Cadsden is a hamlet in South Buckinghamshire, England, two miles north east of

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Aylesbury and north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end ...

. At the time of the 2011 Census, the population of the hamlet was included in the

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 ...

Lacey Green Lacey may refer to: People Surname A–L * Andrew Lacey (1887–1946), Australian politician * Bill Lacey (American football) (born 1971), American football player and coach * Bill Lacey (footballer) (1889–1969), Irish footballer * Bob Lacey ( ...

History

The origin of the name, which also appears as Cadsden, is doubtful and it is not known when it was first used. If it dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when most of the other local place names first appeared, it probably meant 'valley frequented by wild cats'. It is said that in 1643 a wake was held in Cadsden for

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of th ...

by his beloved Greencoats, whilst escorting his body back to the family home at

Great Hampden Great and Little Hampden is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about three miles south-east of Princes Risborough. It incorporates the villages of Great Hampden and Little Hampden, and the hamlets of Green Hailey and Hampden Row. Great ...

from

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

, where he died following the

Battle of Chalgrove Field The Battle of Chalgrove Field took place on 18 June 1643, during the First English Civil War, near Chalgrove, Oxfordshire. It is now best remembered for the death of John Hampden, who was wounded in the shoulder during the battle and died six d ...

. On 30 January 1943 a Royal Air Force (RAF) Avro Anson Mk1 serial no. L7964 was on a Night Navigation Training exercise from the Central School of Navigation, flying from RAF Cranage, Cheshire. The weather conditions were poor and at 0250 hours the Anson crashed at Longdown Farm in Cadsden, killing all four crew members. The accident was witnessed by an instructor in a second aircraft. The names and positions of the deceased were: Sgt Edward A. Merry, Pilot; Sgt James R. Craven, Pilot; Sgt Kenneth R. Blaskey, Pilot; and Sgt Albert C. Poulton, Wireless Operator and Air Gunner.

Transport

The railway service in the area was improved in 2011 with the Chiltern Mainline project. The two nearest mainline railway stations are

(2 miles, 33–40 mins to

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

) and

Great Missenden Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Mary ...

(9 miles, 40 mins to Marylebone), with a branchline station at

Monks Risborough Monks Risborough is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Buckinghamshire, England, lying between Princes Risborough and Great Kimble. The village lies at the foot of the northern scarp of the Chiltern Hills. It is south of the county to ...

(1 mile, 52 mins to Marylebone).

Local amenities and traditions

Every year on the first Sunday in August there is a Cherry Pie Festival, which has been a tradition in Cadsden for over 100 years. Grangelands and Pulpit Hill, which stretch from Cadsden to Kimble, are a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) with an array of wildlife including

glow worm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also o ...

s and the

bee orchid Bee orchid is a common name for several orchids and may refer to: *'' Cottonia peduncularis'', a species of orchid from India and Sri Lanka *'' Diuris carinata'', a species of orchid from the south-west of Western Australia *'' Ida barringtoniae'', ...

. Up on Pulpit Hill, set within Pulpit Woods, are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, a scheduled ancient monument. In 2009, Bucks County Council in partnership with

Plantlife International Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

started a

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

conservation programme on Pulpit Hill where pens have been created to support juniper growth. Whiteleaf Golf Course, which occupies the land between Whiteleaf and Cadsden, is a 9-hole course established in 1907. During the winter months when it snows, the Cadsden end of the course is used for tobogganing. Local issues are addressed and events organised by the Whiteleaf and Cadsden Resident's Association.

Sarah Harding Sarah Nicole Harding (; 17 November 1981 – 5 September 2021) was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV reality series '' Popstars: The Rivals'', during which ...

from

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

was a resident of Cadsden between 2008 and 2017.

Relationship with Prime Ministers

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...

, the Prime Minister's country residence, is the first property encountered along

The Ridgeway The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...

path north east from Cadsden. This walk was featured in an article published by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in June 2010. The Plough at Cadsden is a country pub which is used by Prime Ministers due to its proximity to Chequers. There is a picture of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

at the bar, which can be seen on The Plough's website. In November 2015, Cameron visited The Plough with Chinese President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

for a pint of real ale and fish and chips.

Millionaires Row

Cadsden is colloquially known as "Millionaires Row" as the average house price on Cadsden Road is over £1 million.

TV location

Cadsden was featured in the ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' episode "Down Among the Dead Men" where it was called Cadsden Ridge for TV purposes. Cadsden Road was used in an episode of ''

Hammer House of Horror ''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British television series made in 1980. An anthology series created by Hammer Films in association with Cinema Arts International and ITC Entertainment, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, originally broadcas ...

'', where

Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included ''Dalzi ...

crashed his car there./ Hammer House of Horror TV series website
/ref>

External links

Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Plough at Cadsden website

Plantlife International

References

{{Wycombe Hamlets in Buckinghamshire