Saunderton is a village in the
Saunderton Valley
Saunderton is a village in the Saunderton Valley in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England, in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Bledlow-cum-Saunderton. The village consists of three main areas: a linear settlement along Bledlo ...
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. ...
,
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, in the
civil parish of
Bledlow-cum-Saunderton
Bledlow-cum-Saunderton is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It contains the villages of Bledlow, Bledlow Ridge and Saunderton and the hamlet (place), hamlets of Crownfield, Forty Green ...
. The village consists of three main areas: a
linear settlement along Bledlow Road about southwest 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 ...
, Saunderton Lee, about further south and a residential area on the
A4010 road around
Saunderton railway station
Saunderton railway station is a railway station on the A4010 road between High Wycombe and Princes Risborough, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located near the villages of Bledlow Ridge and Bradenham, and lies on the Chiltern Main Line bet ...
(on the
Chiltern Main Line), about northwest of
High Wycombe. This residential area, unlike the other two parts of the village, is in the HP14
postcode district
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
, meaning its
post town is High Wycombe, not Princes Risborough, the boundary between the two post towns passing just south of Grange Farm.
History
The
toponym "Saunderton" is derived 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 ...
, but its original meaning is not clear. The
Domesday Book of 1086 records it as ''Santesdune'', leading some scholars to believe that the village name derives from "saint's hill".
In the 18th century a
workhouse was founded in Saunderton, which in the
Victorian era became the main workhouse for the
Union of High Wycombe. It became one of the most secure houses in the region and regular absconders from other workhouses were often moved here because of its remote location. Inmates were taken to the workhouse by a
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, but if they wanted to leave they had a long walk ahead of them.
Saunderton Estate is in the village. The building was constructed in 1959 and redeveloped in 1994 with the addition of two wings of two-storey offices.
Parish church
The
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of SS
Mary and
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
was built in 1227 and originally dedicated solely to St Mary. But Saunderton had a second parish church, St Nicholas, that fell into decay. In 1452 St Nicholas' church was demolished, and St Mary's was given the double dedication to St Nicholas as well.
In 1886 the church's walls began to lean inwards, so the church was largely dismantled in 1888 and rebuilt over the next three years.
[ Its 12th- or 13th-century ]font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
was reused and the 14th-century windows were restored and re-used. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The church has a small, timber-framed bell tower. It has three bells, all of which the bellfounder Alexander Rigby of Stamford, Lincolnshire cast in 1699. For technical reasons they are currently unringable.
SS Mary and Nicholas church is part of the parish of Bledlow with Saunderton and Horsenden, which in turn is part of the 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 ...
of Risborough.
References
Further reading
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External links
Bledlow-cum-Saunderton Parish Council
{{Authority control
Villages in Buckinghamshire