Iver is a large
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 authorit ...
in
Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central
clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park.
Geography, transport and economy
Part of the 43-square-mile
Colne Valley regional park, with woods, lakes and land by the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
. Most of the open land is classified as
Metropolitan Green Belt
The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...
.
Surrounding the Ivers are neighbouring villages and towns of
Fulmer
Fulmer is a village and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England. The village has along most of its northern border a narrow green buffer from Gerrards Cross and is heavily wooded adjoining neighbouring villages of Iver Heath and Wexham. ...
,
Denham,
Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and ...
and
Wexham
Wexham is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Buckinghamshire in southern England. It is on the boundary of the unitary authority of Borough of Slough, Slough, its post town. Wexham Park Hospital is a large hospital on the ...
. Also nearby are,
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
and Slough in
Berkshire and
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...
,
Cowley,
Yiewsley
Yiewsley ( ) is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, 2 miles (3 km) south of Uxbridge, the borough's commercial and administrative centre. Yiewsley was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Hillingdon, Middl ...
and
West Drayton
West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. Th ...
in
Hillingdon
Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civ ...
.
The Ivers are well connected, with public transport and motorway links.
Nearest motorway links are Junction 15 and 16
M25 motorway, Junction 4 and 5
M4 motorway, including the
Thorney Interchange
The Thorney Interchange is a large motorway intersection in the UK, between the M4 and M25. It is one of the busiest motorway interchanges in the UK. It is situated directly on the edge of Buckinghamshire, Greater London (London Borough of Hillin ...
, whereby to the North of the Ivers is Junction 1
M40 motorway as well as the
A40, which is parallel to the M40.
With the
Great Western Main line and soon
Crossrail
Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...
(Elizabeth Line) passing through Iver, Richings Park and Thorney are less than from
Iver railway station
Iver railway station is situated in the village of Richings Park, within Iver, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the first station on the Great Western Main Line located outside Greater London, down the line from and is situated between to th ...
, with
Langley railway station
Langley railway station is in Langley, a suburb of Slough, Berkshire, England. It is down the line from and is situated between to the east and to the west. The station is served by local services operated by the Elizabeth line.
History
Th ...
and
Uxbridge tube station
Uxbridge is a London Underground station in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. The station is the terminus of the Uxbridge branches of both the Metropolitan line and the Piccadilly line. The next station towards London ...
nearby.
Two significant employers in the parish are the Ridgeway trading and warehousing estate in Richings Park and
Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath.
History
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 manus ...
of 1086 the whole area was recorded as ''Evreham'' or ''homestead by the brow of a hill'' and it was in the possession of a man called
Robert Doiley.
In 1351 the area was granted a
Royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
to hold a weekly
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
. This charter was confirmed 110 years later in 1461.
Iver
Iver village on the
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...
to
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
road has a pre-''
Domesday'' foundation and
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
pottery fragments and other artefacts have been discovered. The village church has shards of a
Saxon window, and elements dating from the 15th century, 16th century and 17th century can be seen. The village has numerous houses from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Iver Heath
Iver Heath is the location of
Heatherden Hall
Heatherden Hall is a Grade II-listed, Victorian country house located in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. It stands in the grounds of Pinewood Studios and is used as offices, film sets, and as a wedding venue.
It was purchased by Lieutenan ...
, a
Victorian estate with spectacular grounds. It was purchased by Lt. Col.
Grant Morden, a Canadian financier, who transformed the mansion by adding a huge ballroom and
Turkish bath
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
. During the 1930s it became a retreat and private meeting place for politicians and diplomats. The agreement to form the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
was signed at Heatherden Hall. The Church of St Margaret was built in 1862. Iver Heath itself is centred on a triangle of roads. The village post office is on the Slough Road to the south, while a parade of shops used to be found along Church Road to the north. Slough Road and Church Road are connected by Bangors Road North to the east.
Richings Park
Richings Park was once the estate of
Lord Bathurst
Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain.
The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family m ...
. Richings Park mansion, very briefly the home of
RAF Bomber Command, was destroyed during
World War II
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 opposing ...
, and its site is now a residential area with its own shopping facilities. The cellars of the house are still visible in fields now overlooking the
M4.
