The village was originally recorded as Stoches in the Domesday Book of 1086, from the Old English word stoc meaning an outlying farm or hamlet. The suffix Mandeville was first recorded in 1284 when the manor was listed as being in the hands of the powerful Norman de Mandeville family. The former medieval parish church, St Mary the Virgin, on the outskirts of the village was condemned in the mid-20th century and was demolished in January 1966 by the Royal Engineers – a Roman mausoleum was likely present on the site before the church was built. As of October 2021, an archeological exploration is investigating the grounds with its approximately 3,000 burials, and has opened a museum.[2] The newer red brick parish church of St Mary, consecrated in July 1866 by the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, remains as the only church in the village apart from the Methodist church in Eskdale Road.
Stoke Mandeville was also the location of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which first took place in 1948 thanks to doctor Ludwig Guttmann and are now known as the IWAS World Games. The Games, which were held eight times at Stoke Mandeville, were the inspiration for the first Paralympic Games, also called The Stoke Mandeville Games, which were organised in Rome in 1960. The wheelchair aspects of the 1984 Paralympics were also held in the village. The London 2012 Summer Paralympics mascot, Mandeville, was named after the village due to its legacy with the Games. Stoke Mandeville Stadium was developed alongside the hospital and is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom, enhancing the hospital as a world centre for paraplegics and spinal injuries.
On 13 May 2000, the new Stoke Mandeville Millennium village sign[3] was unveiled. It stands on a small brick plinth on the green outside the primary school. The sign shows colourful images on both sides of aspects of village life over the centuries.
In 2018 in preparation for the construction of the HS2 high-speed railway, archaeological excavations began on the site of the old St Mary the Virgin church,[4] As well as excavating the church the process involves moving the remains of those buried in the churchyard.[4] which dates back to 1080. In September 2021, archaeologists from LP-Archaeology, led by Rachel Wood, announced the discovery of remains on the site of the church. They had unearthed flint walls forming a square structure, enclosed by a circular borderline and burials.
Stoke Mandeville was also the location of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which first took place in 1948 thanks to doctor Ludwig Guttmann and are now known as the IWAS World Games. The Games, which were held eight times at Stoke Mandeville, were the inspiration for the first Paralympic Games, also called The Stoke Mandeville Games, which were organised in Rome in 1960. The wheelchair aspects of the 1984 Paralympics were also held in the village. The London 2012 Summer Paralympics mascot, Mandeville, was named after the village due to its legacy with the Games. Stoke Mandeville Stadium was developed alongside the hospital and is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom, enhancing the hospital as a world centre for paraplegics and spinal injuries.
On 13 May 2000, the new Stoke Mandeville Millennium village sign[3] was unveiled. It stands on a small brick plinth on the green outside the primary school. The sign shows colourful images on both sides of aspects of village life over the centuries.
In 2018 in preparation for the construction of the HS2 high-speed railway, archaeological excavations began on the site of the old St Mary the Virgin church,[4] As well as excavating the church the process involves moving the remains of those buried in the churchyard.[4] which dates back to 1080. In September 2021, archaeologists from LP-Archaeology, led by Rachel Wood, announced the discovery of remains on the site of the church. They had unearthed flint walls forming a square structure, enclosed by a circular borderline and burials.