Little Chalfont is a 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 ...

in south-east

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 is one of a group of villages known collectively as The Chalfonts, which also comprises

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, ...

and

Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe a ...

. Little Chalfont is located around east of

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

and northwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, central

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 ...

History

Little Chalfont is a 20th-century creation triggered by the coming of the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

. A station called Chalfont Road was opened in 1889 at the northernmost point of

Parish where the parishes of

Chenies Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood. History Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...

, and

met. At that time, the area was remote from the centres of the villages and towns, and consisted of isolated farms and cottages, and did not have a specific name. The coming of the railway eventually brought local housing development, and a community developed around the station, which was renamed

Chalfont & Latimer station Chalfont & Latimer is a London Underground and National Rail station in Travelcard Zone 8 (previously zone C) on the Metropolitan line, in Buckinghamshire. It also serves the Chiltern Railways line to Aylesbury. Chalfont & Latimer station i ...

in 1915, a name which it retains today. The first appearance of the name Little Chalfont is in the minutes of the Chalfont St Giles Parish Council on 15 January 1925, when, at the request of the inhabitants, it was agreed that the group of houses near the station should be named Little Chalfont instead of "Chalfont Road Village". For many years, Little Chalfont was split mainly in the Amersham Town Council area, and partly in Chalfont St Giles parish. Following a period of campaigning by local residents, the village was awarded separate Parish status in 2007. Most of the new Parish came from Amersham, but a small part (in area, rather larger in population) of Chalfont St Giles was also included.

Transport

Little Chalfont is served by

, on the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...

of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

and the

London to Aylesbury Line 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 major se ...

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...

. There are also bus services to

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...

and other surrounding towns and villages.

Education

There are three schools in Little Chalfont: two primary schools (Little Chalfont Primary School, and Chalfont Valley E-ACT Primary Academy (formerly Bell Lane Primary School)), and Dr Challoner's High School - a girls' grammar school.

Little Chalfont Community Library was originally part of the Buckinghamshire County Library Service but is now run as a community library by local volunteers since 2007. It is one of the most successful community libraries in England.

Community

GE Healthcare Amersham radiopharmaceuticals packaging

Little Chalfont Farmers Market was launched in September 2009 with the support of the Parish Council and local regeneration groups. The Farmers Market takes place in the Village Hall car park on the second Saturday of each month. The Nature Park in May 2016

Little Chalfont Nature Park is a 4.6 acre Nature Park with rare MG5 grassland / wildflower meadow and semi-natural woodland. It was purchased for and by the community and opened on 1 June 2016. It is freely open to visitors all year round from dawn until dusk. Little Chalfont Community Association is active and organises the Annual Village Day.

Landmarks

Beel House is a Grade II listed 16th-century house on the edge of Little Chalfont. Originally owned by the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...

. It was the home of Mary Pennington whose daughter Gulielma Springett married William Penn, founder of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Later residents include

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, and

Robert Kilroy-Silk Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk (born Robert Michael Silk; 19 May 1942) is an English former politician and broadcaster. After a decade as a university lecturer, he served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1986. He left the H ...

Religion

Little Chalfont is part of the Church of England parish of

and Little Chalfont. In 1987, it joined with the neighbouring parishes of Latimer and

Flaunden Flaunden is a village and a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Buckinghamshire. Old Flaunden was on the banks of the River Chess The River Chess is a chalk stream that rises near Chesham in the Chiltern Hill ...

to form the Chenies

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

. The parish church of St George's is on White Lion Road. St Aidan's Roman Catholic church is on Finch Lane. It was opened in 1964, having been built on land bought from the Beel House estate. Little Chalfont Methodist Church is on Chalfont Avenue. The original church building was opened in 1959. After the church was damaged by fire in 1993, the current church building was opened in 1996.Church website

Economy

Little Chalfont is home to two industrial laboratories and an office development, part of

GE Healthcare GE HealthCare is a subsidiary of American multinational conglomerate General Electric incorporated in New York and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2017, it is a manufacturer and distributor of diagnostic imaging agents and radiopharma ...

, originally the Radiochemical Centre, and then

Amersham International Amersham plc was a manufacturer of radiopharmaceutical products, to be used in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures. The company became GE Healthcare following a takeover in 2003, which was based at the original site in Amersh ...

. Recently, the building housing GE Healthcare, was acquired by Cytiva, rebranding the building.

References

"A History of Little Chalfont" Ivor White 1993 published by The Little Chalfont Rural Preservation Society (now the Little Chalfont Community Association), Bucks, England.

External links

Little Chalfont Parish Council website

Little Chalfont Village website

Little Chalfont Community Library website

Little Chalfont Nature Park website

Pictures of Little Chalfont

Little Chalfont Farmers Market
{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire