Hughenden Valley
| Hughenden Valley | |
| Buckinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 The rear of Hughenden Manor | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU866972 |
| Location: | 51°39’21"N, -0°44’56"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 8,506 (2001) |
| Post town: | High Wycombe |
| Postcode: | HP14 /15 |
| Dialling code: | 01494 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Buckinghamshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Aylesbury |
Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village in Buckinghamshire, within the Chilterns, just to the north of High Wycombe. Its parish with surrounding hamlets is almost 8,000 acres in size, divided mainly between arable and wooded land.
Hughenden is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Huchedene, or 'Huhha's Valley' (reinterpreted in modern times as Hugh's Valley. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village was in the extensive estates of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was the half brother of William the Conqueror.
There were many ancient manors within the parish border, and in addition to Odo, King Henry I, King Henry VIII and Simon de Montfort have all at one time owned property in the parish.
Benjamin Disraeli (later Earl of Beaconsfield) lived at Hughenden Manor, a Georgian mansion, altered by the Disraelis when they purchased it in 1848. The manor sits on the brow of the hill to the west of the main road that links Hughenden to High Wycombe. The Earl, who died in 1881 was buried in a vault beneath the nearby Church of St Michael and All Angels, accessed from the churchyard. The church also contains a memorial to the Earl erected by Queen Victoria: the only instance a reigning monarch has ever erected a memorial to a subject. The Manor House was given to the National Trust in 1947, and the trust also own woodland around here as well.
In the 18th century the parish church was one of few in the whole of England and Wales where marriages could take place without either the bride or groom residing in the parish. Hughenden became infamous locally as a place of clandestine marriages, and is referred to extensively as such in local records.
Sport and recreation
Hughenden has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, and there is a Village Hall where groups such as karate, cubs, brownies, beavers, old people's groups, art club and toddler groups meet.
Also in the village is the magnolia park sports club.It includes a bowls green three tennis courts a senior football pitch/cricket green and a club house.
Events
- Hughenden Village Day (every two or three years)
- Christmas Dinner Dance
- Burns Night at Hughenden Primary School
- Bonfire Night at Hughenden Primary School (though this has now stopped)
About the village
The village pub is The Harrow.
The village has same small-scale local industry, a doctors' surgery and a community-run shop. There used to be a Post office, but this has now closed and become a private house.
Hamlets
Hamlets in Hughenden parish include:
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hughenden Valley) |