Aston Abbotts, Whitchurch and Steeple Claydon won cups in the 2026 Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition, Whitchurch for the first time on record.
Three villages near Aylesbury have won their categories in the 2026 Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition.
- Aston Abbotts won the Gurney Cup, for villages of up to 500 people. It is about four miles north-east of Aylesbury.
- Whitchurch won the Morris Cup, for villages of 501 to 1,500 people. It is about five miles north of the town on the A413.
- Steeple Claydon won the DeFraine Cup, for villages of 1,501 to 3,000 people. It is about eleven miles north-west.
The competition published the results on its own website. The trophies were presented at ceremonies in the winning villages on Saturday 19 September.
The full list of 2026 winners
Aylesbury Vale took three of the six cups. The rest went to the south of the county, and one award went to the Milton Keynes side.
| Award | Who it is for | 2026 winner |
|---|---|---|
| Gurney Cup | Population up to 500 | Aston Abbotts |
| Morris Cup | Population 501 to 1,500 | Whitchurch |
| DeFraine Cup | Population 1,501 to 3,000 | Steeple Claydon |
| Michaelis Cup | Towns over 3,000 | Beaconsfield |
| Pushman Cup | Rural areas over 3,000 | Wooburn and Bourne End |
| Tindall Cup | Last year's cup winners only | Seer Green |
| Sword of Excellence | Best overall | Seer Green |
| Dashwood Trophy | Best runner-up without a cup in five years | Astwood |
| Fisher Ryman Cup | Continuing commitment to the competition | Chenies |
| Community Award | At the judges' discretion | Stokenchurch |
The population bands come from the competition’s 2026 rules.
A first for Whitchurch, a third for Aston Abbotts
The competition publishes a spreadsheet of every cup winner since it began in 1957. The latest version runs to 2024. It shows how rare these cups are.
- Whitchurch does not appear anywhere in it. On the published record, this is the village’s first cup.
- Aston Abbotts won the Gurney Cup in 1984 and again in 2019. It then won the Tindall Cup in 2022, the round open only to previous winners. This year’s Gurney Cup is its third.
- Steeple Claydon won the DeFraine Cup in 1993 and 2007. This is its first in 19 years.
Aston Abbotts keeps a page about its entries on the village website. It asks residents to help by organising litter picks, potting up plants outside their homes, trimming hedges and mowing verges. “Participation is completely voluntary,” the page says.
What the judges look for
Judging ran between 1 June and 14 July. Every entry has to include a place of worship, an open-access green or playing field, and a village hall or similar meeting place. Entrants mark them on a map for the judges.
The judges also look at the overall appearance of the village, including the churchyard, play areas, floral displays, verges, hedges and ponds. The rules say villages will not be marked down for things they do not control. They name housing development, East West Rail and HS2 as examples, which matters in the north of the vale.
Each winner receives a cup and a wrought iron Best Kept Village sign, kept until the next year’s competition.
Carol Hayward, chairman of the competition, said the standard of entries “was again very high and showed how much diverse community effort is put in to keep our villages and towns looking so nice.”
The competition was founded in 1957 by Sir Francis Dashwood and the Local Councils’ Association. It did not run in 2020 or 2021 because of Covid, and restarted in 2022. Buckinghamshire Council is one of its sponsors.
What it means for you
- If you live in one of the three villages, look out for the new sign. It stays in the village until next year’s competition.
- The three winners cannot defend their cups in 2027. Under the rules, this year’s cup winners may only enter the Tindall Cup next year, so the main categories will have new winners.
- Your village can enter 2027. Entries normally open on 1 March and close on 30 April. The fee is £25, and entries usually come from the parish or town council, though community groups can apply too. The entry form and marking schedule are on the competition website.
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