Syresham

Syresham
Syresham Location within Northamptonshire
Population	805 (2001 census)[1] 855 (2011 census)
OS grid reference	SP670440
District	West Northamptonshire
Shire county	Northamptonshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRACKLEY
Postcode district	NN13
Dialling code	01280
Police	Northamptonshire
Fire	Northamptonshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	South Northamptonshire
List of places UK England Northamptonshire 52°04′12″N 1°04′56″W / 52.07009°N 1.08230°W / 52.07009; -1.08230

Syresham is a village and civil parish in the English district of West Northamptonshire. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 855.^[2] It is near Brackley town and close to Silverstone Circuit. It is surrounded by villages and hamlets such as Biddlesden, Whitfield, Helmdon, Silverstone and Wappenham, and the border with Buckinghamshire lies just to the south of the village. The border itself is defined by the River Great Ouse, which rises within the parish. There are two small hamlets in the parish: Crowfield and Pimlico.

The village's name means 'homestead/village of Sigehere' or 'hemmed-in land of Sigehere'.^[3]

The local geology includes the cornbrash and oolitic limestone of Jurassic age. There is a large abandoned quarry north of the church which supplied the stone for many of the older buildings in the village. The population, like so many other villages in England, is now much lower than even a century ago due to the British agricultural revolution. There are the remains of a very large fish pond south of the church and close to the manor house. The dam wall still stands, but the pond was drained long ago for its rich pasture.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries most of the land in and around Syresham passed to Magdalen College, Oxford. Much of the estate has now been sold off, however

There are several deserted medieval villages nearby, including Astwell near Helmdon, the site of the still standing keep or gatehouse of Astwell Castle.