For other villages with the same name, see Whaddon.
| Whaddon | |
|
Whaddon
Whaddon shown within Buckinghamshire |
|
| Population | 429 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP805340 |
| Unitary authority | Aylesbury Vale |
| Ceremonial county | Buckinghamshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MILTON KEYNES |
| Postcode district | MK17 |
| Dialling code | 01908 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Buckingham |
| List of places: UK • England • Buckinghamshire | |
Whaddon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district, in Buckinghamshire.
The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'hill where wheat is grown'. The village is referred to several times in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle generally in the form of Hwætædun.
The village is at the centre of the ancient Whaddon Chase, the site for many centuries of royal hunting lands. Whaddon Chase is designated an area of 'Special Landscape Interest'.
Whaddon Church of England School is a mixed Church of England primary school. It is a voluntary controlled school, which takes children from the age of four through to the age of eight. The school has approximately 50 pupils.
Whaddon Hall, (the village manor) was once home to the Selby-Lowndes family, whose ancestor William Lowndes built the larger and grander Winslow Hall. Both mansions are still private houses. During World War II Whaddon Hall served as headquarters of Section VIII of MI6, under the command of Brigadier Gambier-Parry. In February 1940, the "Station X" wireless interception function was transferred here from Bletchley Park.[2]