Bledlow
| Bledlow | |
| Buckinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 Houses in Bledlow | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP778021 |
| Location: | 51°42’44"N, -0°52’31"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Princes Risborough |
| Postcode: | HP27 |
| Dialling code: | 01844 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Buckinghamshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Wycombe |
Bledlow is a village in Buckinghamshire, about a mile and a half west of Princes Risborough, and on the border with Oxfordshire. The village's name is from Old English, from Bleddan hlæw, which means Bledda's hill. In the 10th century the village was indeed recorded as Bleddanhlæw; in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bledelai.
The village is on the ancient road Icknield Way and is the location where several springs form a small pool called the Lyde. The water from the springs is said to wear away the chalk on which the village stands, giving rise to the simple local mediæval nursery rhyme:[1]
| “ |
|
” |
The brook running from the pool into the nearby valley (called the Lyde Brook) provided water power for two mills for many years.[1] The village's watermill is a tourist attraction.
Above the village, carved into the chalk of Wain Hill is a large cross, similar to that found at Whiteleaf.[1] There is also a round barrow on the hill. It is thought that this is the barrow or burial mound referred to in the village name.
Within the parish boundary of Bledlow-cum-Saunderton lie several hamlets, as is common with most villages in this area. The principal hamlet is Bledlow Ridge. The others are Forty Green, Pitch Green, Rout's Green, Skittle Green and Holly Green.
Parish church
The parish church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It stands in a splendid position overlooking the Vale of Aylesbury and is built on an unusual plan. There are two aisles and the nave arcades include capitals of about 1200. Other features of interest are the font, some fragments of mural paintings, and the south doorway and porch (13th-14th cent.)[2]
Transport
Bledlow railway station was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway which served the Buckinghamshire village of Bledlow from 1862 to 1963. It was one of two stations to serve the village, the other being Bledlow Bridge halt on the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway, which was 0.75 miles to the south and closer to the village. The possibility of reopening the line through Bledlow, which is now part of a long-distance footpath, has been explored by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line which runs through Princes Risborough.
Pictures
-
Holy Trinity, Bledlow -
Clock -
12th century font -
A home in Bledlow -
Saunderton
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bledlow) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 William Page (editor) (1908). "The parishes of Risborough hundred: Bledlow". A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 2. Institute of Historical Research. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62766. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ↑ Betjeman, J. (ed.) (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the South. London: Collins; p. 125