The village of Milton Keynes gave its name to the new town designated in 1967, that subsumed a total of 15 villages and the farmland between them. Considered as part of Milton Keynes, the village is now known as Middleton, which was its original (11thc ) name. The supplement Keynes comes from the family name of the Lords of the Manor from the 12thc onwards. Middleton, as we must now call it, really does retain a village appearance, consisting of the church, a thatched pub and a collection of attractive old houses arranged around a large green.

All Saints has a nave and chancel with a 2-bay N chapel, all of 14thc date. The tower is on the N side of the nave at the E end. It is of 3 stages with a battlemented parapet. There is a S porch, and a vestry has recently been added to the N side of the church, accessed from the interior by the N nave doorway. The church is usually assumed to have been a rebuilding by Walter Keynes (d.1330) of a 12thc church (of which only the E nave wall including the chancel arch remains). The chapel was built for Philip Aylsbury (d.1349).

The main Domesday holding in Middleton (Milton Keynes) was a manor of 8½ hides held by Godric Cratel from the king. This had been held by Queen Edith in 1066. The 30 listed people represent a total population of around 150, and the holding also included a mill and meadow for 8 ploughs. Smaller parcels were those of Hugh, who held half a hide from Walter Giffard, held by Oswig, a man of Aelfric, in 1066; and Otbert, who held a hide from William FitzAnsculf, held by Saeweald, a man of Wulfweard Cild in 1066.

In the 12thc the manor was held by the Bereville family, whose line ended in a daughter called Mabel who married Hugh de Kaynes around 1166. This family remained Lords of the manor until the early 14thc, although for a period between c.1170 and c.1230 a younger branch of the Bereville family are recorded as holding lands in the parish. The advowson of the church descended with the manor. It is first mentioned in 1221 when Luke de Kaynes presented Ralph de Kaynes to the rectory.

VCH offers a 12thc date for the chancel arch, while Pevsner (1960 and 1994) prefers c.1200. RCHME gives late-12thc, accepted here.