122-509: The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes , Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, thecentre:mk (a grade II listed building , originally named the 'Shopping Building') which opened in 1979, and Midsummer Place opened in 2000. The centre:mk is anchored by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer . The complex
244-414: A Hit Albums book following two years later. In 1975, Parker Brothers marketed a board game, The Guinness Game of World Records , based on the book. Players compete by setting and breaking records for activities such as the longest streak of rolling dice before rolling doubles, stacking plastic pieces, and bouncing a ball off alternating sides of a card, as well as answering trivia questions based on
366-626: A Peace Pagoda , which was built in 1980 and was the first built by the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order in the western world. The original Wolverton was a medieval settlement just north and west of today's town. The ridge and furrow pattern of agriculture can still be seen in the nearby fields. The 12th century (rebuilt in 1819) 'Church of the Holy Trinity' still stands next to the Norman motte and bailey site. Modern Wolverton
488-412: A 0.6 metres (2 ft) higher level) until it succumbed to 'technical drowning' (undrained flooding) from about 2008. In March 2013, Intu Properties plc bought the property from its original owners, Legal & General , for £250.5 million. In June 2020, Intu Properties went into administration . In September 2021, property group 'Ellandi' took control of the centre. In April 2021, the new managers of
610-506: A branch that keeps records for popular video game high scores, codes and feats in association with Twin Galaxies . The Gamer's Edition contains 258 pages, over 1,236 video game related world records and four interviews including one with Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day . Editions were published for the years 2008 through 2020, with the 2009 edition in hardcover. The 2025 edition is the first since 2020. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles
732-555: A fact-finding agency in London. The twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of (Superlatives and now) Records, in August 1954. A thousand copies were distributed for free to pubs across Britain and Ireland as a promotional asset for the Guinness brand, and they became immensely popular with customers. After the founding of The Guinness Book of Records office at
854-595: A further generation of new towns in the South East of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. Since the 1950s, overspill housing for several London boroughs had been constructed in Bletchley . Further studies in the 1960s identified north Buckinghamshire as a possible site for a large new town, a new city, encompassing the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford , and Wolverton . The New Town (informally and in planning documents, 'New City')
976-659: A huge number of world records. The organisation employs record adjudicators to verify the authenticity of the setting and breaking of records. Following a series of owners, the franchise has been owned by the Jim Pattison Group since 2008, with its headquarters moved to South Quay Plaza , Canary Wharf , London, in 2017. Since 2008, Guinness World Records has orientated its business model away from selling books, and towards creating new world records as publicity exercises for individuals and organisations, which has attracted criticism. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver , then
1098-413: A key element of the planners' vision, Milton Keynes has a purpose built centre, with a very large "covered high street" shopping centre, a theatre , municipal art gallery , a multiplex cinema , hotels, central business district , an ecumenical church , Milton Keynes Civic Offices and central railway station . Campbell Park , a formal park extending east from the business area to
1220-747: A login on the company's website. Applications made by individuals for existing record categories are free of charge. There is an administration fee of £5 (or $ 5) to propose a new record title. A number of spin-off books and television series have also been produced. Guinness World Records bestowed the record of "Person with the most records" on Ashrita Furman of Queens, New York, in April 2009; at that time, he held 100 records. In 2005, Guinness designated 9 November as International Guinness World Records Day to encourage breaking of world records. In 2006, an estimated 100,000 people participated in over 10 countries. Guinness reported 2,244 new records in 12 months, which
1342-409: A new record. The company also provides corporate services for companies to "harness the power of record-breaking to deliver tangible success for their businesses." Guinness World Records states several types of records it will not accept for ethical reasons, such as those related to the killing or harming of animals. In the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records , Colombian serial killer Pedro López
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#17330933354171464-517: A programme of intensive planting, balancing lakes and parkland. Central Milton Keynes ("CMK") was not intended to be a traditional town centre but a central business and shopping district to supplement local centres embedded in most of the grid squares. This non-hierarchical devolved city plan was a departure from the English new towns tradition and envisaged a wide range of industry and diversity of housing styles and tenures. The largest and almost
1586-473: A record to break or to create a new category just for them. As such, they have been described as a native advertising company, with no clear distinction between content and advertisement. Guinness World Records was criticised by television talk show host John Oliver on the program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in August 2019. Oliver criticised Guinness for taking money from authoritarian governments for pointless vanity projects as it related to
1708-520: A relaxation space for visitors. The indoor space ( Middleton Hall ) is 1,800-square-metre exhibition space near the east end. During 2010, Middleton Hall was used as a temporary home venue for the Milton Keynes Lions basketball team, housing a 1,200-seat arena. In a central space outside the shopping building (but contained by it on three sides) is an open-air market , much of it under Secklow Gate (a flyover that gives first-floor service access to
1830-561: A result, high rise buildings have been built in the central business district. More recent local plans have protected the existing boulevard framework and set higher standards for architectural excellence. The flood plains of the Great Ouse and of its tributaries (the Ouzel and some brooks) have been protected as linear parks that run right through Milton Keynes; these were identified as important landscape and flood-management assets from
