52-517: The Ailesbury Mausoleum situated in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Maulden , in Bedfordshire , is a Grade II listed structure built in 1656 by Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin (1599–1663) (father by his 1st wife of Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685)), of nearby Houghton House in the parish of Maulden, for the purpose of housing the coffin and "splendid monument" of his second wife, Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1654),
104-590: A Monday night and 2 – 3 times a year put on performances for public audiences. The Players were founded in 1983 under the former guise of St. Mary's Parish Players. Originally only putting on one performance a year with the pantomime in January, the Players soon added more productions to their calendar which usually include a play in May/June for the adult members of the group and a youth production around September/October. Maulden
156-585: A daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter and widow of Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford . In the opinion of the architectural historian Sir Howard Colvin (1991) it is one of the first two free-standing mausoleums ever built in England, together with the Cabell Mausoleum at Buckfastleigh in Devon. It was customary before the use of mausoleums in England for prominent gentry and nobility to be buried within
208-495: A distant cousin and heir male . He therefore persuaded the king to create him Baron Bruce of Tottenham , with special remainder to his younger nephew Hon. Thomas Brudenell (1739–1814), 4th son of George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan (1685–1732) of Deene Park in Northamptonshire, by his wife Elizabeth Bruce, to whom he also bequeathed his estates with the proviso that he should adopt the additional surname of Bruce. On
260-505: A member of the Stewart of Darnley branch of the House. Lennox was a descendant of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland , also descended from James II , being Mary's heir presumptive . Thus Darnley was also related to Mary on his father's side and because of this connection, Mary's heirs remained part of the House of Stuart. Following John Stewart of Darnley 's ennoblement for his part at
312-458: A neighbourhood area for the purposed of making a Neighbourhood Development Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group create and assist the Parish Council to create a Neighbourhood Plan for the village of Maulden, within its parish boundary as defined by Central Bedfordshire Council, for the benefit of the parish as a whole. Stuarts The House of Stuart , originally spelled Stewart ,
364-651: A series of conflicts known as the War of the Three Kingdoms . The trial and execution of Charles I by the English Parliament in 1649 began 11 years of republican government known as the English Interregnum . Scotland initially recognised the late King's son, also called Charles , as their monarch, before being subjugated and forced to enter Cromwell's Commonwealth by General Monck 's occupying army. During this period,
416-475: Is also a church located on Flitwick Road named Maulden Baptist Church . The church was officially formed in 1672, the year John Bunyan obtained a licence to preach. Prior to John Bunyan obtaining this licence, the church was 'underground' and named 'The Maulden Meeting'. After many years of thriving, the church began to dwindle in size. In 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic the remaining few members approached
468-579: Is located 1.5 miles east of Ampthill and about 8 miles (13 km) south of Bedford . It has about 1,250 homes and 3130 residents. Maulden is referred to in the Domesday Book as Meldone and the meanings ascribed to the various versions of the name include "cross on the hill", "high down" and "place of meeting". The village forms part of the Ampthill ward in the administrative area of Central Bedfordshire . An active Parish Council meets every five weeks –
520-662: Is surrounded by arable land and rolling pasture hills to the west, allotments and more arable land to the south, and hilly pasture to the east. To the northeast, Maulden Wood stretches over to the ancient road, the A6 and there is a Saxon boundary marker behind the church. Directly north lies Kings Wood and to the Northwest is Houghton House on the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge Path. Maulden Players are an amateur dramatics society who meet weekly at Maulden Village Hall on
572-538: Is the current senior heir. From the Acts of Union 1707 , which came into effect on 1 May 1707, the last Stuart monarch, Anne, became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Round provided a family tree to embody his essential findings, which is adapted below. Descended from the Stewarts of Darnley (Stewarts of Lennox) Male, male-line, legitimate, non-morganatic members of the house who either lived to adulthood, or who held
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#1732868661246624-579: The Battle of Baugé in 1421 and the grant of lands to him at Aubigny and Concressault , the Darnley Stewarts' surname was gallicised to Stuart . Both Mary, Queen of Scots, and Lord Darnley had strong claims on the English throne through their mutual grandmother Margaret Tudor. This eventually led to the accession of the couple's only child James as King of Scotland, England, and Ireland in 1603. However, this
676-573: The Duchy of Brittany ; Alan had a good relationship with Henry I of England who awarded him with lands in Shropshire . The FitzAlan family quickly established themselves as a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house, with some of its members serving as High Sheriff of Shropshire . It was the son of Alan named Walter FitzAlan who became the first hereditary High Steward of Scotland , while his brother William's family went on to become Earls of Arundel . When
