Lane End 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 ...

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 just south of the M40 from

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 ...

, about west of Booker. The village is twinned with

Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron (, ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Charente-Maritime, southwestern France. It is located on the island of Oléron Island, Oléron. As the largest city on the island, it ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The village is situated in the Chilterns, around above sea level, in rolling hills of farmland, beech woods and footpaths. The civil parish includes the hamlets of

Cadmore End Cadmore, also known as Cadmore End, is a village in the civil parish of Lane End in the English county of Buckinghamshire. Historically Cadmore End was in two parishes and two counties. Part was a detached part of the parish of Lewknor in Oxfor ...

, Ditchfield, Moor Common and Moor End, and had a population of 3,583 at the 2001 Census.

History

Lane End was historically on the borders of the parishes of

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...

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 ...

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 dates f ...

and

West Wycombe West Wycombe is a small village famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of touri ...

, with a small part ( Ackhampstead) belonging to the parish of

Lewknor Lewknor is a village and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire.The civil parish includes the villages of Postcombe and South Weston. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 663. Early history Iron Age and Roman era Two ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

until 1895. In 1867 the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

of Lane End was formed from the neighbouring parishes. The village continued to be divided between the four neighbouring civil parishes until 1934, when the parts within Great Marlow, Hambleden and West Wycombe civil parishes were transferred to Fingest (renamed Fingest and Lane End in 1937). In the 1980s the parish of Fingest and Lane End was abolished, and the civil parish of Lane End was formed. In addition to working the land to provide wheat and barley to the breweries in Marlow and Henley, the inhabitants traditionally manufactured chairs or worked in a local iron foundry. 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 ...

King Zog King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Albania lived at Parmoor House in Frieth, a hamlet a mile south of Lane End, and with many Albanians living in Lane End, used to attend village events. According to local legend, the village is haunted by the ghost of a girl in a red dress, who died two weeks before her wedding day in 1766.

Churches

The oldest church in the village is the Methodist church which started as a congregational church, meeting in a chapel in Marlow Road in 1801. Later this was replaced by a chapel, built in 1835, which is now Lane End Studios. A Wesleyan chapel was built in 1866, but the congregation now meets at the Parish Church at 11:15 on Sunday mornings The parish is served by the church of the Holy Trinity in Ditchfield Common, which was built in 1832. (see www.laneendholytrinity.org.uk) It is part of a team ministry of 4 churches - Lane End, Stokenchurch, Cadmore End and Ibstone served by a Team Rector in Stokenchurch and a Team Vicar in Lane End. It is one of twenty-seven churches in the Deanery of Wycombe within the Diocese of Oxford (see www.wycombedeanery.com) which in turn is part of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury in the United Kingdom - our Mother Church is Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. A Gospel mission hall dating from 1888 at Moor End now meets as the Elim Christian Centre in the centre of the village near the large estate area.

Amenities

The village school formerly known as Francis Edmonds and now known as Lane End Primary School, takes local children from the age of two until secondary school age. Lane End Youth and Community Centre is central to the village and is used for a variety of exercise classes, holiday play schemes, lunches for the local elderly residents, coffee mornings, computer classes, band practice and dog obedience classes. The centre is also used by the local and wider community for private functions. The village hall is used for dances, jumble sales, bridge club, bingo, The Lane End Players and home to the parish council. The village now has just one pub the Grouse and Ale (previously known as the Clayton Arms). The Osborne Arms is now an Indian Restaurant. The Old Sun pub closed in 2010 and has been converted into a private residence with two additional properties built on the former garden area and space freed up by demolition. The Jolly Blacksmith at Ditchfield still has its Pub Sign but closed many years ago. The Chairmakers Arms closed around 2000 and is now two private houses situated in the Row. One of the Houses has kept the name and is called Chairmakers. The village has two ponds, one on the High Street, the other located approximately 80m away on The Row. Shops on or near the High Street include a butcher, a chemist, a newsagent and a hairdresser. Lane End is a starting spot for ramblers who journey down the

valley to look out for the

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

, the windmill at

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 ...

or just to admire the countryside. Lane End also has a very active conservation group, Lane End Conservation Group, members of which contribute to the parish by carrying out valuable work to improve the environment for locals and visitors. Lane End has been twinned with St Pierre d'Oleron on the West coast of France since 1999 - the Lane End Twinning Association promotes the links between the two communities and celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2019.

Industry

Lane End has been long home to two small industrial estates, where several companies are based. Most notable of these companies is the global operation for ELGA LabWater, part of the enormous worldwide

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...

Environment group. It is also home to the popular food chain, Phil’s Dirty Burger where ex-television personality Randy Bobandy works and resides.

Transport links

Lane End is connected by infrequent bus routes to the neighbouring town of High Wycombe, and several small nearby villages. Red Eagle Buses operate routes 28/28A/28C to High Wycombe and Stokenchurch, while

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary o ...

operate Route 48 to High Wycombe.

Media

In the fantasy police procedural novel "The Hanging Tree" by Ben Aaronovitch, the first confrontation between the Met police wizards and the main villain (the Faceless Man) is described as occurring just outside Lane End

Notable residents

Thomas Stapleton, an English paediatrician, retired to The Foundry Cottage in the village, upon his return to England after working in Australia since 1960; he died there in 2007. He is commemorated by a

memorial bench A memorial bench, memorial seat or death bench is a piece of outdoor furniture which commemorates a dead person. Such benches are typically made of wood, but can also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials such as plastics. Typically mem ...

there, with a plaque noting that he "Helped improve the health of children around the world", in English and Chinese.

References

External links

Lane End Parish Council websiteLane End VillageLane End PlayersLane End Conservation Group (LECG)Lane End Elim Christian CentreLane End Conference CentreLane End Twinning AssociationLane End Holy Trinity Church
{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire