Church History

St Leonard, to whom the Church is dedicated, lived in Gaul in the sixth century.  He was the son of a noble family and gave up a career at court to become a monk.  He is known as the Saint of all those possessed, either of evil spirits or of disease, and of all prisoners and captives - in fact of all who need to be unchained, physically or mentally.

The Church is a Grade II* listed building.  The first documented record occurs in 1223 when the Bishop of Lincoln collated Robert Haldien of Banbury to the church.

More here           Our Stained Glass

Family History

The old registers for baptisms, marriages and burials are located at the Buckinghamshire Archives Centre in Aylesbury and cover the following periods:

Baptisms - 1592 to 1989

Marriages - 1560 to 1836

Burials 1591 to 1905

It is hoped that we will be able to offer transcripts of these registers, updated to 1908, in due course.

A project is also underway to record the inscriptions of gravestones and memorials and to map the location of all known graves.  Whilst the oldest discovered gravestone, which could still be read, dates back to 1696, many that are more than 150 years old are no longer legible or have succumbed to the elements. 

Links

Village History Link          Geneology Info        A huge family tree with many old Grendon Underwood families

War Memorial