1952-573: A scroll", along with other such titles. Concerns were also raised around the activities around Egypt, which moved from 22 records to 110 within a decade until 2024. James Lynch, co-founder of FairSquare, said the records were legitimising Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's regime. The Guinness World Records stated that its record titles "cannot be purchased". For some potential categories, Guinness World Records has declined to list some records that are too difficult or impossible to determine. For example, its website states: "We do not accept any claims for beauty as it
2074-616: A shortfall that the Council aims to rectify. In January 2019, the council and its partner, Cranfield University, invited proposals to design a campus near the Central station for a new university, code-named MK:U . However this project seems unlikely to proceed, following a government decision in January 2023 to deny funding. In June 2023, the Open University announced that it would "initiate work on
2196-487: A sword swallower, repeated lightning strike victim Roy Sullivan 's hat complete with lightning holes and a pair of gem-studded golf shoes on sale for $ 6,500. The museum closed in 1995. In more recent years, the Guinness company has permitted the franchising of small museums with displays based on the book, all currently (as of 2010 ) located in towns popular with tourists: Tokyo , Copenhagen , San Antonio . There were once Guinness World Records museums and exhibitions at
2318-550: A total of 3,000 – 4,500 children. A central resource area served all the schools on a campus. In addition, each campus included a leisure centre with indoor and outdoor sports facilities and a swimming pool, plus a theatre. These facilities were available to the public outside school hours, thus maximising use of the investment. Changes in central government policy from the 1980s onwards subsequently led to much of this system being abandoned. Some schools have since been merged and sites sold for development, many converted to academies, and
2440-527: A unique insight into the history of a large sample of the landscape of North Buckinghamshire. The corporation's strongly modernist designs were regularly featured in the magazines Architectural Design and the Architects' Journal . MKDC was determined to learn from the mistakes made in the earlier new towns , and revisit the garden city ideals . They set in place the characteristic grid roads that run between districts ( 'grid squares' ), as well as
2562-742: A venue for jazz, blues , folk , rock, classical , pop and world music . It presents around 400 concerts and over 200 educational events each year and also hosts the National Youth Music Camps summer camp for young musicians. In 2010, the Stables founded the biennial IF Milton Keynes International Festival , producing events in unconventional spaces and places across Milton Keynes. Guinness Book of Records Guinness World Records , known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records ,
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#17330933354172684-419: A very strong north-south axis. If you've got to build a city between (them), it is very natural to take a pen and draw the rungs of a ladder. Ten miles by six is the size of this city – 22,000 acres. Do you lay it out like an American city, rigid orthogonal from side to side? Being more sensitive in 1966-7, the designers decided that the grid concept should apply but should be a lazy grid following
2806-566: Is a city in Buckinghamshire , England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London . At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel , meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes . Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). In
2928-535: Is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Sir Hugh Beaver created the concept, and twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter co-founded the book in London in August 1955. The first edition topped the bestseller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of
3050-440: Is a separate network (approximately 170 miles (270 km) total length) of cycle and pedestrian routes – the redways – that runs through the grid-squares and often runs alongside the grid-road network. This was designed to segregate slow moving cycle and pedestrian traffic from fast moving motor traffic. In practice, it is mainly used for leisure cycling rather than commuting, perhaps because
3172-474: Is composed of about 90% service industries and 9% manufacturing. It may startle some political economists to talk of commencing the building of new cities ... planned as cities from their first foundation, and not mere small towns and villages. ... A time will arrive when something of this sort must be done ... England cannot escape from the alternative of new city building. In the 1960s, the UK government decided that
3294-441: Is flush and at ground level. Some of the shops e.g. John Lewis and Next have two or three floors inside. A service road for deliveries runs above the shops, so that large trucks may service the shops at roof level, removing the peripheral service roads and loading bays at ground level that mar so many large shopping malls. This means all deliveries take place out of view of the shoppers, though tall trucks can sometimes be seen from
3416-430: Is more commonly known as the city. Labour Minister Dick Crossman …looked at [a] map and saw [the] name and said " Milton the poet , Keynes the economic one . 'Planning with economic sense and idealism, a very good name for it.'" The name 'Milton Keynes' was a reuse of the name of one of the original historic villages in the designated area, now more generally known as ' Milton Keynes Village ' to distinguish it from
3538-419: Is not objectively measurable." On 10 December 2010, Guinness World Records stopped accepting submissions for the " dreadlock " category after investigation of its first and only female title holder, Asha Mandela, determining it was impossible to judge this record accurately. Traditionally, the company made a large amount of its revenue via book sales to interested readers, especially children. The rise of
3660-417: Is only a small medieval chapel and a manor house occupying the site. New Bradwell , to the north of Bradwell and east of Wolverton, was built specifically for railway workers. The level bed of the old Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line near here has been converted to a redway, making it a favoured route for cycling. A working windmill is sited on a hill outside the village. Great Linford appears in
