Gawcott

Gawcott is a village about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Buckingham in the Buckinghamshire district in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Gawcott with Lenborough.

Gawcott
Tower of Holy Trinity parish church
Gawcott Location within Buckinghamshire
Population	778 (2011 Census,parish)[1]
OS grid reference	SP6831
Civil parish	Gawcott with Lenborough
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Buckingham
Postcode district	MK18
Dialling code	01280
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Buckingham and Bletchley[2]
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51.981°N 1.010°W / 51.981; -1.010

History

The toponym is derived from the Old English for "cottage for which rent is payable". The Domesday Book of 1086 records the village as Chauescote. An alternative description for the name of Gawcott, however, comes from the old Norse word for the cuckoo, 'Gaukr', pronounced Gawk and 'cott' for house/ home/ cottage.

This explanation has some merit as in the west of the village the cuckoo was the prevalent bird up until the early 1940s when much of its habitat was destroyed to make space for servicemen in the Second World War. One of the local historic public houses of the village was also named the Cuckoo's Nest.

Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras railway station in London (and numerous other buildings), was born in Gawcott^[3][4] where his father, the Reverend Thomas Scott (1780–1835), was perpetual curate.

Signal Hill

To the east of the village is Signal Hill, which was a former FCO/MI6 signals intelligence station.^[5][6]

See also

• Sefton Delmer