Coleshill (formerly Stoke) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

within Chiltern district in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England. It is south of

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

and north of

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

History

The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Coll's hill', though it has only been known by this name since the early 16th century. It appears as 'Colshull' on John Speed's maps in the early 17th century. Previously it was known as 'Stoke'. In 1844 the village was transferred from Hertfordshire to Buckinghamshire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. From 1919 to 1939, the village was home to the Coleshill Convalescent Home, officially opened on 27 June 1919 by Lady Portman. It had 12 beds for soldiers wounded in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Facilities

The village has a primary school (Coleshill Church of England Infant School), community hall, two pubs (''The Red Lion'' http://www.theredlioncoleshill.pub and ''The Harte & Magpies''), a tennis club with two courts, and a cricket club. A small play park exists in Hill Meadow. The village has a pond which is notable for the presence of Starfruit, '' Damasonium alisma'', which is found at only a few locations in Buckinghamshire and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in Southern England. The pond is centrally located and while the village does have a Common, it is rather hidden from view.

Notable buildings

All Saints Church was built of flint and stone in 1861. The village includes Georgian villas and some 1809 cottages with bottle ends set into the upper walls for decoration. The site of the long vanished manor house where Edmund Waller was born is nearby. The house known as 'Wallers Oak' was built in 1909 as a vicarage for All Saints Church. Porch House, Village Road, was the home of composer and painter Laura Wilson Barker following the death of her husband Tom Taylor in 1880 until her own death in 1905. Her choral setting of Keats's ''A Prophecy'', composed in 1850, was performed for the first time 49 years later at the Hovingham Festival in 1899. Just outside the village is The Water Tower a tall structure which once fed water to

but is now a residential property. This development was the subject of season one, episode four of the TV show

Grand Designs ''Grand Designs'' is a British television series that has broadcast on Channel 4 since 29 April 1999 and is presented by Kevin McCloud. Format Episodes generally follow a regular format, with small variations depending on the progress of t ...

List of Grand Designs episodes

References

External links

Villages in Buckinghamshire History of Hertfordshire Civil parishes in Buckinghamshire {{Buckinghamshire-geo-stub