3782-422: Is slow. Would-be record breakers that paid fees ranging from US$ 12,000 to US$ 500,000 would be given advisors, adjudicators, help in finding good records to break as well as suggestions for how to do it, prompt service, and so on. In particular, corporations and celebrities seeking a publicity stunt to launch a new product or draw attention to themselves began to hire Guinness World Records , paying them for finding
Central Milton Keynes shopping centre - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-490: Is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, with the size of 120,773 sq metres. The Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) began work on the Shopping Building in 1973. It was to be the largest building of Central Milton Keynes , and was built at almost the highest point in the "New City" . The architects were Derek Walker , Stuart Mosscrop, and Christopher Woodward, who had been Chief and senior architects at
4026-544: Is the effective authority on the exact requirements for them and with whom records reside, the company providing adjudicators to events to determine the veracity of record attempts. The list of records which the Guinness World Records covers is not fixed, records may be added and also removed for various reasons. The public is invited to submit applications for records, which can be either the bettering of existing records or substantial achievements which could constitute
4148-592: Is usually a (grassed) reservation to permit dualling or additional transport infrastructure at a later date. As of 2018 , this has been limited to some dualling. The edges of each grid square are landscaped and densely planted – some additionally have noise attenuation mounds – to minimise traffic noise from the grid road impacting the adjacent grid square. Traffic movements are fast, with relatively little congestion since there are alternative routes to any particular destination other than during peak periods. The national speed limit applies on
4270-465: The "Iron Trunk" aqueduct over the Ouse at Wolverton at its northern boundary). The initial park system was planned by Peter Youngman (Chief Landscape Architect ), who also developed landscape precepts for all development areas: groups of grid squares were to be planted with different selections of trees and shrubs to give them distinct identities. The detailed planning and landscape design of parks and of
4392-522: The Domesday Book as Linforde , and features a church dedicated to Saint Andrew , dating from 1215. Today, the outer buildings of the 17th century manor house form an arts centre . Milton Keynes (Village) is the original village to which the New Town owes its name. The original village is still evident, with a pleasant thatched pub , village hall , church and traditional housing. The area around
4514-481: The Empire State Building . Speed shooter Bob Munden then went on tour promoting The Guinness Book of World Records by performing his record fast draws with a standard weight single-action revolver from a Western movie-type holster. His fastest time for a draw was 0.02 seconds. Among exhibits were life-size statues of the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow , and world's largest earthworm , an X-ray photo of
4636-613: The Local Government Act 1972 , Milton Keynes Borough (now City) Council). From 2004 to 2011 a government quango , the Milton Keynes Partnership , had development control powers to accelerate the growth of Milton Keynes. Along with many other towns and boroughs, Milton Keynes competed (unsuccessfully) for formal city status in the 2000, 2002 and 2012 competitions. However the Borough (including rural areas, in addition to
4758-663: The London Trocadero , Bangalore , San Francisco , Myrtle Beach , Orlando , Atlantic City , New Jersey, and Las Vegas , Nevada . The Orlando museum, which closed in 2002, was branded The Guinness Records Experience ; the Hollywood, Niagara Falls , Copenhagen, and Gatlinburg , Tennessee museums also previously featured this branding. Guinness World Records has commissioned various television series documenting world record breaking attempts, including: Specials: In 2008, Guinness World Records released its gamer's edition,
4880-588: The Milton Keynes urban area (one inter-city). The Open University is based here and there is a small campus of the University of Bedfordshire . Most major sports are represented at amateur level; Red Bull Racing (Formula One), MK Dons (association football), and Milton Keynes Lightning (ice hockey) are its professional teams. The Peace Pagoda overlooking Willen Lake was the first such to be built in Europe. The many works of sculpture in parks and public spaces include
5002-560: The Norman conquest ; detailed archaeological investigations before development revealed evidence of human occupation from the Neolithic period, including the Milton Keynes Hoard of Bronze Age gold jewellery. The government established Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) to design and deliver this new city. The Corporation decided on a softer, more human-scaled landscape than in
Central Milton Keynes shopping centre - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-522: The Royal British Society of Sculptors . Nearby, in the "guest services lounge", a mosaic pavement (c. AD 320) from Bancroft Roman Villa is on display. These works were previously sited in Queen's Court. Before being redeveloped, Queen's Court also contained: Oak Court contains: The Midsummer Place building contains: In 1981, the building and its surrounding vicinity were used for the filming of
5246-433: The 'beads' are sports centres, lakeside cafes and other activity areas; the 'settings' are self-managed land-uses such as woods, riding paddocks, a golf course and a farm". The Grand Union Canal is another green route (and demonstrates the level geography of the area – there is just one minor lock in its entire 10-mile (16 km) meandering route through from the southern boundary near Fenny Stratford to
5368-518: The 1960s, the government decided that a further generation of new towns in the south east of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. Milton Keynes was to be the biggest yet, with a population of 250,000 and area of 22,000 acres (9,000 ha). At designation, its area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley , Fenny Stratford , Wolverton and Stony Stratford , along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between. These settlements had an extensive historical record since
5490-407: The 2025 edition, it is now in its 70th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 40 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international source for cataloguing and verification of