728-465: The Heritage Lottery Fund , from EB Bedfordshire Ltd (Landfill Tax) and with small donations from other sources. Replicas of the marble busts have been installed in the mausoleum. 52°01′52″N 0°27′32″W / 52.0310°N 0.4589°W / 52.0310; -0.4589 Maulden Maulden is a village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire . The village
780-622: The plaiting of straw . There were some quarries of sandstone; and a pleasure fair was held in the week nearest to St. Bartholomews-day. The living was a rectory, valued in the King's books at £15.9.7; net income £512; patron, the Marquess of Ailesbury. The tithes were commuted for land and a corn rent, under an act of enclosure in 1796. The church, principally in the latter English style, was, with little intermixture, completely restored in 1837. There were places of worship for baptists and Methodists. Maulden
832-818: The 12th and 13th centuries. The sixth High Steward of Scotland, Walter Stewart (1293–1326), married Marjorie , daughter of Robert the Bruce , and also played an important part in the Battle of Bannockburn gaining further favour. Their son Robert was heir to the House of Bruce , the Lordship of Cunningham and the Bruce lands of Bourtreehill ; he eventually inherited the Scottish throne when his uncle David II died childless in 1371. In 1503, James IV attempted to secure peace with England by marrying King Henry VII 's daughter, Margaret Tudor . The birth of their son, later James V , brought
884-539: The Countess, sculpted in white marble (attributed to Thomas Burman ), locally known as "the lady in the punchbowl ". The room was lit by oval windows and was linked by a short length of covered passage which led into the north side of the Church, in which was situated the manorial pew occupied by the Bruce family and its household servants. This original arrangement is illustrated in an early 19th-century watercolour painting now in
936-618: The Crowns . The Stuarts were monarchs of Britain and Ireland and its growing empire until the death of Queen Anne in 1714, except for the period of the Commonwealth between 1649 and 1660. In total, nine Stewart/Stuart monarchs ruled Scotland alone from 1371 until 1603, the last of whom was James VI, before his accession in England. Two Stuart queens ruled the isles following the Glorious Revolution in 1688: Mary II and Anne . Both were
988-449: The House of Stewart into the line of descent of the House of Tudor , and the English throne. Margaret Tudor later married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus , and their daughter, Margaret Douglas , was the mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . In 1565, Darnley married his half-cousin Mary, Queen of Scots , the daughter of James V . Darnley's father was Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox ,
1040-589: The Maulden Players perform a pantomime with contributions from many members of the village and surrounding communities. Maulden Baptist Church also runs a number of clubs; including a 'Mums and Tots', youth groups for children (8–18), and more. The parish church of Maulden is St Mary the Virgin. It stands on the Greensand Ridge to one side of the village main road. There are church services every Sunday and throughout
1092-584: The Mausoleum for interments until 1836, at which date 24 of the loculi were occupied by deceased family members, when another vault at Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire came into use, and to which in 1857 the coffins of Henrietta and Henrietta-Maria, Marchioness of Ailesbury (d.1831) were removed. In 1859 the passageway was demolished and the exterior of the room was " Gothicised ", to the design of Benjamin Ferrey , according to
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#17328686612461144-478: The National Audit Office. Maulden was a parish in the union of Ampthill, hundred of Redbornestoke, county of Bedford, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles from Ampthill; containing 1331 inhabitants. The parish comprised nearly 3000 acres (12 km ), of which 260 were woodland and plantations, and of the remainder, two-thirds were arable and one third pasture. Many of the women were employed in lacemaking and
1196-455: The Protestant daughters of James VII and II by his first wife Anne Hyde and the great-grandchildren of James VI and I. Their father had converted to Catholicism and his new wife gave birth to a son in 1688, who was to be brought up as a Roman Catholic; so James was deposed by Parliament in 1689, in favour of his daughters. However, neither daughter had any children who survived to adulthood, so
1248-573: The Scottish and English (and later British) throne as the rightful heirs, their supporters being known as Jacobites . Since the early 19th century, when the James II direct line failed, there have been no active claimants from the Stuart family. The current Jacobite heir to the claims of the historical Stuart monarchs is a distant cousin Franz, Duke of Bavaria , of the House of Wittelsbach . The senior living member of
1300-445: The chancel or in a dedicated family chapel elsewhere within the church, usually situated at the east end of a new aisle expressly built by the family for that purpose. The advowson of Maulden church was acquired in 1635 by Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin , who had been granted the nearby estate of Houghton by King James I (1603-1625), which he made his seat. The advowson remained a possession of his descendants until 1954, long after
1352-476: The church consisted of the tower, a nave with a very low roof (it was reported in the Bedford Mercury of October 1858 that during a heavy downpour it was difficult to hear the sermon), a chancel with a slightly higher roof, a north aisle and gallery. This gallery was quite large, and because of the low roof came down to only two feet above the tops of the pews underneath, as well as blocking the light from two of
