Fenny Stratford is a town in the Unitary Authority of Milton Keynes, in England. Prior to the administrative boundary change of 1995 it was in Buckinghamshire. It is located to the south east of the modern town of Milton Keynes, joined with Bletchley.
The town name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'marshy ford on a Roman road'. The Roman road in this case is the Watling Street. The town was recorded in manorial rolls in 1252 as Fenni Stratford, though previously it was just known as Stratford: the prefix being added to distinguish the town from nearby Stony Stratford.
Being an ancient market town, Fenny Stratford was the location of a weekly market for many years until 1665 when the town was badly hit by the bubonic plague. As a result the main road that ran through the town was diverted away from it, and the market died as a result. The market was never reinstigated: the town was very much in ruins by the early Eighteenth century, and had by this time joined with both Bletchley and Simpson, being commonly considered a hamlet of the former.
On St Martin's Day 1724 the first stone was laid of the new parish church of Fenny Stratford, marking a fresh start in the town's history. Browne Willis, a historian of the day, raised the funds for the reconstruction and apparently chose St Martin's Day because his gradfather had died on St Martin's Day, in St Martin's Lane in the town. The church therefore became dedicated to St Martin.
Today Fenny Stratford is a busy small town perched on the edge of the much larger town of Milton Keynes. It still doesn't have a market, but the small shopping street gives the town a real community feel.