5612-755: The Corporation attracted talented young architects, led by the respected designer, Derek Walker. In the modernist Miesian tradition is the Shopping Building designed by Stuart Mosscrop and Christopher Woodward, a grade II listed building , which the Twentieth Century Society inter alia regards as the 'most distinguished' twentieth century retail building in Britain. The Development Corporation also led an ambitious public art programme. The urban design has not been universally praised. In 1980,
5734-597: The Culture Minister that the original building be designated a Grade II listed building which, the owners said, would curtail severely their ability to alter it if awarded. The Twentieth Century Society responded that this belief is unfounded. It was listed in July 2010. It won a number of prizes when constructed and remains a valued element of Milton Keynes. In July 2010, the Heritage Minister, John Penrose , advised
5856-689: The Development Corporation was being wound up , it transferred the major parks, lakes, river-banks and grid-road margins to the Parks Trust , a charity which is independent of the municipal authority. MKDC endowed the Parks Trust with a portfolio of commercial properties, the income from which pays for the upkeep of the green spaces. As of 2018 , approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland. It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest , Howe Park Wood and Oxley Mead . As
5978-401: The Development Corporation; and the engineers were Felix Samuely and Partners. The shopping area was opened on 25 September 1979 by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . The building's sleek envelope accommodated 130 shops and six department stores, arranged along two parallel day-lit arcades, planted with sub-tropical and temperate trees. The cool, elegant, steel framed design was influenced by
6100-529: The Grand Union Canal, is described in the Pevsner Architectural Guides as " ...the largest and most imaginative park to have been laid out in Britain in the 20th century". The park is listed (grade 2) by Historic England , Milton Keynes consists of many pre-existing towns and villages that anchored the urban design, as well as new infill developments. The modern-day urban area outside
6222-524: The Green . These historical settlements were made the focal points of their respective grid square. Every other district has an historical antecedent, if only in original farms or even field names. Bletchley was first recorded in the 12th century as Blechelai . Its station was an important junction (the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Line ), leading to
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#17330933354176344-608: The High Street is reputedly the last place the Princes in the Tower were seen alive. The manor house of Walton village, Walton Hall , is the headquarters of the Open University and the tiny parish church (deconsecrated) is in its grounds. The small parish church (1680) at Willen was designed by the architect and physicist Robert Hooke . Nearby, there is a Buddhist Temple and
6466-454: The Internet began to cut into book sales starting in the 2000s, part of a general decline in the book industry. According to a 2017 story by Planet Money of NPR , Guinness began to realise that a lucrative new revenue source to replace falling book sales was the would-be record-holders themselves. While any person can theoretically send in a record to be verified for free, the approval process
6588-549: The MK urban area ) was successful in 2022, in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition. On 15 August 2022, the Crown Office announced formally that Queen Elizabeth II had ordained by letters patent that the Borough of Milton Keynes has been given city status. In law, it is the Borough rather than its eponymous settlement that has city status; nevertheless it is the latter that
6710-651: The Official Chart Company's singles and albums charts were combined under the title British Hit Singles & Albums , with Hit Entertainment publishing the book from 2003 to 2006 (under the Guinness World Records brand). After Guinness World Records was sold to The Jim Pattison Group, it was effectively replaced by a series of books published by Ebury Publishing/Random House with the Virgin Book of British Hit Singles first being published in 2007 and with
6832-736: The arcades as they pass at high level. The internal landscaping was very lavish with 47 plant beds with large plants and trees; temperate in the northerly arcade and semi-tropical in the southerly one. The planters were finished in the same travertine as the floor, but approximately one third of these have been removed since the building was opened, with consequent loss of both planting and seating for shoppers, to accommodate market barrows and stalls. There are two large public areas, intended as civic open spaces, one indoors and one open air. The open-air garden square ( Queen's Court ) lies between Midsummer Arcade and Silbury Arcade, just west of mid-point, which has been redesigned away from its original concept as
6954-640: The architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and echoed glazed shopping streets or arcades on the grand scale of the Galleria in Milan. The designer, Derek Walker , also likened it to the Crystal Palace . It was described in 1993 as "still the best-looking if no longer the biggest shopping centre in the British Isles". It is unusual for second generation shopping centres in Europe for the amount of daylight allowed into
7076-491: The audience on various world records and were able to give the correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated by two members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975, in response to offering a £50,000 reward for information that would lead to capture of members of the organisation. Following Ross's assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered
7198-619: The book became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October, in time for Christmas. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic memory; on the British children's television series Record Breakers , based upon the book, which was broadcast on the BBC from 1972 to 2001, they would take questions posed by children in
7320-576: The boundary of Milton Keynes was defined in 1967, some 40,000 people lived in four towns and fifteen villages or hamlets in the "designated area". The radical plan, form and scale of Milton Keynes attracted international attention. Early phases of development include work by celebrated architects, including Sir Richard MacCormac , Norman Foster , Henning Larsen , Ralph Erskine , John Winter , and Martin Richardson. Led by Lord Campbell of Eskan (chairman) and Fred Roche (General Manager),
7442-476: The centre after the shops close (shortening evening journeys on foot considerably), a restaurant quarter would open in a re-landscaped Queens Court, and an "enhanced" entrance would be created on the north side. Phase 2 may include expansion at the eastern end. However, these plans were put on hold by the centre owners and only the work in Queens Court went ahead. The plans are controversial because they would mean
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#17330933354177564-446: The centre owners aim to expand thecentre:mk . In the original plan (suspended since mid 2007), Phase 1 of the redevelopment programme would include a new department store on the south side (for which the outdoor market would be moved southwards and Secklow Gate flyover would be closed), the colonnade on the west of Middleton Hall would be removed by expanding the shops into it, Crown Walk would be opened to allow pedestrian access through
7686-401: The centre should not exceed six storeys, with a limit of three storeys for houses (elsewhere), paraphrased locally as "no building taller than the tallest tree". In contrast, the Milton Keynes Partnership , in its expansion plans for Milton Keynes , believed that Central Milton Keynes (and elsewhere) needed "landmark buildings" and subsequently lifted the height restriction for the area. As
7808-471: The city's green spaces are largely independent of the council's expenditure priorities. The Development Corporation's original design concept aimed for a "forest city" and its foresters planted millions of trees from its own nursery in Newlands in the following years. Parks, lakes and green spaces cover about 25% of Milton Keynes; as of 2018 , there are 22 million trees and shrubs in public open spaces. When
7930-438: The cover with the topic of 'The ocean and the water'. The retirement of Norris McWhirter from his consulting role in 1995 and the subsequent decision by Diageo Plc to sell The Guinness Book of Records brand have shifted the focus of the books from text-oriented to illustrated reference. A selection of records are curated for the book from the full archive but all existing Guinness World Records titles can be accessed by creating
8052-430: The cycle routes are shared with pedestrians, cross the grid-roads via bridge or underpass rather than at grade, and because some take meandering scenic routes rather than straight lines. It is so called because it is generally surfaced with red tarmac. The national Sustrans national cycle network routes 6 and 51 take advantage of this system. The original design guidance declared that commercial building heights in
8174-430: The earlier English new towns but with an emphatically modernist architecture . Recognising how traditional towns and cities had become choked in traffic, they established a grid of distributor roads about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) between edges, leaving the spaces between to develop more organically. An extensive network of shared paths for leisure cyclists and pedestrians criss-crosses through and between them. Rejecting
8296-598: The flow of land, its valleys, its ebbs and flows. That would be nicer to look at, more economical and efficient to build, and would sit more beautifully as a landscape intervention. The Milton Keynes Development Corporation planned the major road layout according to street hierarchy principles, using a grid pattern of approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) intervals, rather than on the more conventional radial pattern found in older settlements. Major distributor roads run between communities, rather than through them: these distributor roads are known locally as grid roads and
8418-478: The grid roads was evolved under the leadership of Neil Higson, who from 1977 took over from Youngman. In a national comparison of urban areas by open space available to residents, Milton Keynes ranked highest in the UK. Milton Keynes is unusual in that most of the parks are owned and managed by a charity, the Milton Keynes Parks Trust rather than the local authority, to ensure that the management of
8540-496: The grid roads, although lower speed limits have been introduced on some stretches to reduce accident rates. Pedestrians rarely need to cross grid roads at grade , as underpasses and bridges were specified at frequent places along each stretch of all of the grid roads. In contrast, the later districts planned by English Partnerships have departed from this model, without a road hierarchy but with conventional junctions with traffic lights and at grade pedestrian crossings. There
8662-482: The iconic Concrete Cows at Milton Keynes Museum . Milton Keynes is among the most economically productive localities in the UK, ranking highly against a number of criteria. It has the UK's fifth-highest number of business startups per capita (but equally of business failures). It is home to several major national and international companies. Despite economic success and personal wealth for some, there are pockets of nationally significant poverty. The employment profile
8784-509: The intention that it would be self-sustaining and eventually become a major regional centre in its own right. Planning control was taken from elected local authorities and delegated to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC). Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: doing so has exposed a rich history of human settlement since Neolithic times and has provided
8906-525: The landscape of south-central England. There is evidence of Stone Age , late Bronze Age /early Iron Age , Romano-British , Anglo-Saxon , Anglo-Norman , Medieval , and late Industrial Revolution settlements such as the railway towns of Wolverton (with its railway works ) and Bletchley (at the junction of the London and North Western Railway with the Oxford–Cambridge Varsity Line ). The most notable archaeological artefact
9028-468: The last of the British New Towns, Milton Keynes has 'stood the test of time far better than most, and has proved flexible and adaptable'. The radical grid plan was inspired by the work of Melvin M. Webber , described by the founding architect of Milton Keynes, Derek Walker , as the 'father of the city'. Webber thought that telecommunications meant that the old idea of a city as a concentric cluster
9150-515: The leisure centres outsourced to commercial providers. As in most parts of the UK, the state secondary schools in Milton Keynes are comprehensives , although schools in the rest of Buckinghamshire still use the tripartite system . Private schools are also available. The Open University 's headquarters are in the Walton Hall district; though because this is a distance learning institution,
9272-543: The listings in the Guinness Book of World Records . A video game , Guinness World Records: The Videogame , was developed by TT Fusion and released for Nintendo DS , Wii and iOS in November 2008. In 2012, Warner Bros. announced the development of a live-action film version of Guinness World Records with Daniel Chun as scriptwriter. The film version will apparently use the heroic achievements of record holders as