1404-536: The churchyard stands a 17th-century mausoleum and crypt known as the Ailesbury Mausoleum (pictured). The original mausoleum was built by Thomas, Earl of Elgin, in memory of his second wife Diana, daughter of the Earl of Stamford. The mausoleum and crypt are sometimes open to visitors during the summer months. On 6 August 2008, lead was stolen from the roof of the mausoleum, causing at least £10,000 worth of damage. There
1456-534: The civil war in the Kingdom of England , known as The Anarchy , broke out between the legitimist claimant Matilda, Lady of the English , and her cousin who had usurped her, King Stephen , Walter had sided with Matilda. Another supporter of Matilda was her uncle David I of Scotland from the House of Dunkeld . After Matilda was pushed out of England into the County of Anjou , essentially failing in her legitimist attempt for
1508-402: The clerk is Tracey Bearton. It has primary school, Maulden Lower School for ages 4 to 9- with after school club ( [1] ), and for Middle School and Upper School provision, children must go to the nearby Ampthill, Alameda Middle and Redborne School. There is also a Local Authority run Pre-School [2] and a private nursery – Tudor Court. There are two small industrial estates to the south east of
1560-447: The crown passed to the House of Hanover on the death of Queen Anne in 1714 under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Act of Security 1704 . The House of Hanover had become linked to the House of Stuart through the line of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia . After the loss of the throne, the descendants of James VII and II continued for several generations to attempt to reclaim
1612-417: The crypt below had degenerated within this period to such an extent that in 1769 Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Baron Bruce (1729-1814), ordered the construction of 27 loculi to re-house them, and also to house the remains of past and future members of his family. A diagram showing the arrangement of the loculi within the vault survives in the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office. The family continued to use
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1664-459: The death of the 3rd Earl of Ailesbury in 1747 his 8 year old nephew Thomas Brudenell duly became Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham (1729-1814), having inherited the barony, the Bruce estates and the Wardenship of Savernake Forest . In 1776 King George III created him Earl of Ailesbury . His son was Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury (1773–1856). The coffins in
1716-461: The family had sold Houghton in 1738, when it was transferred to the Bishop of St. Albans. The Ailesbury Mausoleum consisted originally of a subterranean crypt with vaulted ceiling with an elongated octagonal shaped room above at ground level. The crypt contained the Countess's coffin whilst the room above displayed her monument, in the form of an oval gadrooned cistern from which rises a half-figure of
1768-494: The fashion then prevalent. This included the building of external buttresses and the blocking-up of the oval windows. In the 1970s the Brudenell-Bruce family removed the valuable marble sculptures from the Mausoleum and placed them in their residence at Deene Park in Northamptonshire. In 2001 ownership of the Mausoleum was transferred to Bedfordshire County Council . It has recently been restored with substantial funding from
1820-524: The house to John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford . However the family's connection with the Mausoleum was not neglected. Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury (died 1747) inherited from his mother Elizabeth Seymour, niece and heiress of John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset (1629–1675), the estates of the Seymour family in Savernake Forest , Wiltshire, and in 1721 rebuilt Tottenham Lodge in
1872-496: The leaders of nearby King's Church Flitwick, asking to come under their oversight. Consequently, Maulden Baptist Church entered a period of dormancy, while King's Church desires to replant it in the near future. The 1851 Census Index for Maulden can be found in the 1851 Index to Census of Bedfordshire, Volume 4, Book 2 available from the Bedfordshire Family History Society. More recent surveys are available from
1924-430: The nearby Luton Museum and Art Gallery, which also shows the steeply pitched roof with alternating bands of plain and fish-scale clay tiles, surviving today. Following the death of the 1st Earl of Elgin in 1663, his son and heir by his first marriage, Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685), placed a white marble sculpted bust of his father and another of his own son Edward Bruce (who had died
1976-450: The parish churches of which they owned the advowson , or which served the parish within which was situated the manor of which they were lords and in which was situated their manor house and principal seat. In the early mediaeval era exceptionally wealthy such persons desired to be buried within abbeys or monasteries founded by themselves or their ancestors (usually for the express purpose of funding monks or nuns to pray continually for
2028-527: The parish of Great Bedwyn , Wiltshire, to the design of his brother-in-law the pioneering Palladian architect Lord Burlington . He thus moved from Houghton House to Tottenham , but retained a close connection with the Mausoleum. In 1746, one year before the death of Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury , who had no son, it was apparent that on his death the Earldom of Ailesbury would become extinct and that his older Earldom of Elgin would pass to
