Olney, Buckinghamshire

Common card · No. 455911

Olney (OW-nee or OLL-nee ; the "L" is not pronounced by local people), is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of the City of Milton Keynes, England. It is the northernmost parish within the historic county of Buckinghamshire. Lying on the left bank of the River Great Ouse, the town is (straight line distance) around 8 miles (13 km) from Milton Keynes, 10 miles (16 km) from Bedford, Northampton and Wellingborough, and just over 50 miles (80km) from London. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 6,598. Olney is best known for poet William Cowper, anti-slavery preacher John Newton, and their 1770's collaboration the Olney Hymns, including Amazing Grace; and also for its historic Pancake Race. Many places in the USA and elsewhere, also called Olney, are named either directly after Olney in England, or a family whose surname originates from the Buckinghamshire town.

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