9394-453: The longest egg tossing distances, or for longest time spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV or the largest number of hot dogs consumed in three minutes. Besides records about competitions, it contains such facts such as the heaviest tumour, the most poisonous fungus , the longest-running soap opera and the most valuable life-insurance policy, among others. Many records also relate to the youngest people to have achieved something, such as
9516-433: The loss of the minimalist appearance of the building, the clarity of the layout and public spaces in the building. The closure of Secklow Gate was even proposed, removing the rooftop loading facility that is such an important feature of the building. Additionally, objectors say that the plans to erect dwellings in the central area run the risk of hampering movement around and in and out of the centre as well as spoiling views of
9638-462: The main focus of his story, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow . Oliver asked Guinness to work with Last Week Tonight to adjudicate a record for "Largest cake featuring a picture of someone falling off a horse", but according to Oliver, the offer did not work out after Guinness insisted on a non-disparagement clause. Guinness World Records denied the accusations and stated that they declined Oliver's offer to participate because "it
9760-716: The managing director of the Guinness Breweries , went on a shooting party in the North Slob , by the River Slaney in County Wexford , Ireland. After missing a shot at a golden plover , he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the red grouse (the plover is faster, but neither is the fastest game bird in Europe). That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it
9882-466: The master plan to sit alongside the grid roads, these local centres were mostly in fact built embedded in the communities. Although the 1970 master plan assumed cross-road junctions, roundabout junctions were built at intersections because this type of junction is more efficient at dealing with small to medium volumes. Some major roads are dual carriageway , the others are single carriageway . Along one side of each single carriageway grid road, there
10004-648: The modern settlement. After the Norman conquest, the de Cahaignes family held the manor from 1166 to the late 13th century as well as others in the country ( Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire, Somerford Keynes in Gloucestershire, and Horsted Keynes in West Sussex). The village was originally known as Middeltone (11th century); then later as Middelton Kaynes or Caynes (13th century); Milton Keynes (15th century); and Milton alias Middelton Gaynes (17th century). The area that
10126-569: The music video Wired for Sound by Cliff Richard . Filming took place at the eastern end of Midsummer Arcade (the distinctive tiling outside the John Lewis department store being clearly visible), outside Norfolk House and in nearby underpasses. The building was also used as a location for still photography on the first self-titled album by Duran Duran . In November 2008, English Heritage (the Government's advisor on historic buildings) recommended to
10248-428: The older book to the "Modern Society" section of the newer edition. As of 2011 , it is required in the guidelines of all "large food" type records that the item be fully edible, and distributed to the public for consumption, to prevent food wastage. Chain letters are also not allowed: "Guinness World Records does not accept any records relating to chain letters, sent by post or e-mail." After Roger Guy English set
10370-473: The only students resident on campus are approximately 200 full-time postgraduates. Cranfield University , an all-postgraduate institution, is in nearby Cranfield , Bedfordshire. Milton Keynes College provides further education up to foundation degree level. A campus of the University of Bedfordshire provides some tertiary education facilities locally. As of 2023 , Milton Keynes is the UK's largest population centre without its own conventional university,
10492-428: The original phase. Following extension this was documented in the 1997 Guinness Book of Records to contain the longest shopping mall in the world. Midsummer Place is effectively a southwards extension of the centre but is owned and operated independently. (It was a planning requirement that it should not physically attach to the original building, so there is an approximately one metre gap between them). Midsummer Place
10614-534: The original six towns (Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Woburn Sands ) was largely rural farmland but included many picturesque North Buckinghamshire villages and hamlets: Bradwell village and its Abbey , Broughton , Caldecotte , Great Linford , Loughton , Milton Keynes Village , New Bradwell , Shenley Brook End , Shenley Church End , Simpson , Stantonbury , Tattenhoe , Tongwell , Walton , Water Eaton , Wavendon , Willen , Great and Little Woolstone , Woughton on
10736-608: The outset. At 4,100 acres (1,650 ha) – ten times larger than London's Hyde Park and a third larger than Richmond Park – the landscape architects realised that the Royal Parks model would not be appropriate or affordable and drew on their National Park experience. As Bendixson and Platt (1992) write: "They divided the Ouzel Valley into 'strings, beads and settings'. The 'strings' are well-maintained routes, be they for walking, bicycling or riding;
10858-416: The overall urban environment. The grid squares have a variety of development styles, ranging from conventional urban development and industrial parks to original rural and modern urban and suburban developments. Most grid squares have a local centre, intended as a retail hub, and many have community facilities as well. Each of the original villages is the heart of its own grid-square. Originally intended under
10980-487: The owners that he had decided that the building merited a Grade II listing , to applause from the 20th Century Society and other conservationists. On 1 December 2009 an armed robbery occurred at a jewellery store near Middleton Hall. Three suspects sprayed CS gas in the area, injuring 2 people. After firing several blank shots, the suspects fled the area after stealing roughly £1 million in watches. The shopping centre reopened 2 days later. The Milton Keynes Partnership and
11102-454: The planning and development of Milton Keynes and has an associated research library. The centre also offers an education programme (with a focus on urban geography and local history) to schools, universities and professionals. The open-air National Bowl is a 65,000-capacity venue for large-scale events. In Wavendon , the Stables – founded by the jazz musicians Cleo Laine and John Dankworth – provides