Black Park Country Park & Langley Park Country Park
Black Park
Black Park is a country park in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England to the north of the A412 road. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Council, formerly County Council. It has an area of , of which two separate areas totalling have been designated a ...
adjoins the Pinewood Studio complex. It has a lake that extends over . Due to its proximity to Pinewood Studios, Black Park was used for outdoor sequences in some of
Hammer's ''
Dracula'' films, a number of ''
Carry On
Carry On may refer to:
* ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise
*Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment
* ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film
* ''Carry On'' (novel), ...
'' films, the
Gerry Anderson
Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
Sci Fi series
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
and in the 1964
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
Goldfinger''.
To the south, Black Park is separated from
Langley Park by the A412 / Uxbridge Road. Langley Park covers 130 acres (0.53 km
2) and is known for its rhododendron and azalea-filled Temple Gardens.
There's also a viewpoint whereby
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original c ...
can be seen in the midst.
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British
film studio to the immediate west of the developed land of Iver Heath, which is in all other respects residential. The studios have hosted many productions from blockbuster films to UK television shows, commercials and pop music promos. The Superman and James Bond film franchises have used the film studios which provides tours of its museum.
Pinewood was built on the estate of
Heatherden Hall
Heatherden Hall is a Grade II-listed, Victorian country house located in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. It stands in the grounds of Pinewood Studios and is used as offices, film sets, and as a wedding venue.
It was purchased by Lieutenan ...
, a large, attractive Victorian house with spectacular grounds. The Pinewood estate had previously been purchased by Lt. Col. Grant Morden, a Canadian financier and
MP for
Brentford and Chiswick. He spent a fortune transforming the mansion into a showpiece home, adding refinements such as a huge
ballroom, a
Turkish bath
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
and an indoor
squash court
Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. Th ...
. Due to its seclusion, the house was used as a discreet meeting place for high-ranking politicians and diplomats. Here the agreement for the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
was signed. When Grant Morden died in 1934 the estate was purchased at auction by
Charles Boot
Charles Boot JP (1 October 1874 – 14 June 1945) was an English businessman and film producer who was the driving force behind the growth of Henry Boot & Sons in the inter-war period. As well as creating one of the largest contracting and hous ...
, who had recently inherited a large construction firm from his father,
Henry Boot
Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC.
Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...
, who died in 1931. Within twelve months Charles had formed a partnership with
J. Arthur Rank, who transformed the mansion into the office building for a
film studio complex. He based his new studios on the latest Hollywood designs of that era. Charles Boot named the complex Pinewood Film Studios, a reference to the many pine trees in the area. The entrance to the studio is on Pinewood Road.
Activities and facilities
Iver Heath Drama Club
Established by John Hargreaves in 1948, the Iver Heath Drama Club contributed to the construction of the current village hall. The group puts on plays and pantomimes. In 2008, it celebrated 60 years by performing ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''.
[Iver Heath Drama Club](_blank)
/ref>
As of May 2014, the club has over 40 regularly active members who are aged between six and eighty years of age. The club is run by volunteers using a not-for-profit charitable framework and is funded entirely by profits from shows, membership fees and donations. The members come from the Iver area and are from a wide array of backgrounds and abilities.
In March 2014 Matthew Streuli, the then Vice-Chairman of the club, was presented with a Runner-up Community Champion Award by the Chairman of South Bucks District Council, Councillor Santokh Chhokar.
Since 2008, Pinewood has been the club's main sponsor. Pinewood Studios Group has helped with rent and co-funded the 60th birthday pantomime ''Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...
'', which played to over 300 people in January 2009. It was co-sponsored by South Bucks District Council
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
. The 2014 Pantomime was Cinderella which over the course of six shows was seen by almost 500 people.
The Evreham Sports Centre
The Sports Centre is based in Iver, which is in the south of the District. The centre is run by Greenwich Leisure Limited
Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL), operating under the brand "Better", is a non-profit charitable Social Enterprise organisation which runs over 250 sport and leisure facilities and libraries on behalf of local authorities in London and across the UK, ...
. Facilities include a multi purpose sports hall, dance studio, lounge (with adjoining kitchen), sunbed, outdoor floodlit synthetic surface pitch, grass soccer pitches and a changing facility and fitness suite with equipment including a nautilus tread climber. The fitness suite contains pieces of equipment designed to be accessible to those persons with limited mobility.
