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Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the
Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...
in
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, situated between the towns 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 Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Marylebone. It closely adjoins the village of
Little Kingshill Little Kingshill is a small Chilterns village in the parish of Little Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England, with the closest amenities being in its post town of Great Missenden. It is just less than two miles south of Great Missenden, with its f ...
, and is a mile from
Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...
and the larger village Prestwood. The narrow and historic High Street is bypassed by the main
A413 The A413 is a major road in England that runs between Gerrards Cross (west of London) to Towcester (northwest of Milton Keynes). It passes through or near various towns and villages including (in northbound order) Amersham, Great Missenden, W ...
London to Aylesbury Road. It is located in the centre of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The source of the Misbourne is to be found just north of the village, although the upper reach of the river runs only in winter and the perennial head is in
Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...
. The village is now best known as home to the late
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, the world-famous Adult and Children's author.Lynn F. Pearso
Discovering Famous Graves
Osprey Publishing, 2008
In 2019 the village post town and postcode of HP16, which encompasses
Little Kingshill Little Kingshill is a small Chilterns village in the parish of Little Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England, with the closest amenities being in its post town of Great Missenden. It is just less than two miles south of Great Missenden, with its f ...
, was revealed to be the most affluent place in England, with '' The Guardian'' writing that "the least deprived neighbourhood in England is an area...near Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, and a few kilometres to the south of the prime minister’s country residence at Chequers." '' The Guardian'' has also featured an article referring to how the village has been "prime stockbroker belt for over a century" and remarked favourably on its "grand piles tucked away in the folds of the Chilterns, all paddocks, ponies and leafy lanes, such as Dahl's, Martinsend Lane, or Nags Head Lane." The article also mentions its "ancient churches, beech woods, deep valleys, rolling Chiltern Hills, higgledy-piggledy streets. That's why Dahl chose to live here." '' The Daily Telegraph'', meanwhile, lists Great Missenden in its "List of Britain's richest villages." ''The Telegraph'' also ranked the village #4 in its "Best Places to Raise a Family in the UK" 2015 survey, describing it as a "gem of a town."


Etymology

The name ''Missenden'' is first attested in the Domesday Book as ''Missedene'', with other early attestations including the spellings ''Messedena'' and ''Musindone''.A. D. Mills, ''A Dictionary of English Place Names'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 330. The ''-den'' element probably comes from
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''denu'', meaning 'valley', but the etymology of the first element is uncertain. It is thought to occur in the name of the River Misbourne, which rises in Great Missenden, and also in the
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
place-name Miswell. Frank Stenton and
Allen Mawer Sir Allen Mawer (8 May 1879 − 22 July 1942) was an English philologist. A notable researcher of Viking activity in the British Isles, Mawer is best known as the founder of the English Place-Name Society, and as Provost (education), Provost ...
guessed that it came from a hypothetical Anglo-Saxon personal name ''Myrsa'', which they also supposed to be found in the name of Mursley.
Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...
suggested that it came from a lost Old English word related to English ''moss'', and to Danish ''mysse'' and Swedish ''missne'' (which denote plants of the genus ''
Calla ''Calla'' (bog arum, marsh calla, wild calla, squaw claw, and water-arumDickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 62.) is a genus of flowering plant i ...
'', such as water arum). Recent researchers have tentatively preferred Ekwall's guess, in which case the name ''Missenden'' would once have meant something like 'valley where water-plants/marsh-plants grow'.


History

Great Missenden lay on a major route between the Midlands and London. Several
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...
s, particularly the Red Lion (now an estate agency) and The George (with new owners), provided rest and refreshment for travellers and their horses. The first railway line in the area was, however, routed alongside the Grand Union Canal to the east. Once the coaches stopped running Great Missenden declined in importance and prosperity, becoming an agricultural village. Following the arrival 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 ...
, (later the London Underground's
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 ...
) in 1892, Great Missenden became a commuter village for London with writers, entertainers and even Prime Ministers among the resident.
Great Missenden railway station Great Missenden railway station serves the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England and the neighbouring villages of Prestwood, Little Hampden and Little Missenden. The station lies on the London Marylebone - Aylesbury line and ...
is now on the
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 ...
line and offers fast and reliable services running into London Marylebone; it is the first station on the line that does not fall into a London Zone. The village is overlooked by the medieval Church of England parish church, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, whereas the High Street itself is home to the Catholic Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, one of the largest Catholic churches in the Chiltern District. The position of the parish church away from the village centre suggests an earlier settlement around the church with a move of the village's heart to its present location in the early Middle Ages. In the twelfth century Great Missenden was granted a charter allowing it to hold an annual Fair in August. Missenden Abbey, founded in 1133 as an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
monastery, was ruined following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the remains were incorporated into a Georgian mansion which is now a conference centre.
Gipsy House Gipsy House (formerly Little Whitefield) is a house in the village of Great Missenden in the English county of Buckinghamshire. It was the home of the writer Roald Dahl and his family for several decades. The house is situated on Whitefield Lane, ...
in Great Missenden was the home of author
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
from 1954 until his death in 1990, and still remains in the family, and many local scenes and characters are reflected in his work. Dahl is buried at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church and children still leave toys and flowers at his grave. In June 2005 the
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is a museum in the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England. Children's and short story writer Roald Dahl lived in the village in Gipsy House for 36 years until his death in 1990. Overview Th ...
opened in Great Missenden to honour the work of Dahl. Great Missenden, and its neighbouring village of Little Kingshill, is home to a number of celebrities and major figures in the world of finance and industry. It was home to actor Geoffrey Palmer, and his wife Sally still lives there. Model turned cookery show presenter
Sophie Dahl Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway on 15 September 1977, later taking her mother's name for professional reasons) is an English author and former fashion model. Her first novel, ''The Man with the Dancing Eyes'', was published in 2003 followed b ...
(granddaughter of Roald Dahl) and her husband jazz musician Jamie Cullum also own a property in the village. Robert Louis Stevenson, the writer of famous works such as '' Treasure Island'' and the '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'', stayed a night at The Red Lion, now 62 High Street, in Great Missenden in October 1874, which he wrote in an essay called "An Autumn Effect". The espionage novelist David Cornwell, who wrote as John le Carré, noted in a posthumously published introduction to a 2021 reissue of his first novel,
Call for the Dead ''Call for the Dead'' is John le Carré's first novel, published in 1961. It introduces George Smiley, the most famous of le Carré's recurring characters, in a story about East German spies inside Great Britain. It also introduces a fiction ...
, that "I lived in Great Missenden in those days and commuted to Marylebone station". The village is home to the private Gateway School, Great Missenden Combined School and The Misbourne
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
. Many children attend the local grammar schools in nearby Amersham, Chesham, Little Chalfont and High Wycombe, as well as leading local preparatory schools such as Chesham Prep, which consistently makes The Tatler list of Best Prep Schools in the UK. Given its quaint and historic high street, the village has been used extensively as a filming location for TV drama ''
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 ...
''. During 1980, Hammer Film Productions filmed a small series of horror films for television, many of them filmed in and around Great Missenden. Of note is the episode "
Rude Awakening Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the Norm (social), social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential personal boundaries, b ...
" starring Denholm Elliott who plays an Estate Agent trapped in a recurring nightmare. The location of the premises used as the Estate Agent's office is located in the centre of the village. Nowadays the property is a barbers.


Demography

At the 2001 UK census, the Great Missenden
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
had a population of 2,192. The ethnicity was 98.1% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 90.6% United Kingdom, 1.5% Republic of Ireland, 2.8% other Western European countries, and 5.1% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.7% Christian, 0% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.1% Muslim. 14.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.7% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 14.9% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.8% students without jobs, 19% retired, 8% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 1.6% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.3% retail, 11.6% manufacturing, 5.5% construction, 24.1% real estate, 9.7% health and social work, 8.8% education, 4.7% transport and communications, 3.6% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 4.3% finance, 1.9% agriculture and 8.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.8% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.


Parish

* Ballinger, located northeast of Great Missenden, between Lee Common and Ballinger Common *
Ballinger Bottom Ballinger is a hamlet and common in the parish of Great Missenden (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the nearby Chiltern Hills, close to the border with the parish of Chesham ...
, located northeast of Great Missenden, near South Heath * Ballinger Common, located northeast of Great Missenden, near Ballinger * Bryant's Bottom, located west of Prestwood, near Speen * Frith-hill, located east of Great Missenden * Heath End, located near the border with Hughenden parish, near
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' ...
* Hotley Bottom, located north of Prestwood *
Hyde End Hyde End is a small hamlet, in the civil parish of Great Missenden. it is located between the hamlets of Hyde Heath and South Heath along the B485 road between Chesham and Great Missenden Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximatel ...
, located between South Heath and Hyde Heath * Hyde Heath, located near
Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...
* Little Wood Corner, located south of South Heath * Mobwell, located in Great Missenden * Prestwood, large village west of Great Missenden * South Heath, located northeast of Great Missenden


Governance

Great Missenden civil parish is split between three South Bucks District Council wards: Prestwood and Heath End, Great Missenden, and Ballinger, South Heath and Chartridge; and two Buckinghamshire County Council divisions: Great Missenden and Chiltern Ridges. It is wholly within the Chesham and Amersham parliamentary constituency, represented since 2020 by Sarah Green, (Liberal Democrat).


Notable residents

*
Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom *David Cornwell (
John le Carre John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
), English novelist * Jamie Cullum, English musician *
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, British novelist *
Sophie Dahl Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway on 15 September 1977, later taking her mother's name for professional reasons) is an English author and former fashion model. Her first novel, ''The Man with the Dancing Eyes'', was published in 2003 followed b ...
, English author * Patricia Neal, American actress * Geoffrey Palmer, English actor * Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist *
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom


References


External links


Malt The Brewery - Micro Brewery in Prestwood making real ales, websiteGreat Missenden Parish Church websiteGreat Missenden CofE Combined School websiteRoald Dahl Museum official siteThe Misbourne School websiteAFC Lightning football club website
{{authority control Villages in Buckinghamshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire Chiltern District