11224-414: The public areas, for the rigorous control of retail facias along the arcades themselves, for its public art, the unusually high level of accessibility for visitors with limited mobility (and other users laden with children and shopping), the lavish extent of the public spaces and their interior planting (reduced since the buildings was completed) and for the cool mirrored exterior. Public access to all units
11346-496: The publisher to potential litigation . These changes included the removal of all spirit , wine and beer drinking records, along with other unusual records for consuming such unlikely things as bicycles and trees. Other records, such as sword swallowing and rally driving (on public roads), were closed from further entry as the current holders had performed beyond what are considered safe human tolerance levels. There have been instances of closed categories being reopened. For example,
11468-481: The record for sleeplessness in 1974, the category was discontinued for being too dangerous. At the request of the U.S. Mint , in 1984, the book stopped accepting claims of large hoardings of pennies or other currency. Environmentally unfriendly records (such as the releasing of sky lanterns and party balloons ) are no longer accepted or monitored, in addition to records relating to tobacco or cannabis consumption or preparation. In 2024, Guinness World Records
11590-436: The residential tower block concept that had become unpopular , they set a height limit of three storeys outside Central Milton Keynes . Facilities include a 1,400-seat theatre, a municipal art gallery, two multiplex cinemas, an ecumenical central church, a 400-seat concert hall, a teaching hospital, a 30,500-seat football stadium, an indoor ski-slope and a 65,000-capacity open-air concert venue. Seven railway stations serve
11712-660: The shopping building. Independently of the Centre management plans, Milton Keynes Council transport strategy calls for Midsummer Boulevard to be re-opened through the Midsummer Place to thecentre:mk to facilitate a "public transport spine" bus route along the Boulevard, from the station to Campbell Park . Milton Keynes 52°02′N 0°46′W / 52.04°N 0.76°W / 52.04; -0.76 Milton Keynes ( / k iː n z / KEENZ )
11834-405: The shops' loading bays, as well as a useful North-South route). In 1993, the building was extended at the western end, over much of what had been City Square to the even greater length of 720 meters. In architectural style this extension is similar to the original, though the join can be detected internally by the low ceilings and dark corridors in the extension, quite unlike the handsome arcades of
11956-526: The site announced that its original name, Midsummer Place, name was being reinstated. A kinetic sculpture ( Circle of Light , 1980) by Liliane Lijn hangs from the ceiling of Midsummer Arcade. The mechanism has not operated for many years. It was originally floodlit at night and is on the axis of the midsummer sun on which Midsummer Boulevard is roughly orientated . Silbury Arcade contains three bronze figures ( Dream Flight , Flying Carpet and High Flyer , 1989) by Philomena Davidson Davis, former president of
12078-422: The spaces between them – the neighbourhoods – are known as grid squares (though few are actually square or even rectilinear ). This spacing was chosen so that people would always be within six minutes' walking distance of a grid-road bus-stop. Consequently, each grid square is a semi-autonomous community, making a unique collective of 100 clearly identifiable neighbourhoods within
12200-469: The strategic and financial case to relocate [from] the OU's existing campus at Walton Hall to a new site adjacent to the central railway station" and possibly commence teaching full-time undergraduates. Through Milton Keynes University Hospital , the city also has links with the University of Buckingham 's medical school. Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre at Bradwell Abbey holds an extensive archive about
12322-558: The substantial urban growth in the town in the Victorian period. It expanded to absorb the village of Water Eaton and town of Fenny Stratford . Bradwell is a traditional rural village with earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey and parish church. There is a YHA hostel beside the church. Bradwell Abbey , a former Benedictine Priory and scheduled monument , was of major economic importance in this area of North Buckinghamshire before its dissolution in 1524. Nowadays there
12444-403: The sword swallowing category was listed as closed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records , but has since been reopened with Johnny Strange breaking a sword swallowing record on Guinness World Records Live. Similarly, the speed beer drinking records which were dropped from the book in 1991, reappeared 17 years later in the 2008 edition, but were moved from the "Human Achievements" section of
12566-553: The then president of the Royal Town Planning Institute , Francis Tibbalds, described Central Milton Keynes as "bland, rigid, sterile, and totally boring." Michael Edwards, a member of the original consultancy team, believes that there were weaknesses in their proposal and that the Development Corporation implemented it badly. The geography of Milton Keynes – the railway line , Watling Street , Grand Union Canal , M1 motorway – sets up
12688-479: The top of Ludgate House, 107 Fleet Street , London, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British bestseller list by Christmas. The following year, it was introduced into the United States by New York publisher David Boehm and sold 70,000 copies. Since then, Guinness World Records has sold more than 150 million copies in 100 countries and 40 languages. Because
12810-527: The village has reverted to its 11th century name of Middleton (Middeltone ). The oldest surviving domestic building in the area (c. 1300 CE), "perhaps the manor house", is here. Stony Stratford began as a settlement on Watling Street during the Roman occupation , beside the ford over the Great Ouse. There has been a market here since 1194 (by charter of King Richard I ). The former Rose and Crown Inn on
12932-415: The well-being of potential record breakers. For example, following publication of the "heaviest pet" record, many owners overfed their pets beyond the bounds of what was healthy, and therefore such entries were removed. The Guinness Book also dropped records within their "eating and drinking records" section of Human Achievements in 1991 over concerns that potential competitors could harm themselves and expose
13054-419: The youngest person to visit all nations of the world, currently held by Maurizio Giuliano . Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness World Records database, as well as select new records, with the criteria for inclusion changing from year to year. The latest edition is the 70th, published on 15 September 2023. It is the fourth and last installment featuring Rod Hunt's illustrations on
