourhood of the village has some medicinal repute; and a hotel stands adjacent to it for the accommodation of visitors. A grove near the village is probably a relic of Bernwood forest. Muswell or Muzzle hill is crowned by an ancient camp and a hermitage, and commands a fine view. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Boarstall, in the diocese of Oxford. Value, £101.* Patron, S. Ricketts, Esq. The church is partly Norman, and good; and there are two Independent chapels, a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, four alms-houses, poors' lands £120 a year, and some other charities.-The subdistrict contains eleven parishes. Acres, 20,720. Pop., 5,646. Houses, 1,237.
Brill through time
Brill is now part of Aylesbury Vale district. Click here for graphs and data of how Aylesbury Vale has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Brill itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Brill, in Aylesbury Vale and Buckinghamshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5038
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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