Attractions and Places To See around Potterspury - Top 20

Rear of the Temple of Friendship

Highlight • Monument

The Survey reports that building on the Temple of Friendship was begun as early as 1737, assuming that work listed in accounts for that year on a Temple of Diana set on Diana's Bastion refers to the Temple of Friendship. The building was designed by James Gibbs, who was responsible for most of the buildings in Hawkwell Field and who was called back to Stowe as architectural designer after William Kent left around 1736. Gibbs' final design, as reported by Bevington, was for a central room flanked on the east and west by two loggias. The building is fronted by a Tuscan portico, and in 1772-74 the core and roof of the building were heightened, perhaps to match the growth of the surrounding trees, but certainly to provide a larger silhouette to catch the eye from other viewpoints in the field.
Inscribed on the exterior of the building is AMICITIAE S (sacred to friendship), and inside were placed busts in white marble of Lord Cobham and nine of his friends: Earl Bathurst, the Earl of Chatham, the Earl of Chesterfield, Earl Gower, the Earl of Marchmont, Earl Temple, the Earl of Westmoreland, Lord Lyttleton, and Frederick, Prince of Wales. (Three of these men were Cobham's nephews: his heir Richard Grenville, later Earl Temple; William Pitt, later Earl of Chatham; and Sir George Lyttelton.) On the ceiling was a painting of Britannia surrounded by other figures, one of which held a label with the words "The Reign of King Edward III," another of which held a scroll with the words "The Reign of Queen Elizabeth," and a third holding a scroll with the incomplete title "The Reign of ------" which was covered by Britannia's mantle and which she seemed unwilling to look at.
Views from the portico include the Temple of Ancient Virtue in the Elysian fields to the northwest, the Queen's Temple at the far end of Hawkwell Field, and Lord Cobham's Monument, the Gothic Temple, and the Palladian Bridge along the east side. From the windows in the rear of the central room the Corinthian Arch can be seen, and at a time before the view was obscured by planting, the Temple of Venus could be seen on Kent's Bastion to the west. A fire in the early nineteenth century rendered the building an empty shell, and parts of it in danger of falling were demolished in 1884. Today the Temple has the feeling of a romantic ruin.
faculty.bsc.edu/jtatter/friends.html

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Hiking: Oak in Salcey Forest

Highlight • Natural Monument

Once a medieval hunting forest, Salcey Forest is home to some majestic veteran oaks, some over 600 years old.

There are three waymarked walking trails, a cafe and toilet facilities, making this an ideal day out for the family. Crucially, dogs are welcome too. There's also a play area for the little ones and a treetop walkway for those of a stern constitution.

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Stony Stratford Nature Reserve

Highlight • Trail

A beautiful part of the wider Ouse Valley Park, Stony Stratford Nature Reserve is a great place to see breeding and over-wintering birds, as well as many dragonfly species.

Created in 1979 from the gravel workings used in the building of the nearby A5, the reserve comprises five lakes and 57 acres (23 ha) of wet meadow. It is owned and operated by the Parks Trust.

Two hides allow you to spot various bird species, depending on the time of year. Terns, oystercatchers and lapwings nest on the islands between March and June. It’s a good place to see a number of raptors, including kestrels, sparrow-hawks, buzzards and red kites. It is not uncommon to spot ospreys on autumn passage.

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Bancroft Roman Villa

Highlight • Monument

Situated in Milton Keynes' Loughton Valley Linear Park, Bancroft Roman Villa is one of the most extensively excavated Roman villas in Britain. Discovered in 1971, it took 15 years of excavation to reveal the full site we see today.

It was one of eight Roman farming estates that have been discovered in the wider Milton Keynes area. The villa itself would have had an underfloor heating system complete with an open limestone hearth, a bath suite, a fish pond, walled gardens and a summer house.

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Tips from the Community

Bumble-Bee

April 24, 2025, Bancroft Roman Villa

You can wander between the remainders of the walls, which allows to get a good impression of the original layout and size of the rooms.

Juan T

April 5, 2025, Iron Trunk Aqueduct

Excellent ice creams from Tricycle Treats!

I Am Me

January 3, 2024, Iron Trunk Aqueduct

detour when the ouse is flooded

August 19, 2023, Bancroft Roman Villa

Bancroft is one of the most fascinating archaeological landscapes in Milton Keynes. Known primarily for its Roman villa, archaeological digs have revealed almost continuous occupation from 800 BC.

August 19, 2023, Iron Trunk Aqueduct

The Iron Trunk (aka Cosgrove Aqueduct) is a navigable cast iron trough aqueduct that carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Great Ouse at Milton Keynes. Formed of two cast iron trough spans, with a single central masonry pier, it is the world's first wide canal cast iron trough aqueduct.

August 17, 2023, Bancroft Roman Villa

A Roman Villa was discovered when the new estate of Bancroft was being built in the early 70s. Clues had already come after fragments of Roman pottery were noticed in the banks of nearby Loughton Brook in 1967. The area was carefully excavated over the next 15 years to reveal the villa's underfloor heating system with a limestone open hearth, a bath suite, colonnaded verandas and porch and an ornamental walled garden with fish pond and a summerhouse. Among the Roman artefacts uncovered were Samian tableware, a limestone board game, silver-bronze brooches, decorated hair combs and around 1,000 coins Today the site shows the outline of the villa and its rooms.