13176-441: Was a 173% increase over the previous year. In February 2008, NBC aired The Top 100 Guinness World Records of All Time and Guinness World Records made the complete list available on their website. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international authority on the cataloguing and verification of a huge number of world records. For many records, Guinness World Records
13298-515: Was a 19th-century New Town built to house the workers at the Wolverton railway works , which built engines and carriages for the London and North Western Railway . Among the smaller villages and hamlets are three – Broughton , Loughton and Woughton on the Green – that are of note in that their names each use a different pronunciation of the ough letter sequence in English. In early planning, education provision
13420-408: Was a music reference book first published in 1977. It was compiled by BBC Radio 1 DJs Paul Gambaccini and Mike Read with brothers Tim Rice and Jonathan Rice. It was the first in a number of music reference books that were to be published by Guinness Publishing with sister publication The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums coming in 1983. After being sold to Hit Entertainment, the data concerning
13542-573: Was accused of laundering the reputation of the oppressive governments as it set world records for the UAE's police forces and Egypt's military. By 2024, the UAE achieved 526 records, of which 21 were credited to the Emirates' police force. Matthew Hedges, a British academic who was forced to sign a false confession, asked the records body to take down the Abu Dhabi police department's certificate for "most signatures on
13664-592: Was called Norris on the Spot . Norris carried on as the book's sole editor. Guinness Superlatives, later Guinness World Records Limited , was incorporated in London in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades until it was repurchased by Guinness in 1989 after an 18-month long lawsuit. The group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it
13786-447: Was carefully integrated into the development plans with the intention that school journeys would, as far as possible, be made by walking and cycling. Each residential grid square was provided with a primary school (ages 5 to 8) for c.240 children, and for each two squares there was a middle school (ages 8 to 12) for c.480 children. For each eight squares there was a large secondary education campus, to contain between two and four schools for
13908-475: Was designed by GMW Architects of London and opened in 2000. This extension is built across (and thus closing) Midsummer Boulevard using a (covered and enclosed) plaza that contains some demountable kiosks: it is a further planning requirement that the Boulevard should technically be capable of being reopened (remain free of structures) at some future date. The new centre was constructed in part around an existing oak tree that briefly survived being built around (at
14030-549: Was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must have been numerous other questions debated nightly among the public, but there was no book in the world with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. Beaver's idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended university friends Norris and Ross McWhirter , who had been running
14152-473: Was listed as the "most prolific serial killer", having murdered at least 110 people (with Lopez himself claiming he murdered over 300 people) in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in the late 1960s to 1980s. This was removed after complaints that the listing and category made a competition out of murder. Several world records that were once included in the book have been removed for ethical reasons, including concerns for
14274-564: Was merely an opportunity to mock one of our record-holders," and that Oliver did not specifically request the record for the largest marble cake. As of 2021, the Guinness World Record for "Largest marble cake" remains with Betty Crocker Middle East in Saudi Arabia. Following Oliver's episode, Guinness World Records ' ethics were called into question by human rights groups. In 1976, a Guinness Book of World Records museum opened in
14396-491: Was out of date and that cities which enabled people to travel around them readily would be the thing of the future, achieving "community without propinquity " for residents. The government wound up MKDC in 1992, 25 years after the new town was founded, transferring control to the Commission for New Towns (CNT) and then finally to English Partnerships , with the planning function returning to local council control (since 1974 and
14518-857: Was purchased by Gullane Entertainment for £45.5 million ($ 65 million). Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002. In 2006, Apax Partners purchased HIT and subsequently sold Guinness World Records in early 2008 to the Jim Pattison Group , the parent company of Ripley Entertainment , which is licensed to operate Guinness World Records' Attractions. With offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records' global headquarters remain in London, specifically South Quay Plaza , Canary Wharf , while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando , Florida. Recent editions have focused on record feats by individuals. Competitions range from obvious ones such as Olympic weightlifting to
14640-531: Was the Milton Keynes Hoard , which the British Museum described as 'one of the biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Britain and seems to flaunt wealth.' Bletchley Park , the site of World War II Allied code-breaking and Colossus , the world's first programmable electronic digital computer , is a major component of MK's modern history. It is now a flourishing heritage attraction, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. When
14762-480: Was to be the biggest yet, with a target population of 250,000, in a ' designated area ' of 21,883 acres (8,855.7 ha). The name 'Milton Keynes' was taken from that of an existing village on the site. On 23 January 1967, when the formal "new town designation order" was made, the area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages. The site was deliberately located equidistant from London, Birmingham , Leicester , Oxford , and Cambridge , with
14884-452: Was to become Milton Keynes encompassed a landscape that has a rich historic legacy. The area to be developed was largely farmland and undeveloped villages, but with evidence of permanent settlement dating back to the Bronze Age . Before construction began, every area was subject to detailed archaeological investigation: this work has provided an insight into the history of a very large sample of
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