2080-402: The principal members of the House of Stuart lived in exile in mainland Europe . The younger Charles returned to Britain to assume his three thrones in 1660 as " Charles II of England , Scotland and Ireland" - with the support of General Monck - but dated his reign from his father's death eleven years before. In feudal and dynastic terms, the Scottish reliance on French support was revived during
2132-448: The rapid transition of their souls and those of their ancestors through the uncertain stage of Purgatory and rapidly onwards to eternal rest in Heaven ). If sufficiently eminent such persons were buried in a cathedral . Such burials usually were made at the north side of the altar in the chancel , the position of greatest honour, and a most sacred spot, or if already occupied, elsewhere in
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2184-575: The reign of Charles II , whose own mother was French. His sister Henrietta married into the French royal family. Charles II left no legitimate children, but his numerous illegitimate descendants included the Dukes of Buccleuch , the Dukes of Grafton , the Dukes of Saint Albans and the Dukes of Richmond . The Royal House of Stuart became extinct with the death of Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart , brother of Charles Edward Stuart , in 1807. Duke Francis of Bavaria
2236-496: The royal Stewart family, descended in a legitimate male line from Robert II of Scotland, is Andrew Richard Charles Stuart, 9th Earl Castle Stewart . The ancestral origins of the Stuart family are obscure—their probable ancestry is traced back to Alan FitzFlaad , a Breton who went to England not long after the Norman conquest . Alan had been the hereditary steward of the Bishop of Dol in
2288-509: The throne, many of her supporters in England fled also. It was then that Walter followed David up to the Kingdom of Scotland , where he was granted lands in Renfrewshire and the title for life of Lord High Steward. The next monarch of Scotland, Malcolm IV , made the High Steward title a hereditary arrangement. While High Stewards, the family were based at Dundonald, South Ayrshire , between
2340-601: The village. These are primarily agricultural, but also contain some light chemical installations and offices. The only youth facility in the village is a recreation ground in the west of the village which is home to the Maulden Magpies Football Club, now recently improved to a Football Foundation ground. The village hall hosts a number of functions and groups who meet there including the Maulden Baby and Toddler Group, jumble sales, exercise classes etc. Each year
2392-540: The week. The church has an active congregation, with a variety of different events taking place. There is one rectory for the Parish of St Mary the Virgin. The current recent rector is the Revd Canon Lynda Klimas. Maulden church (and other locations around the village and some Maulden residents) feature in two books, published in 2013 and 2015, entitled Musings from Maulden and More Musings from Maulden . In 1824
2444-454: The windows. The pews, some of which faced different ways, provided seating for 248, plus 40 in the gallery. There was no south aisle and no vestry. There was a south entrance with a porch, and a doorway in the north wall, next to the passageway to the Ailesbury mausoleum. The bell tower is in active use and includes a mechanical Westminster "chime" which is a distinctive sound in the village. In
2496-498: The year before in 1662) (both attributed to George Bushnell ) in the Mausoleum, each in its own niche set into the wall either side of the Countess's monument, and placed their coffins in the crypt below. Thomas Bruce, 3rd Earl of Elgin, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656-1741) was a strong supporter of the Stuarts and went into exile overseas in 1696 on account of his loyalty to King James II . He never returned to Houghton and in 1738 sold
2548-471: Was a personal union , as the three Kingdoms shared a monarch, but had separate governments, churches, and institutions. Indeed, the personal union did not prevent an armed conflict, known as the Bishops' Wars , breaking out between England and Scotland in 1639. This was to become part of the cycle of political and military conflict that marked the reign of Charles I of England , Scotland and Ireland, culminating in
2600-689: Was a royal house of Scotland , England , Ireland and later Great Britain . The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland , which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fitz Alan ( c. 1150 ). The name Stewart and variations had become established as a family name by the time of his grandson Walter Stewart . The first monarch of the Stewart line was Robert II , whose male-line descendants were kings and queens in Scotland from 1371, and of England, Ireland and Great Britain from 1603, until 1714. Mary, Queen of Scots (r. 1542–1567),
2652-505: Was brought up in France where she adopted the French spelling of the name Stuart. In 1503, James IV married Margaret Tudor , thus linking the reigning royal houses of Scotland and England. Margaret's niece, Elizabeth I of England died without issue in 1603, and James IV's and Margaret's great-grandson James VI of Scotland acceded to the thrones of England and Ireland as James I in the Union of
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#17328686612462704-728: Was referred to in the Local, National and International Media in March 2017 following a formal complaint (under the Clergy Discipline Measure) lodged with the Bishop of St Albans regarding alleged misrepresentations made by the Rector in a Court of Law (the Consistory Court of the Diocese) and to others. No action was taken. [3] In June 2016 Central Bedfordshire Council designated the village as
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