Evreham Adult Learning Centre
Adjacent to the Sports Centre on the border of Iver Heath and Iver, this facility is a former secondary school which hosts independent and Council-run events and courses. These include Zumba, Slimming World, Pottery, Guitar and Woodwork. The venue also hosts the Tiny Toes Nursery and a Youth Centre.
Demography
Notable people
* Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...
, member of the British royal family, lived at Coppins
Coppins is a country house north of the village of Iver in Buckinghamshire, England, formerly a home of members of the British royal family, including Princess Victoria, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince ...
, Iver (1935–1972).
* Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were firs ...
, Edward's younger brother, was born in Iver.
* Princess Victoria (1868–1935), daughter of Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
, lived in Iver 1925–1935.
* Matty Cash
Matthew Stuart Cash (born 7 August 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Aston Villa and the Poland national team.
Cash started his career at Wycombe Wanderers and later the FAB Academy before he signed his fi ...
, is an English football player who grew up in the village. He currently is playing football for Aston Villa.
* Linford Christie
Linford Cicero Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former sprinter. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World ...
, is a British sprinter who lived in Iver.
* Charles Richard Fairey Founder of Fairey aviation, the Fairey factory based in West London creators of the Swordfish. The family lived at Woodlands aka Elk Meadows in Iver Heath.
* John Fairey (1935–2009), aviator son of Charles Fairey
Sir Charles Richard Fairey MBE FRAeS (5 May 1887 – 30 September 1956), also known as Richard Fairey, was an English aircraft manufacturer.
Early life
Charles Fairey was born on 5 May 1887 in Hendon, Middlesex and educated at the Merchant ...
(founder of the Fairey Aviation Company
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
), was born in Iver.
* Chris Finnegan
Chris Finnegan MBE (5 June 1944 – 2 March 2009) was a British professional boxer of Irish descent born in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England.[Kevin Finnegan
Kevin Finnegan (18 April 1948 – 23 October 2008) was an English boxer.
Finnegan's older brother Chris was an Olympic gold medalist and also a professional boxer. Early in his career when Kevin was still an amateur he was banned for 18 mont ...]
(1948–2008) British professional boxer of Irish descent born in Iver.
* James Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw action again, as captain of the ...
(1756–1833), notorious admiral of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, lived in Iver, his gardener invented the modern day pansy
* Julian Haviland
Julian Arthur Charles Haviland (born 8 June 1930) is a British print and broadcasting journalist of over sixty years' standing. He was a lobby correspondent at Westminster for over twenty years, and is the former Political Editor of Independent ...
(born 1930), former Political Editor of both ITN and ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' newspaper, was born in Iver Heath.
* Sid James
Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series.
Born to a mid ...
(1913–1976) South African-born British actor and comedian. Lived at Delaford Park, Iver.
* Daniel Johnson (born 26 August 1957) is a British journalist who is the founding editor of ''Standpoint'', lived in Iver.
* Luke Oliver Johnson (born 2 February 1962), is a British serial entrepreneur, best known for his involvement with Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unite ...
. He is a former chairman of the Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
and Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. Lived in Iver.
* Paul Bede Johnson CBE (born 2 November 1928) is an English journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. While associated with the political left in his early career, he is now a conservative popular historian. Lived in Iver.
* Brian Muir, sculptor of Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
's helmet and armour and the Stormtrooper armour in ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', lives in Iver.
* John Nash (1893–1977), painter of landscape and still-life, grew up in Iver.
* Paul Nash, WW1 and WW2 War Artist older brother of John Nash, buried in Langley in family plot.
* David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country's ...
Former England goalkeeper lived in Iver.
* Martin Secker
Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Dougl ...
(1882-1978) London publisher who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 30s, lived at Bridgefoot House, Iver.
* Oli White
Oliver Alan White (born 26 January 1995) is an English YouTuber. In August 2012, he began posting videos on the YouTube channel Oli White. As of February 2023, his channel has over 475 million views and over 2.6 million subscribers. In 2014, he ...
(born 26 January 1995), is an English YouTuber, actor and author, born in Iver.
See also
* List of civil parishes in England
This is a list of civil parishes in England split by ceremonial county (see map below). The civil parish is the lowest level of local government in England.
Unparished areas
In addition to the London Boroughs (except Westminster) and the City o ...
References
External links
Iver Parish Council
{{authority control
Villages in Buckinghamshire
Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire