Frieth is a village in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
Hambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, and around north-east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
The civil parish also includes the villages of Fingest and ...
, in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, England. It lies on the top of "Frieth Hill", which is part of the
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
s of the
Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England.
The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...
.
Frieth lies at a height of around , on the edge of a broad and deep
winterbourne chalk valley in which are located the older settlements of the parish and adjacent parishes –
Hambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, and around north-east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
The civil parish also includes the villages of Fingest and ...
,
Skirmett
Skirmett is a hamlet in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England.
It lies in the Hambleden Valley in the Chiltern Hills, between the villages of Hambleden and Fingest.
Toponymy
* The moot or meeting-place of the shire or district ...
,
Turville
Turville is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, west of High Wycombe, east-southeast of Watlington, north of Henley-on-Thames and 2 miles (3 km) from the Oxfordshire border. The name is Anglo-S ...
, and
Fingest
Fingest is a village in Buckinghamshire, England.
It is in the Chiltern Hills near the border with Oxfordshire. It is about six miles WSW of High Wycombe. It lies in the civil parish of Hambleden.
The parish church of St Bartholomew's date ...
. Because of the shortage of surface water and the relatively poor soils – heavy clay and flint overlaying the permeable chalk – Frieth did not develop into a village until well into
Victorian times
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
. However, there are a number of ancient properties and Frieth has all the symbols of a traditional English village. As well as the church, it has a village hall, a village green, two rural pubs, a village society, fine open hilly countryside, and a small but thriving
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
. The village shop and dairy has closed.
Parmoor House
In the 12th century, Parmoor House was owned by the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
. After falling into ruin it was rebuilt by the new Earl of the hundred in 1352. The property was then lost to the crown around 1790 when the incumbent Earl was supplanted by
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
with a John "Frith" whose surname was to be that of the village. Although Frith never took up residence, on his death in 1791, the property was bought by the Cripps Family of Berkshire. It was the birthplace of Sir
Stafford Cripps, the post-war
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. During
the war, it was let to
King Zog of Albania
Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...
. In 1947, the Anglican Community of St Katharine of Alexandria moved to Parmoor House from Fulham to provide care for elderly ladies. Later the house became home for the Community of the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship. St Katharine's, Parmoor, Frieth, Henley-on-Thames is now a retreat home and conference centre welcoming all for day or residential visits.
King Zog
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Frieth was home to
King Zog of Albania
Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...
. King Zog lived at Parmoor House with his wife
Queen Geraldine, their son
Crown Prince Leka (the late King Leka I), and the King's sisters, nephews and nieces. The King also had a group of bodyguards who lived nearby and some Ministers who lived at
Lane End. After the war they left to go to Egypt but one nephew stayed in Frieth.
Frieth Church
Frieth Church was built in 1848 as a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ea ...
for Hambleden. It is now part of the parish of Hambleden with Frieth and Skirmett. Flint from the ruined wing of the Old Rectory (now Kenricks) at Hambleden was used for the new church built to the design of JP Harrison. The South aisle was added later, probably by Woodyer dated 1872 on the rainwater heads. The church is built of flint with stone mullions and edges, and has an attractive tiled roof but no tower or turret.
The church is noted for its Victorian stained glass and carved woodwork. Most of the furniture and carving in the church were made by the local firm of West and Collier. Most of the beautiful stained glass windows were the gift of the Cripps family. They date from 1880 and include
St John the Evangelist,
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
and
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
,
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
and the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
(North wall),
Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
and
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, and
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
on the south aisle.
The Church Aided school at Frieth is the school for the Hambleden Valley. The school holds services at Frieth Church each term. The Rector is an ''ex officio'' Governor of the school.
Frieth School
Frieth Church of England Combined School was established in 1865. The catchment area encompasses the many villages of the Hambleden Valley.
Every October, the
PTA of the School organises a 10K run called the ''Frieth Hilly 10K''. This race which starts/finishes at the School involves sections on road, trails and footpaths through woods and fields, including challenging off-road descents and ascents. The race was first held in 2008.
External links
Frieth Hilly 10KSt Katharine's Parmoor HouseFriethHistory.org A site devoted to the local history of FriethFrieth Village HallFrieth CEC School
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Villages in Buckinghamshire
Hambleden