Frieth is a village in the
parish of
Hambleden, 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 escarpments 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,
Skirmett,
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. 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. 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. 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 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
Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat.
A wealthy lawyer by background, he first entered Parliament at a by-election in 1931, and was one of a handful of La ...
, 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. 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 Frieth was home to
King Zog of Albania. 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
John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...
,
Abraham and
Isaac,
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 (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, 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