Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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, just to the north of

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

. It is almost 8,000 acres (32 km²) in size, divided mainly between arable and wooded land. It is situated 3 miles (5 km) north of central Wycombe, 12.5 miles (20 km) south of the county town of

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

and some 35 miles (56 km) west-northwest of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Hughenden parish was first mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 and was called ''Huchedene'', or ''Hugh's Valley'' in modern English. There are some however that argue the original name refers to the

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

man's name ''Huhha'' rather than the French ''Hugh''. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village was in the extensive estates of

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England. Early life Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...

, who was the half brother of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. There were many ancient manors within the parish border, and in addition to Odo, King

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

, King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, and

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

have all at one time owned property in the parish.

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

(later Earl of Beaconsfield) lived at

Hughenden Manor Hughenden Manor, Hughenden, Buckinghamshire, England, is a Victorian mansion, with earlier origins, that served as the country house of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. It is now owned by the National Trust and o ...

, a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

: the only instance a reigning monarch has ever erected a memorial to a subject. The Manor House was given to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

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 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. The Grade II* listed

Disraeli Monument The Disraeli Monument is a Grade II* listed memorial erected in 1862 to the British writer and scholar Isaac D'Israeli, designed by the architect Edward Buckton Lamb. It is located on Tinker's Hill in the Hughenden Valley near High Wycombe in Buck ...

stands on Tinker's Hill in the Hughenden Valley, in memory of the writer and scholar Issac D'Israeli.

Sport and recreation

Hughenden has a King George's Field in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

, and there is a village hall here too 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.

Amenities and businesses

* A pub called The Harrow at the north end of the village. * Deeter Electronics Ltd, which produces specialist electronics, on the site of the former petrol station and BMW garage. * A builder's yard near the south end of the village, where there is also a car garage called Hughenden Autos * A medical practice on the corner of the junction going to

Great Kingshill Great Kingshill is a small village in the parish of Hughenden in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about five miles west of Amersham and two and a half miles south of Great Missenden. The village name 'Kingshill' ...

. * A Village Hall * A community-run shop adjacent to the Village Hall, which opened in May 2009. * The former post office is now a private residence.

Schools

The village proper has one school – Hughenden Primary SchoolHughenden Primary School website
which recently moved from being just a first school, (years reception to 2), but is now taking years reception to year 6. Children can also go to Great Kingshill Combined School which is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

school and so has links with the local church.

Hamlets

Hamlets in Hughenden parish include: *

Naphill Naphill is a village in the parish of Hughenden Valley, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is north-west of Hughenden, on the ridge of one of the Chiltern Hills, and is adjacent to the village of Walter's Ash. The origin of its name is obscure. It ...

Walters Ash Walters Ash (also sometimes called Walter's Ash) is a village in the parish of Bradenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, to the west of the main village, adjacent to Naphill. Between 1983 and 1985 there was ...

* Widmer End * Four Ashes * Cryers Hill

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire